The National Museums’ Gemäldegalerie has presented to the public masterpieces of older Western painting in its newly erected building at Kulturforum since 1998. The competition for the Gemäldegalerie’s new building, held in 1986, went to architects Hilmer and Sattler. With Prussian exactness, the building’s minimal design rises above the tapering piazetta below, while inside its various rooms are grouped around a bright, well-lit lobby. A study gallery was added to the Gemäldegalerie after the sweeping events of 1989 and 1990 that also led to the reunification of the various collections belonging to the National Museums in Berlin a year later in 1991.

In its architectural reserve, the building’s minimal outer design is reminiscent of Schinkel’s Altes Museum, while inside, the collection rooms bear similar classical proportions. From the large central lobby, itself a place of peace and contemplation with the water fountain and sculpture by Walter de Maria, visitors can delve back into the individual exhibition rooms and recontinue their tour through the collection. The consequential use of daylight illumination throughout sets a benchmark for other major art galleries. With its many famous masterpieces, the building now ranks once again as one of the major European galleries and offers a comprehensive overview of European painting from the 13th to the 18th century.

The Old Master Paintings possesses one of the world’s finest collections of European art from the 13th to 18th century. After the collection was founded in 1830, it was systematically built up and perfected. The exhibition includes masterpieces by artists from every age of art history such as van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Raphael, Tizian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Vermeer and Rembrandt.

The National Art Museum’s palace was designed by Italian architect Silvio Contri and completed in 1911 and it was built to house the government’s Offices of Communications and Public Works. The National Museum of Art took over the building in 1982. Wander through the immense rooms with polished wooden floors as you view the wealth of paintings showing Mexico’s art development, primarily covering the period from 1810 to 1950. There’s a nice cafe on the second floor.

Created in 1911, under the name “Museum of Fine Arts”, now called the National Museum of Visual Arts, has a long history marked by the transformation of the building. But, after 100 years, it has become the most important art museum in the country.

National Museum, New Delhi, today, has in its possession over 2000000 works of exquisite art, both of Indian and Foreign origin covering more than 5000 years of our cultural heritage. Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong perspective for the future, brings history to life.

Located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District, the MFAH is a dynamic cultural complex comprising two gallery buildings, a sculpture garden, visitors center, library, café, movie theater, two art schools, two house museums, and two gift shops.

Founded in 1935, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted to modern and contemporary art. From the outset, the museum has championed the most innovative and challenging art of its time, and we continue to exhibit and collect work by both modern masters and younger, less-established artists.

We always have a dynamic schedule of thought-provoking exhibitions on view, including special exhibitions and changing presentations from our collection of more than 27,000 artworks, photographs, and design objects. Audio guides, docent tours, video screenings, interactive kiosks, and public programs offer opportunities to learn more about modern art.

Located just a short walk from downtown San Francisco, our landmark building features a soaring atrium topped by our signature turret and oculus skylight. The MuseumStore offers the West Coast’s finest selection of modern and contemporary art books, as well as exceptional design objects, furniture, jewelry, and children’s products. Meanwhile, our cafe serves gourmet fare in a light-filled space with indoor and outdoor seating.

We invite you to take a closer look and discover all the exciting things that are happening at SFMOMA.

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is a nonprofit, independent organization that exists to exhibit, collect, preserve, and interpret modern and contemporary art. MMoCA serves the art life of the community by creating opportunities for direct experience with works of art, by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas about art, and by offering programs to enhance the appreciation and understanding of art.

After a distinguished 105-year history in borrowed and refurbished spaces, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art opened to the public on April 23, 2006, in a new facility within Overture Center for the Arts. Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the museum’s exhilarating facility offers 51,500 square feet of space for the study, presentation, and conservation of modern and contemporary art, as well as a 7,100-square-foot rooftop sculpture garden. Public amenities include spacious galleries, a 230-seat lecture hall, a children’s classroom, a new-media gallery, and a study center for drawings, prints, and photographs. Like the rest of Overture Center, the facility was made possible by the extraordinary generosity of W. Jerome Frautschi, a long-time friend of the museum.

The Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) is one of best Museum in the World, with tons of the best Fine Art pieces made by the best Fine Art Masters.

The main objective of the Museo del Prado is to accomplish the following purposes:

• Guarantee the protection, conservation as well as encouraging the enrichment and improvement of the Spanish Heritage related to the Museum.
• Exhibit the Collection in accurate conditions in order to allow its enjoyment and study.
• Foster and guarantee access to the collection. Provide the study of collections to researchers. Boost knowledge and promotion of the Museum’s works of art and heritage supporting educational programs and cultural disclosure activities.
• Develop research programs as well as training programs to professionals. Organize temporary exhibitions in collaboration with other museums, universities and/or cultural institutions in a mutual compromise just to achieve the exhibition’s purpose. Encourage partnership with institutions within or closely linked to the Public Administration, paying attention to those with a high approach and profile in the museum field.
• Offer services of counseling, researching, scientific or technical reporting, to State General Administration’s bodies if required, or if related with agreements or contracts granted to both public and private entities or individuals, as long as it complains with previously settled conditions and requirements.

The Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts (Spanish: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes or MNBA), located in Santiago, Chile, is one of the major centers for the arts both in Chile and in the larger region of South America. Established in 1880 (making it the oldest in South America), the organization is managed by the “Artistic Union” (Unión Artística).

The National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) is a national museum dedicated to the collection, research and exhibitions of modern and contemporary artistic works in China. In June 1963, Chairman Mao Zedong inscribed the Chinese-language title board of the museum, which demonstrated its position as a national art museum and the nature of its establishment. The main building features the styles of ancient Chinese attics and ethnic architecture, which is roofed with yellow glazed tiles and surrounded by corridors and pavilions.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia, founded in 1895, occupies a precinct of three heritage buildings on the south-eastern corner of the Perth Cultural Centre. The Gallery houses the State Art Collection, which includes one of the world’s finest collections of Indigenous art, the pre-eminent collection of Western Australian art and design, as well as Australian and International art and design.

Through the Collection, our associated programs, and stimulating exhibitions we offer Gallery visitors unique and exciting experiences of historic and contemporary Australian artists, and bring the art of the world to Western Australia.

We place particular emphasis on the arts of Australia, and due to our geographic position, the Indian Ocean Rim. Our proximity and access to many of the most exciting cultures of the world adds immeasurably to programs, exhibitions, collections and events at the State Art Gallery.

The National Gallery of Art was created for the people of the United States of America in 1937 by a Joint Resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier, art collector, and public servant Andrew W. Mellon. His gift included old master paintings and sculptures and a building to house the new museum, to be constructed on the National Mall. On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed National Gallery of Art on behalf of the American people.

Opened to the public on the following day, this grand building, designed by John Russell Pope and now called the West Building, was at the time the largest marble structure in the world. Andrew W. Mellon’s hope that the newly created National Gallery would attract similar gifts of the highest quality from other collectors was soon realized in the form of major donations of European and American art from private donors. These eventually included founding benefactors Samuel H. Kress, Rush H. Kress, Joseph Widener, Chester Dale, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Paul Mellon. Generosity continues to this day with gifts from hundreds of other donors and artists.

One of the USA’s largest facilities devoted to the art of our time, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) offers exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art created since 1945. The MCA documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, the MCA boasts a gift store, bookstore, restaurant, 300-seat theater, and a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan.

Museum Kampa has in its care several very important end extensive collections, which includes two icons of 20th century art František Kupka and Otto Gutfreund and Central European modern art. The collection of Central European art serves not only as a reminder of the so called Eastern Bloc but also contributes to the awareness of modern Czech culture.

Museum Kampa provides the general public access to these art collections and, at the same time, organizes a wide range of temporary exhibitions of both Czech and international artists. Among those who have been exhibited in the museum are Yoko Ono, Frank Malina, Joseph Beuys, Matěj Krén, Julian Opie, Piet Mondrian, Theodor Pištěk and Andy Warhol, just to name a few.

The Museum was established thanks to the initiative of the art collector and benefactor Mrs. Meda Mládek, who sees the birth of this museum as a fulfilment of her dream.

The Château de Versailles, which has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful. The Hall of Mirrors, the King’s Grand Apartments, the Museum of the History of France. The Château de Versailles, the seat of power until 1789, has continued to unfurl its splendour over the course of centuries. At first it was just a humble hunting lodge built by Louis XIII. But Louis XIV chose the site to build the palace we know today, the symbol of royal absolutism and embodiment of classical French art.

In the 1670s Louis XIV built the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, whose most emblematic achievement is the Hall of Mirrors designed by Mansart, where the king put on his most ostentatious display of royal power in order to impress visitors. The Chapel and Opera were built in the next century under Louis XV. The château lost its standing as the official seat of power in 1789 but acquired a new role in the 19th century as the Museum of the History of France, which was founded at the behest of Louis-Philippe, who ascended to the throne in 1830. That is when many of the château’s rooms were taken over to house the new collections, which were added to until the early 20th century, tracing milestones in French history.

Heir to the century of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the Louvre was quickly accepted as the “museum among museums;” and since then it has remained a model and a recognized authority. Founded in 1793 as a museum for all, it celebrates humanity’s long journey with the remarkable scope of a collection that spans thousands of years, reaches from America to the borders of India and China, and is highlighted by such iconic, universally admired works as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Victory of Samothrace.

On a scale unrivaled anywhere in the world, these accumulated riches make the Louvre a focal point for permanent dialogue between past and present, and a place of learning, delight, and discovery for millions of visitors of all backgrounds. Once a home to kings, the Louvre has enduring, intimate links with French history, drawing on the spirit of the Revolution and its notion of perpetual evolution, innovation, influence, and alertness to the new; it has always been, as Emile Zola put it, “at ease with its time.” This endlessly renewed heritage has been maintained by the long succession of those who have sought art out down the ages, defended it, and passed its message on: that community of men and women who have made the Louvre a unique focal point for a host of skills. Vibrantly open to its city and the world, the Louvre continues to fire the imaginations of those who visit and those who work creatively there; its goal is to remain, as Cézanne put it, “the book in which we learn to read” and through which “we can come to understand and love everything.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded on April 13, 1870, “to be located in the City of New York, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said city a Museum and library of art, of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and the application of arts to manufacture and practical life, of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects, and, to that end, of furnishing popular instruction.”

This statement of purpose has guided the Museum for more than a century.

The Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art have reaffirmed the statement of purpose and supplemented it with the following statement of mission:

The mission of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, and stimulate appreciation for and advance knowledge of works of art that collectively represent the broadest spectrum of human achievement at the highest level of quality, all in the service of the public and in accordance with the highest professional standards.

September 12, 2000

The eastern wing of the building incorporated the ancient Florentine church of San Pier Scheraggio and the wing to the west connected with two existing buildings, the Mint and the Loggia dei Lanzi. Vasari conceived an architectural module to be repeated all along the building: a portico flanked by two pillars, with niches on the ground floor and three windows on the upper story.

In 1565, on the occasion of the marriage of his son Francesco to Giovanna d’Austria, Cosimo I asked Vasari to design a raised passageway connecting Palazzo Vecchio with Palazzo Pitti, the new residence of the family. The passage starts from the government palace, Palazzo Vecchio, goes through the Uffizi, then runs parallel to the river above a portico and crosses over the Ponte Vecchio. The Corridor continues through the facade of the church of Santa Felicita to reach the Boboli Gardens.

The Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) was the first building on the Museum Island Berlin to be restored under the Museum Island Master-plan, with the reopening ceremony taking place after three years’ closure in 2001. Today, its collection of nineteenth-century art has been reunited for the first time in an authentic nineteenth-century building – with state-of-the-art security and climate control. A tour through the museum passes from the idealistic beginnings of Classicism and Romanticism through to the major European art movements of Impressionism, Symbolism and Jugendstil. It begins on the third, the uppermost level with masterpieces by Caspar David Friedrich, Karl Friedrich Schinkel and key representatives of Romanticism and Biedermeier. On the middle floor, the tensions and oppositions in nineteenth-century art can be experienced through works of the highest quality: the “German Romans” Anselm Feuerbach and Arnold Böcklin are juxtaposed with the Dutch-schooled realism of Max Liebermann; the modern vision of Impressionism crosses paths with the backwards gaze of the history painters. On the ground floor, the permanent exhibition shows how closely the triumph of Modernism was linked to the discovery of modern reality. Gustave Courbet and French Realism, Adolph Menzel, Lovis Corinth and not least the young Max Beckmann, represent critical stages on art’s path to a new vision of humankind, society and nature.

The Tokyo National Museum collects, houses, and displays a comprehensive collection of art works and antiquities from Japan as well as other Asian countries. The museum also conducts research and investigations concerning its collection of books, rubbings, and photographs, related to fine art, and makes these items available to scholars. The Independent Administrative Institution National Museum and the Independent Administrative Institution Research Institute of Cultural Properties were merged as of April 1, 2007 to create the Independent Administrative Institution National Institute for Cultural Property. National Institutes for Cultural Heritage was established in order to carry out preservation and utilization of cultural properties more efficiently and effectively.

Al Ain National Museum, located next to the Sultan or Eastern Fort, is the oldest museum in the UAE. It was built under the direction of HH the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who believed that a country without a past has “neither a present nor a future”.

Al Ain National Museum is divided into two main sections – Ethnographical and Archaeological – and provides the visitor with an overview of the country’s traditions and culture alongside the much older story of the people who inhabited the area up to 8,000 years ago. Local and foreign archaeological teams, working in collaboration with the former Department of Antiquities and Tourism, now part of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, constantly supply the museum with new information that helps us understand our ancestors and their way of life.

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe has been in existence for more than 50 years, and in its lifetime has witnessed the dramatic shift in the country from colonialism to independence. In addition, it has been central to the meteoric rise of Zimbabwean artists in the world art market. The gallery was initially planned in the 1930s, but the outbreak of the Second World War impeded the colonial government’s involvement in its progress. However, the idea was given new life when in 1943, Sir James McDonald, a friend and colleague of Cecil John Rhodes, left a bequest of 30,000 “in trust for the people of the colony” to establish an art gallery and art museum in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. At the end of 1952, the inaugural board of the gallery was established, chaired by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia.

The passing of the National Gallery Act of Parliament in early 1953 saw the dissolution of the inaugural board and the establishment of the board of trustees. Major (later Sir) Stephen Courtauld presided as chairman of the board until 1962. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the gallery right from its inception, and remained so even after his departure from the board, when he and his wife became the first patrons of the gallery.

From the outset, the gallery was conceived as a national institution, acting as the artistic representative not only for Southern Rhodesia, but also Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, governed from 1953 to 1963 as a united federation. Salisbury City Council agreed to take full responsibility for overseeing the building, establishment and administration of the gallery, and the mayor of Salisbury was made a fixed appointee to the board of trustees. The first responsibilities of the board were: to establish funds for the building; to select the building design and to appoint a director. The second responsibilities were: to establish funds for the running and administration costs of the gallery, and to make provision for an endowment fund for the acquisition of a permanent collection.

At that time, the building funds consisted only of the McDonald bequest, and a further 150,000 had yet to be raised. It was decided that an appeal should be launched among local businesses in support of building a gallery in Southern Rhodesia. “In all great countries of the world art galleries have their place in the cultural life of the community, and it is the firm belief of the Trustees that a National Art Gallery is essential to the progress of the people of this land,” stated Sir Stephen Courtauld in the annual report of 1954, giving voice to the board’s support of the establishment of the gallery.

The National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) of Argentina is located on Avenida del Libertador 1473, Buenos Aires. It was inaugurated on 25 December 1896 and the opening was attended by numerous personalities. Among them was Nicaraguan writer, Rubén Darío, a referent of modernity. Its first Director was Eduardo Schiaffino. The Bon Marché on the Calle Florida, was the precursory site for Argentina’s first art museum and had been built to house a department store. The absence of public buildings undoubtedly led to the MNBA setting out in this commercial mall, built in the style of its namesake in Paris. In 1910 MNBA moved to its second premises in the Plaza San Martin, a palace made of iron and glass that had served as the Argentine Pavilion at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris and was shipped to Buenos Aires afterwards. Since 1932, the MNBA has had premises of its own in the old pump building of Obras Sanitarias in Recoleta. Though not originally built to house a museum, it was adapted for its new role by the architect Alejandro Bustillo. The building currently consists of thirty rooms distributed over three floors.

The National Museum of Australia explores the land, nation and people of Australia. The Museum celebrates Australian social history in a unique way by revealing the stories of ordinary and extraordinary Australians, promoting the exploration of knowledge and ideas and providing a dynamic forum for discussion and reflection.

The National Gallery houses the national collection of Western European painting from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.

The Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) was created in February 1990 with the aim of giving the local community an institution for the research, conservation and promotion of contemporary art. Later the centre began to acquire the first works in its permanent collection of contemporary art.

In 1997 the Cartuja Monastery became the centre’s headquarters, a move which was to prove decisive in the evolution of the institution. The CAAC, an autonomous organisation dependent on the Andalusian Government (Junta de Andalucía), took over the collections of the former Conjunto Monumental de la Cartuja (Cartuja Monument Centre) and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla (Contemporary Art Museum of Seville).

From the outset, one of the main aims of the centre has been to develop a programme of activities attempting to promote the study of contemporary international artistic creation in all its facets. Temporary exhibitions, seminars, workshops, concerts, meetings, recitals, film cycles and lectures have been the communication tools used to fulfil this aim.

The centre’s programme of cultural activities is complemented by a visit to the monastery itself, which houses an important part of our artistic and archaeological heritage, a product of our long history.

When the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía opened its doors in 1990, it stood as a modern, contemporary Spanish museum on an international scale. Nevertheless, its building has gone through many challenges in order to achieve this goal.

King Felipe II first founded San Carlos Hospital – current headquarters for the museum– in the sixteenth century. It was here that all of the hospitals dispersed throughout the Court were centralized. In the eighteenth century, Carlos III decided to found another hospital, as these facilities did not meet the city’s needs. The present building is the work of architects José de Hermosilla and Francisco Sabatini, who was responsible for a large part of its construction.

In 1788, the death of Carlos III brought the building’s construction to a halt. Although a mere third of Sabatini’s project had been completed, the hospital was set up and began operations as originally planned.

From that time on, several modifications and additions were made until the hospital was shut down in 1965. Its functions were transferred to the Madrid Province Health Service. In spite of many rumors of demolition, the building’s survival was guaranteed in 1977 when it was declared a national monument by royal decree, due to its historic and artistic value.

In 1980, restoration began under the direction of Antonio Fernández Alba, and in April 1986 the Reina Sofia Art Center opened. Its ground and first floors were used as temporary exhibition galleries. Towards the end of 1988, architects José Luis Iñiguez de Onzoño and Antonio Vázquez de Castro made final modifications, of which the three steel and glass elevator towers – designed in collaboration with British architect Ian Ritchie – merit special attention.

The Museo Reina Sofia, an autonomous organization depending on the Spanish Ministry of Culture, was created by Royal Decree 535/88 of May 1988. With its headquarters in San Carlos Hospital, the Collection was made up of works conserved at the time by the Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art. On 10 September 1992, their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia inaugurated the Permanent Collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, which until then had only held temporary exhibitions. Now a bona fide museum, its goals – as set forth in the aforementioned decree – were to conserve, expand and exhibit its collections; to promote the general public’s knowledge of and access to contemporary art in its various manifestations; to hold exhibitions at the international level, and to offer training, educational and assessment activities related to its holdings.

The Nouvel Building

Throughout all of these years, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia has been increasing its collections, temporary exhibits, audiovisual and educational activities, services and number of visitors, what led those in charge of the institution to undertake studies on the possibility of increasing surface space, which brought about in 2001 the construction of the new building by Jean Nouvel, opened in September of 2005. In this way the Museum responded not only to its proposed needs, but also to a clear call to transform the neighborhood’s surrounding environment. By creating a public square – as set forth in the building code of the new buildings and the southwest facade of the current Museum – a space within the city and for the city was created.

The Museum has increased more than 60% of the old building’s surface area (51,297 square meters), now reaching 84,048 square meters. Thus, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia now has a privileged exhibition space at its disposal.

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist’s developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection. The museum also holds an extensive offer of exhibitions on various subjects from 19th-century art history.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is the national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the greatest museums in the world. It is located in one of the oldest directs of Moscow – Zamoskvorechye, not far from the Kremlin.

The Gallery’s collection consists entirely of Russian art and artists who have made а contribution to the history of Russian art or been closely connected with it. The collection contains more than 150 000 works of painting, sculpture and graphics, created throughout the centuries by successive generations of Russian artists.

Russian art works, ranging in date from the 11th to the early 20th century, are on the show in Gallery’s historic building on Lavrushinskiy Pereulok. New building of the Tretyakov Gallery at Krymskiy Val houses a unique museum exhibition of national 20th century art.

Being built up to the 150 anniversary of the Tretyakov Gallery, an exposition meets all modern requirements of showing contemporary art.The exhibition is opened by the works of Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, the artists of the association “Bubnovy Valet”, whose creativity marks the beginning of the new Avant-Garde movement in Russia.

The world – known artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Chagall, Kazimir Malevich (the painter of the “Black Square”) and artists of neoclassicism are also well represented. The hall with the reconstruction of the well-known exhibition of “OBMOHU” (Association of young artists) of 1921 is devoted to constructivism of the 1920th.

The art works featuring “social realism” – an official style of totalitarian era in 1930-50s – are widely shown in the Gallery. Objects, installations, photographs, conceptual art created since 1950 up to now, are also represented as alternative directions of the Soviet art evolution.

The updated website of the State Tretyakov Gallery invites you to the virtual tour through the Gallery permanent and temporary exhibitions, to visit the world of art, to enjoy masterpieces of well-known masters and to get acquainted with peculiar works of modern artists.

The detailed information for the future visitors of the State Tretyakov Gallery is presented: about the history of the Gallery, its branches, guided and lecture programs, children’s study centers, societies, interactive programs, scientific conferences, projects, publications and many others. The diverse search system makes it easier to navigate through the Gallery website.

The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions and the world’s finest collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental. Our mission is helping you understand and enjoy the art of our time.

Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world.

Through the leadership of its Trustees and staff, The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library, archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications of preeminent intellectual merit.

Central to The Museum of Modern Art’s mission is the encouragement of an ever-deeper understanding and enjoyment of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves.

To achieve its goals The Museum of Modern Art recognizes:

• That modern and contemporary art originated in the exploration of the ideals and interests generated in the new artistic traditions that began in the late nineteenth century and continue today.
• That modern and contemporary art transcend national boundaries and involve all forms of visual expression, including painting and sculpture, drawings, prints and illustrated books, photography, architecture and design, and film and video, as well as new forms yet to be developed or understood, that reflect and explore the artistic issues of the era.
• That these forms of visual expression are an open-ended series of arguments and counter arguments that can be explored through exhibitions and installations and are reflected in the Museum’s varied collection.
• That it is essential to affirm the importance of contemporary art and artists if the Museum is to honor the ideals with which it was founded and to remain vital and engaged with the present.
• That this commitment to contemporary art enlivens and informs our evolving understanding of the traditions of modern art.
• That to remain at the forefront of its field, the Museum must have an outstanding professional staff and must periodically reevaluate itself, responding to new ideas and initiatives with insight, imagination, and intelligence. The process of reevaluation is mandated by the Museum’s tradition, which encourages openness and a willingness to evolve and change.

In sum, The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary art, while being accessible to a public that ranges from scholars to young children.

The mission of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is to collect, conserve, and study modern and contemporary art, to exhibit the art of our times from a variety of perspectives in the context of art history, and to reach a broad and diverse audience.

As one of the cornerstones of the Guggenheim Museum Network, and a symbol of the Basque Country’s vitality, we hope to promote an understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of art and its values in an iconic architectural setting.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was inaugurated in 1997 as a part of a revitalization plan for the city of Bilbao. From the time the museum opened its doors, it has been an important tourist attraction, captivating the interest of visitors from around the world and earning its place as the city’s centerpiece of modern architecture.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s entire permanent collection is exhibited in a dynamic fashion through various displays aimed at providing the public with different perspectives on the history of art.

Created in 1988, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation pioneered a new formula for the private management of public assets in Spain, and its efficacy has been apparent ever since the museum opened its doors in October 1992. Since that time, both the museum and the foundation that manages it have grown and evolved, expanding the collections and facilities with the addition of the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection as a long-term loan in 2004 and the extension of the Villahermosa Palace, as well as increasing the number and variety of activities, temporary exhibitions and educational programmes. The team of people who makes the institution’s daily existence possible has also been augmented, but the motor that keeps the foundation running smoothly has always been their drive and motivation.

Throughout its history, the museum has always placed particular emphasis on its goal of disseminating the collection with programmes and activities designed to involve every kind of audience in its cultural project. This is still a top priority, as is the goal of satisfying the demands of visitors and collaborators by applying criteria of constant innovation and quality. The museum’s strategy is to achieve a streamlined administrative management, seeking to maximise revenues and control the costs involved in organising an intense programme of cultural activities, as well as to ensure optimum gallery conditions, maintenance of the facilities and high standards for services. Our commitment is to raise the bar of quality in the Spanish cultural arena by implementing transparent, effective and efficient management practices.