The Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus is housed in the former home of the aristocratic artist Franz von Lenbach (1836–1904). The Tuscan-style villa was built by the artist, working with the architect Gabriel von Seidl, between 1887 and 1891. The reception rooms in the first floor, which have been restored to their original state, bear witness to Lenbach’s famous historical decorative art.

The artist’s widow, Lolo von Lenbach, sold the house to the city of Munich in 1924. The Städtische Galerie was opened there in 1929. At that time, the collection focused on painting from the nineteenth century Munich school of artists and New Objectivity. An extensive collection of postwar Munich art has been added over the decades.

Thanks to a significant and generous bequest from Gabriele Münter on the occasion of her eightieth birthday in 1957 and an endowment from the estate of Bernhard Koehler in 1965, the gallery acquired a magnificent collection of works by the Blaue Reiter movement. This includes works by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, August Macke, Alexei Yawlensky, Paul Klee, and, of course, Münter herself.

The Kunstbau was opened in direct proximity to the municipal gallery in 1994. This additional gallery, 110 meters long and 14 meters wide, is situated in a previously unused subterranean space over the Königsplatz underground railway station. More than forty exhibitions have been shown here on a wide range of topics, from early modernism (Franz Marc, Picasso, the Blaue Reiter, and Giorgio de Chirico), to topical thematic shows (“The Battle of the Sexes,” “Pygmalion’s Workshop,” “Silhouettes and Cutouts,” and “Moments in Time”), and contemporary artists (Gerhard Richter, Rupprecht Geiger, Dan Flavin, Jeff Wall, and Rosemarie Trockel).

In 2002, the Museumsplatz was created as an additional exhibition space linking the Lenbachhaus and the Kunstbau. One or two projects involving contemporary artists are staged here every year. In 2005, the KUBUS was opened in Petuelpark. This is an exhibition space that emerged from the Petuelpark project, and where, with the financial support of the BMW group, the Lenbachhaus organizes exhibitions, lectures, and performances by contemporary artists.