Berardo Collection Museum
The Berardo Collection Museum (Museu Coleção Berardo) is a contemporary and modern art museum located in the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, Portugal, housing one of Europe’s most significant private collections of 20th- and 21st-century art assembled by businessman José Berardo. With holdings spanning Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism, the collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Francis Bacon, displayed across a purpose-fitted space that opened to the public in 2007.
At a glance
- Type
- Contemporary and modern art museum
- Period
- Opened 2007 (collection spans 1900 to present)
- Style
- Late-modernist building (Centro Cultural de Belém, 1992)
- Location
- Centro Cultural de Belém, Praça do Império, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
- Coordinates
- 38.6951° N, 9.2094° W
Overview
The Berardo Collection Museum is one of Portugal’s most visited museums, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually with a collection of approximately 900 works spanning the entire 20th century and into the 21st. It is housed in the Centro Cultural de Belém, a large multipurpose cultural complex opened in 1992 on the Tagus waterfront in the Belém district, adjacent to the iconic Jerónimos Monastery. The museum’s free-of-charge admission policy (maintained for much of its history) has made it a landmark of democratic access to world-class contemporary art.
History
José Berardo, a Madeiran-born entrepreneur who made his fortune in mining and finance in South Africa, began assembling his art collection in the 1980s. An agreement with the Portuguese government allowed the collection to be exhibited in the Centro Cultural de Belém from 2007, initially for free public access, making it immediately one of the most visited museums in Portugal. The museum’s legal and institutional status has been subject to renegotiation over subsequent years in relation to Berardo’s financial obligations to Portuguese state banks, though the collection has remained on public display.
What you see
The permanent collection is arranged chronologically and thematically, guiding visitors through Cubism and Futurism in the early 20th century, the surrealist movement, the gestural abstraction of the 1950s, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, and new media works from the 1990s onward. Highlights include works by Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Cindy Sherman. The building’s contemporary galleries are complemented by views across the Praça do Império and the Tagus estuary from the CCB’s outdoor terraces.
Cultural significance
The Berardo Collection filled a significant gap in Portugal’s museum landscape, giving Lisbon a world-class permanent display of international modern and contemporary art. Situated in Belém alongside UNESCO-listed monuments including the Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower of Belém, it anchors a major cultural cluster that draws visitors from across the globe and reinforces Lisbon’s reputation as one of Europe’s leading cultural capitals.
Practical information
- Address
- Praça do Império, 1449-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- Hours
- Check the official Museu Berardo website for current opening hours and ticket information
- Admission
- Check official website — historically free, may now apply fees
Getting there
From central Lisbon, tram line 15E runs from Praça da Figueira and Praça do Comércio directly to Belém, stopping near the CCB. Train services from Cais do Sodré station (Cascais line) stop at Belém station, a 5-minute walk from the museum. Bus routes 727 and 751 also serve the area. By car, Belém is about 6 km west of central Lisbon via the riverside Avenida de Brasília; on-site and street parking is available.