Interior of the museum with paintings and sculptures as exhibits
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
ATHENS

Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens

Picasso, Monet, El Greco and others are on display in the newly opened B & E Goulandris Foundation museum in the centre of Athens.

The contemporary European Art has found a new home in the vicinity of the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens, in an imposing 11 storey-building which is a combination of contemporary architecture and neo-classical art, covering a 7,250 sq.m area. One hundred and eighty remarkable works and objects of art by distinguished European painters and sculptors are on display there.

One hundred years of Contemporary European Αrt

Basil & Elise Goulandris’ first modern art acquisition was a painting by Paul Cézanne whom Picasso used to refer to as “the father of us all”. For nearly fifty years, the museum’s art-loving founders have built an outstanding collection with works by awe-inspiring Modern Artists; the time has now come for this collection to be on public display.

The museum’s impressive exhibits date to the 1880-1980 period. On the first and second floor, you will have the opportunity to admire artistic creations by El Greco, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Joan Miró, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Fernand Léger, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Marc Chagall, Jean Hélion, Hans Arp, Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, César, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Balthus, Victor Brauner, Giorgio de Chirico, and others. On the third and fourth floors, you will visit the impressive Greek Modern Art collection that includes works of art by Yannis Moralis, Giorgos Bouzianis, Yannis Tsarouchis, Nikos Hatzikyriakos-Ghika, Michalis Tombros, Parthenis, Alekos Fasianos, and others.

Visual arts apart, there is also a room with beautiful French furniture, crafted by eminent 18th century cabinet-makers (ébénistes), as well as Chinese objects of art made from nephrite and porcelain.
Participate in educational programmes

For those of you interested, there are art documentary screenings you can watch with interesting information about some of the exhibited works. The museum is also a venue for concerts, theatrical performances, and discussions, activities for adults or children, as well as educational workshops.

Every weekend you can follow educational programmes for children, adolescents or grownups, creative workshops, and skill-enhancing activities related to the arts.


Before or after your visit


Drop by the museum shop on the ground floor, next to the reception area and pick your gift among a large variety of original and specialized products that include items of daily use as well as replicas of objects designed by Greek artists and inspired by the amazing collection of B & E Goulandris Foundation museum.

In the Café-Restaurant, you can taste Greek modern cuisine dishes made with fresh Mediterranean ingredients.
Visit the museum library where you’ll find 6000 volumes on topics covering a wide range of art subjects. Among them there are monographs, exhibition catalogues and art periodicals, available to visitors for on-site reading.

Apart from its famous art collection, the museum’s location is also a great plus as it affords a beautiful view of the Acropolis, which is nothing short of the perfect surroundings for hosting events - large and small scale ones- such as conferences, symposia, company meetings, social events, seminars, workshops, and screenings.

For more info on opening hours, ticket-buying, and how to get there, visit the museum's website.