The Essl Museum operated in Klosterneuburg between 1999 and 2016. When it closed due to financial problems the collection was donated to the Albertina.[1] The Albertina also gained control of the museum's building in 2017.[2] The building was used to store the Essl collection and other contemporary artworks.[1] The Albertina's workshop was also located there.[2]
In April 2024 the Albertina Klosterneuburg opened to the public. It displays post-1945 works held by the Albertina and is the second branch of the gallery, after the Albertina Modern which opened in 2020.[1]
As part of an interview conducted to mark his retirement in December 2024, Albertina director Klaus Albrecht Schröder identified not opening the Albertina Klosterneuburg at an earlier date as being a mistake. He noted that "I should have founded the Albertina Klosterneuburg five years earlier. The [COVID-19] pandemic got in the way a little and it was also a bad decision on my part".[2]
