The Kunstmuseum Gera holds the largest single collection of works by Otto Dix outside the Kunstmuseum Albstadt, making it an important destination for anyone interested in German art of the 20th century. Born in Gera in 1891, Dix became one of the central figures of the New Objectivity movement — a reaction against Expressionism that brought an unflinching, often savage realism to depictions of Weimar Republic society, war veterans, prostitutes, and the grotesque underside of German life in the 1920s.
The collection spans paintings, drawings, prints, and watercolours from across his career, including works from his pre-war student years, the devastating war etchings, his society portraits of the Weimar period, and later landscapes from the inner emigration period when he retreated to more traditional subjects under Nazi pressure. The museum's permanent collection is supplemented by changing exhibitions, and the building itself — an elegant 19th-century villa — is pleasant to visit. The museum is closed on Mondays.