The mumok collection of classical modernism was established by Werner Hofmann as an exemplary selection of works from the first half of the twentieth century, and it now includes the most significant movements and artists of these years, with expressionism (Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka, Ernst Kirchner), cubism, and futurism (Henri Laurens, Giacomo Balla), or constructivism and Bauhaus (Piet Mondrian, László Moholy-Nagy).

Dada and surrealism are represented by Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, and René Magritte. The artworks include some of modernism’s most iconic works, like André Derain’s Cowering Figure and Nocturne by František Kupka.

The gift of the Bogner Collection in 2005 added a new focus on Johannes Itten and Viennese constructivist modernism.