Aarau Art Museum

In 1860, the Aargau Art Association was founded in Aarau, focusing from the outset on the acquisition of Swiss art. The Aargau Art Museum was opened in 1959. It traces the development of Swiss art from the late 18th century to the present. Key figures include Caspar Wolf and Johann Heinrich Füssli from the 19th century, and Ferdinand Hodler, Cuno Amiet, and Giovanni Giacometti from the 20th century. In 2010, the Aargau Art Association celebrated its 150th anniversary, including the two exhibitions Yesterday Will Be Better and tempi passati. At the same time, the Aargau Art Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary, and art education celebrated its 15th anniversary.
Heiny Widmer led the Aargau Art Museum from 1974 to 1984. It was only then that the museum acquired its distinctive profile. The new cultural law had freed it from crippling obligations to regional art. Widmer was now able to strengthen the connection to contemporary art, which he had, for example, in the form of the Ziegelrain artist community right at his doorstep. He unearthed forgotten and repressed artists, giving a voice to outsiders like Louis Soutter, Emma Kunz, or Karl Ballmer, thereby highlighting the now-recognized role of loners in artistic creation.

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