by American artists. Among these are works by Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd and Jackson Pollock, whose monumental Number 32 from 1950 is one of the few mural-sized drip paintings by this artist, and is regarded as a key exemplar of Abstract Expressionism. Among the four works by Robert Rauschenberg is Wager, which dates from 1957 and is one of the largest and most complex of his "combine paintings". European postwar art is represented among others by the works of Markus Lüpertz, Per Kirkeby, Gerhard Richter, Emil Schumacher and Joseph Beuys, whose late work "Palazzo Regale", acquired in 1992, has been supplemented by a further 60 works. These were formerly owned by Düsseldorf art collector Günter Ulbricht. Installations and artist's rooms are an important focus of the Kunstsammlung, an area which has been expanded continuously in recent years (through works by Marcel Broodthaers, for example). German photography is represented in the collection by the works of Bernd and Hilla Becher and other exponents of the Düsseldorf School of photographers. In the realm of new media, i.e. film and video, the collection continues to expand, and presently contains around 90 works. In 2005, the private collection of Simone and Heinz Ackermans, which contained 150 works of international contemporary art, was acquired by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia following the display of selected works from the collection at the K21 from 2002 to 2005. The focus of the Ackermans Collection is art since the 1980s, on figurative sculpture, photographic works, installations, as well as film and video works. Patrons The Gesellschaft der Freunde der Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. (Society of Friends of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen) has provided the Kunstsammlung with support since 1968. The functions fulfilled by the Society are described in its bylaws, and encompass the conceptual and material furtherance of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. Its chief priority is the acquisition of works of art. Thanks to the Friends of the Kunstsammlung, a number of the museum's otherwise unattainable goals in this area have been fulfilled. In order to cope successfully with a set of challenges which has grown continuously as the museum has expanded to occupy three separate buildings (the K20, the K21 and the Schmela Haus), the Society must call upon a continuously expanding community of "friends" who are prepared to provide both conceptual and material support for this internationally recognized museum of modern and contemporary art.