Museum of Cycladic Art, Archaeological and art museum in central Athens, Greece.
The Museum of Cycladic Art occupies a purpose-built building from 1985 by architect Ioannis Vikelas at the corner of Vassilissis Sofias Avenue and Neofytou Douka, with a wing in the Stathatos Mansion added in 1991. Behind a black fence and hedge, the pale yellow facade has a ground-floor arcade of rounded arches, a curved white balustraded balcony, and statues along the roofline. Its galleries hold about 3,000 works, including Cycladic marble figurines such as the folded-arm figure with arms across the abdomen.
Nikolaos and Dolly Goulandris began collecting Greek antiquities in the early 1960s, focusing on prehistoric art from the Cyclades. The museum opened in January 1986 in a building designed by Ioannis Vikelas and erected in 1985. In 1991 it acquired the neoclassical Stathatos Mansion at Vassilissis Sofias Avenue and Herodotou Street for temporary exhibitions. In 2002 Thanos Zintilis donated a large collection of Cypriot antiquities.
The museum's name comes from the Cyclades islands of the Aegean, where the prehistoric marble figures in the collection were made. Temporary exhibitions have brought modern and contemporary artists into the same rooms, among them Ai Weiwei in 2016, George Condo in 2018 and Cindy Sherman in 2024. A carved marble torso with both arms folded across the abdomen is among the pieces a visitor can pick out.
The museum stands at the corner of Vassilissis Sofias Avenue and Neofytou Douka Street, with the Stathatos Mansion wing at the corner of Vassilissis Sofias and Herodotou Street since 1991. Temporary exhibitions are held in the mansion, while the permanent collection fills the building designed by Ioannis Vikelas. Visitors pass a black metal fence and hedge before the arched facade.
Many visitors overlook the fact that some objects in the collection are among the oldest known human representations, dating back almost five thousand years. These early figures look nothing like the Greek art that came later, offering a window into completely different artistic traditions.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,803 contributors worldwide.
