The Collection

The Nicola Erni Collection in Steinhausen near Zug houses an extensive art collection with a focus on photography and contemporary art.

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The Nicola Erni Collection in Steinhausen near Zug houses an extensive art collection with a focus on photography and contemporary art. 

For over twenty-five years, collector Nicola Erni has followed her passion and acquired works that touch her. This formed one of the largest photography collections in private hands, combining two main areas of focus: photographs from the 1960s and 1970s with a focus on social change – Zeitgeist & Glamour – and an extensive collection of fashion photographs from the 1930s to the present.

Contemporary art is another significant branch of the collection and includes a broad range of media including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and monumental installations. 

Artists include Richard Avedon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Elmgreen & Dragset, Sylvie Fleury, Hassan Hajjaj, Duane Hanson, Rashid Johnson, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Mario Testino, Andy Warhol and Harley Weir.

Architecture and Design

The interplay between art, architecture and design is of great interest to Nicola Erni. She realized her philosophy of the interaction between these three elements in the sense of an “extended living room” and has made the buildings which house her collection accessible to the public since 2020. By opening the private museum, she is pleased to be able to share her passion with enthusiasts.
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The interplay between art, architecture and design is of great interest to Nicola Erni. She realized her philosophy of the interaction between these three elements in the sense of an “extended living room” and has made the buildings which house her collection accessible to the public since 2020. By opening the private museum, she is pleased to be able to share her passion with enthusiasts. 

The first collection building was completed in 2013. Visitors can expect a colourful mix of art, furniture, selected design objects and decorative accessories. This creates a personal space with a unique museum exhibition area.

A second building was completed in November 2020. The two structures, embedded in a comprehensive green space, react differently within the newly created site. The raw, sharpened surface of the Dietfurt shell-bearing limestone gives the façade of the first building a sculptural expression which contrasts with the shine of the polished copper-aluminium alloy of the second building.

Erlenweg 2 and 5

CH – 6312 Steinhausen

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The Collection

The Nicola Erni Collection in Steinhausen near Zug houses an extensive art collection with a focus on photography and contemporary art. 

For over twenty-five years, collector Nicola Erni has followed her passion and acquired works that touch her. This formed one of the largest photography collections in private hands, combining two main areas of focus: photographs from the 1960s and 1970s with a focus on social change – Zeitgeist & Glamour – and an extensive collection of fashion photographs from the 1930s to the present. Contemporary art is another significant branch of the collection and includes a broad range of media including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and monumental installations. 

Artists include Richard Avedon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Elmgreen & Dragset, Sylvie Fleury, Hassan Hajjaj, Duane Hanson, Rashid Johnson, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Mario Testino, Andy Warhol and Harley Weir.

Architecture and Design

The interplay between art, architecture and design is of great interest to Nicola Erni. She realized her philosophy of the interaction between these three elements in the sense of an “extended living room” and has made the buildings which house her collection accessible to the public since 2020. By opening the private museum, she is pleased to be able to share her passion with enthusiasts. 

The first collection building was completed in 2013. Visitors can expect a colourful mix of art, furniture, selected design objects and decorative accessories. This creates a personal space with a unique museum exhibition area. 

A second building was completed in November 2020. The two structures, embedded in a comprehensive green space, react differently within the newly created site. The raw, sharpened surface of the Dietfurt shell-bearing limestone gives the façade of the first building a sculptural expression which contrasts with the shine of the polished copper-aluminium alloy of the second building.

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Installation view: Tim Walker. The Garden of Earthly Delights, Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, 4 November 2017 – 25 February 2018. Photo: Joep Jacobs

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Installation view: Erik Madigan Heck: Old Future, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Le Locle, 2 November 2018 – 27 January 2019. Photo: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Samuel Zeller

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Installation view (painting in the foreground): Hat Full of Rain (1996), Julian Schnabel: Aktion Paintings 1985-2017, ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Denmark, 12 October 2018 – 3 March 2019. Photo: ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Anders Sune Berg

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Installation view: Sixty Last Suppers  (1986) by Andy Warhol included in the exhibition Andy Warhol, Tate Modern, London, 12 March – 15 November 2020. Artwork © The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. Photo © Tate, Andrew Dunkley

Architekur und Design​

Das Zusammenspiel zwischen Kunst, Architektur und Design ist Nicola Erni ein grosses Anliegen. Ihre Philosophie der Interaktion zwischen diesen drei Elementen realisierte sie im Sinne eines «Extended Living Room» – ein erweitertes Wohnzimmer – und macht dies seit 2020 der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Durch die Öffnung des Privatmuseums freut sie sich, ihre Passion mit jedem Interessierten teilen zu können.

Das erste Sammlungsgebäude wurde 2013 fertiggestellt. Den Besucher erwartet ein bunter Mix aus Kunst, Möbeln, ausgesuchten Designobjekten und dekorativen Accessoires. Dadurch entsteht ein persönlicher Raum mit einzigartiger musealer Präsentationsfläche.

Ein zweiter Bau wurde im November 2020 fertiggestellt. Die beiden Baukörper, eingebettet in einen übergreifenden Grünraum, reagieren innerhalb des neu entstandenen Ortes unterschiedlich: Die rohe, gespitzte Oberfläche des Dietfurter Muschelkalksteins gibt der Fassade des ersten Gebäudes einen skulpturalen Ausdruck; im Gegensatz dazu steht der Glanz der Hülle mit geschliffenen Schalen in Kupfer-Aluminium Legierung des zweiten Gebäudes, der im Inneren mit dynamischen Zwischenräumen überraschende Sichtachsen bietet.

Die Sammlung

Die Nicola Erni Collection in Steinhausen bei Zug beherbergt eine umfangreiche Kunstsammlung mit Fokus auf Fotografie und zeitgenössische Kunst.

Seit über 25 Jahren folgt die Sammlerin Nicola Erni ihrer Leidenschaft und hat Werke erworben, die sie berühren. So ist eine der grössten Fotosammlungen in privater Hand entstanden, die zwei Schwerpunkte vereint: Fotografien der 1960er und 1970er Jahre mit Fokus auf den gesellschaftlichen Wandel – Zeitgeist & Glamour – sowie eine umfangreiche Sammlung von Modefotografien aus den 1930er Jahren bis heute. Zeitgenössische Kunst ist ein weiterer bedeutender Sammlungszweig und umfasst eine Bandbreite von Malerei, Skulpturen, Zeichnungen und monumentale Installationen.

Vertreten sind Künstler wie Richard Avedon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Elmgreen & Dragset, Sylvie Fleury, Hassan Hajjaj, Duane Hanson, Rashid Johnson, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Mario Testino, Andy Warhol oder Harley Weir.

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Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
Installation views of “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style. Photographs from the Nicola Erni Collection, 1930s to Now” (June 10 – September 3, 2023) at the Het Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). Courtesy of the museum. Photo: Jan-Kees Steenman.
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