Cartoon Collection

Aareal Bank donated its ca 300-strong cartoon collection on the topic of Money as a permanent loan to the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum Hannover. Aareal Bank thus presents this cultural asset to the broad public and is placing the exhibit in reputable hands. Wilhelm-Busch-Museum will be showing a selection of ca 80 caricatures in an exhibition.

As Prof Neyer, director of Wilhelm-Busch-Museum, said of the loan: "We have been on the trail of the Aareal Bank collection for a long time now and it will greatly enrich the treasure trove at the Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und kritische Grafik."

The Aareal Bank cartoon collection was built up in more than 20 years collecting with ca 300 caricatures on the topic of "money" and includes satirical, ironic, humorous and sometimes biting social criticism.

Noteworthy caricaturists such as Sempé, Daumier, Gillray, Haitzinger and Hurzlmeier are represented in the collection along with many other past and present ones. Other artists are William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson, Karl Arnold and Eduard Thöny, Ronald Searle and Edward Sorel, Peter Arno and Saul Steinberg. The collection also includes historical "Simplicissmus" magazines from Munich.

"The Spirit of Money" exhibition

The Wilhelm-Busch-Museum opened four exhibitions covering Karl Valentin, Greser & Lenz, Charles Darwin & Wilhelm Busch and "The Spirit of Money" on 17 May 2009 at its spring festival. The exhibition called "The Spirit of Money" with a selection of ca 80 works from the Aareal Bank permanent loan included multifaceted caricatures from artists who cast a critical eye on the subject of money from their own particular standpoint. The exhibition was open until 13 September 2009.