Die umfangreiche Sammlung in der Villa Greiner umfasst 11.000 Zeichnungen, die der 1931 in Straßburg geborene Zeichner und Illustrator Tomi Ungerer seiner Heimatstadt als Schenkung überließ. Davon werden in einer wechselnden Dauerausstellung jeweils rund 300 Originalzeichnungen - Kinderbuchillustrationen, Karikaturen und Werbezeichnungen sowie erotische Darstellungen - gezeigt. Darüber hinaus beinhaltet der Fundus Grafiken von Ungerer sowie repräsentative Sammlungen von Zeichnern/Illustratoren des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts.Born in Alsace, he has lived and worked in New York, Canada, Ireland and Strasbour
g imbuing his work with a multicultural edge.
Tomi is an award winning illustrator and a trilingual author. He has published over 140 books ranging from his much loved children’s books to his controversial adult work. He is famous for his sharp social satire and his witty aphorisms and he ranges from the fantastic to the autobiographical. His career has also encompassed Architectural design, Invention, Advertising and Sculpture.
Ungerer’s work forms an important commentary on the social and political changes that have occurred since the second half of the 20th century.
He is renowned for his iconic Advertising campaigns and political posters against the Vietnam War and Racial Injustice which were representative of the burgeoning political consciousness in New York in the 1960’s. His political engagement has continued to this day in campaigns against Racism and Fascism, for Nuclear disarmament, Ecology and numerous Humanitarian causes including important campaigns for European integration and in particular for Franco-German relations.
In 2003 the Council of Europe chose Tomi Ungerer as their first Ambassador for Childhood and Education and in 2007 the Tomi Ungerer Museum in Strasbourg opened its doors to the public and has since been voted one of the 10 best museums in Europe by the Council of Europe.