We are thrilled to announce that the Sursock Museum has reopened its doors to welcome you on Friday 26 May 2023. During almost three years of forced closure, the Museum had to undergo a series of reparations and rehabilitations to be functional again after the Beirut Port explosion on August 4, 2020.

The Sursock Museum was born out of Lebanese collector Nicolas Sursock’s commitment to the endorsement and promotion of art. Recognizing the need for institutional support of artists in Lebanon, Sursock left his mansion to the citizens of Lebanon as an art museum upon his death in 1952:

“As I love fine art and long for its development, particularly in my homeland, Lebanon . . . As I wish for this country to receive a substantial contribution of fine art works, and that my fellow citizens might appreciate art and develop an artistic instinct . . . I, Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock . . . set up in the form of waqf [trust] all of [my] estate . . . in order that this property and its contents form a museum for arts, ancient and modern, originating from the territory of the Republic of Lebanon, other Arab countries or elsewhere, as well as a space where Lebanese artists’ work shall be exhibited . . . it being understood that this Museum shall remain eternally and perpetually . . . This ensemble will be entitled the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, and shall be handed over to the mutawalli, who will be the President of the Municipality of Beirut, regardless of which political regime exists at the time.”

A nine-year delay in implementing Sursock’s will followed. During that time, former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun issued a decree turning the villa into a palais d’hôtes, housing various visiting heads of states.

Operating as a museum without walls, the Sursock Museum held its first exhibition before the Museum had even opened. Titled “The First Imaginary Museum in the World,” it was held at the UNESCO building in Beirut in 1957, and featured 664 framed color reproductions of masterpieces from Asia, Europe, and America.

The Museum opened its doors in 1961 with the Salon d’Automne, an open call exhibition showcasing new art of the time. In 2008, the Museum closed for major renovation and expansion works that saw a fivefold increase in its total surface area, from 1,500 square meters to 8,500 square meters. The Museum reopened on October 8, 2015.

address

Sursock Museum
Greek Orthodox Archbishopric Street
Ashrafieh 2071 5509
Beirut, Lebanon

T: + 961 1 202 001
E-mail: info@sursock.museum