Ernst Müller (art collector)

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The PAN art forum in Emmerich, created from Ernst Müller's poster collection.

Ernst Müller (* 1926 ; † 1993 ) was a German teacher and art collector . He put together an extensive collection of posters , organized regular poster exhibitions and thus created the conditions for today's PAN-Kunstforum Niederrhein in Emmerich .

life and work

Ernst Müller took over the management of the Catholic Aldegundis elementary school in 1963 and of the Martini elementary school in Emmerich in 1968 . From 1961 to 1964 he was a member of the city council of Emmerich.

In 1968, due to the great success of a poster exhibition in Emmerich, Müller converted the assembly hall of the Martinischule into a permanent exhibition of modern poster art, which was initially only intended for students, but soon developed into a collection of public interest and in 1972 its first public exhibition of works organized by Holger Matthies . To support his initiative, Müller was able to attract well-known German poster artists such as HAP Grieshaber , Walter Tafelmaier and Jürgen Spohn in a short time , as well as well-known foreign artists such as Boris Bucan , Roman Ciesclewicz and Ralf Prins .

At first, Müller received little public support for his Martinischule poster museum . Instead, he financed catalogs, advertising posters and other advertising material privately, while the city of Emmerich took over the costs for programs and invitations.

The twentieth anniversary of the museum was celebrated in May 1988 with a large exhibition Homage to the poster , with the participation of 23 artists from all over the world who had exhibited in the Martini school since 1968. At that time the collection already comprised well over 50,000 exhibits. In 1988 the collection found a temporary home in the Emmerich City Theater under the new name PAN Poster Museum on the Lower Rhine . Exhibits were shown there in the theater foyer, which was completely rededicated for this purpose, but also at other exhibition locations in Emmerich and the surrounding area.

In 1990 Müller was awarded the Rhineland Taler by the Rhineland Regional Council. He died before the anniversary exhibition for the 25th anniversary that opened in October 1993, in which Klaus Staeck , Boris Bucan, Feliks Büttner , Michael Mathias Prechtl and Uwe Loesch took part. At that time the inventory had exceeded 80,000 exhibits.

Afterlife

After his death, the Emmerich Cultural Office organized an exhibition In memoriam Ernst Müller in 1994 , in which numerous artists participated with posters commemorating Ernst Müller.

In the same year, the PAN Friends' Association of the Poster Museum on the Lower Rhine eV was established , to which Müller's heirs gave the collection on permanent loan, and which in the following years campaigned for it in negotiations with sponsors and authorities and with public exhibitions in the 1980s The premises of the former Lohmann chocolate factory, which were used as a "culture factory", established the poster museum as a permanent facility. In 1998, the City Council of Emmerich decided to convert the old cross bar of the Lohmann building into a suitable museum building. As a result, the collection was converted by the heirs into a "Foundation Poster Museum on the Lower Rhine - Ernst Müller Collection", which was recognized by the Düsseldorf district government at the end of 1999. 2001 saw the laying of the foundation stone and the conclusion of the lease agreement between the city and the PAN friends' association.

The museum project not only received generous support from private individuals and local companies such as the Sparkasse Emmerich, but also met with some local resistance, which led to the fact that a citizens' initiative was formed and the city council in November 2001 issued a list of 7,503 signatures against it as being superfluous and museum, which was perceived as too expensive, was presented. Despite all resistance, the museum was able to reopen in 2003 with an opening exhibition called Summit, with the participation of 45 artists from all over the world. Since then, the Ernst Müller Collection has formed the core of the PAN-Kunstforum Niederrhein at its new location .

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