SURSOCK MUSEUM

After seven years of enormous work, the Sursock Museum, dedicated to modern and contemporary art, reopened its doors in October 2015. A former private mansion built in 1912 by Nicolas Sursock, this traditional palace was bequeathed to the Lebanese Republic in 1952, which transformed it into a public museum in 1961. The museum then opens its doors for exhibitions of contemporary painting and sculpture, such as the Autumn Salon which gathers every year for ten days the best Lebanese artists. Bernard Pivot also created, in the spring of 1994, his special Lebanese Culture Broth in front of the white façade of the museum. Today, the museum, entirely renovated by the architects Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Jacques Abou Khaled, houses a permanent collection of modern Lebanese art from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Painters such as Shafic Abboud, Etel Adnan, Assadour, Daoud Corm or Paul Guiragossian are exhibited there. Fouad Debbas' collection of photographs is also worth a look. Nicolas Sursock's former offices and reception rooms have been restored to their original state. The lounge is particularly impressive and gives a good idea of the wealth of this patron of the arts. Temporary exhibitions are also organised on the ground floor of the museum. The palace also houses a café-restaurant with a pleasant terrace: perfect for having a coffee after the visit and playing with the many cats in the palace.