Sursock Museum

In 1912, the wealthy and prominent Lebanese aristocrat Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock built the private villa that now houses the museum. He decreed in his will that the villa be transformed into a museum.[1] When he died in 1952, he bequeathed the villa to the city of Beirut.[2] The museum opened its doors in 1961, directed by Ibrahim M. Beyhum, with an exhibit of works of contemporary Lebanese artists, setting a precedent for cultural events in Beirut.[3]

The Sursock Museum building exemplifies Lebanese architecture, with its Italianate (specifically Venetian) and Ottoman architectural influences.[2] It is one of the few remaining villas from its epoch in Beirut. It is located in the historic Rue Sursock street in the Achrafieh district of Beirut. The street is home to other mansions that were built in the 19th century by Beirut's most prominent families, such as the Sursocks and the Bustroses, even though this architectural heritage is threatened by developers and an almost-unregulated real estate market.

More than a hundred exhibitions have been held at the museum, including displays of works by Lebanese and international artists. The museum's permanent collection includes modern art, Japanese engravings and Islamic art.[4] The museum collection consists of over 800 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and graphic arts from the 19th and 20th centuries.[5]

The museum was expanded with four new underground floors beneath the current garden, at a cost of 12 million dollars (US).[5] French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Lebanese architect Jacques Abou Khaled designed the expansion project.[6]

The project increased the museum's area from 1,500 square meters to 8,500 square meters and opened additional exhibition spaces, a research library, an auditorium, a restoration workshop, new storage spaces for the collection, as well as a store and restaurant.[7] The museum reopened its doors on October 8, 2015.

The following is a list of Lebanese and international artists whose works are in the museum's permanent collection:

• Les arts plastiques au service de l'architecture, 1969
• Art Islamique, 1974
• Hommage à Jean Khalife, 1993[8]
• Omar Onsi Restrospective, 1997 [9]
• Georges Schehadé : poète des deux rives, 1905-1989, 1999[10]
• Max Ernst, 2000[11]
• Sergei Parajanov, collages and drawings, 2000[12]
• Moustafa Farroukh Restrospective, 2003 [13]
• Regards sur Beyrouth, 160 ans d'images, 2015 [14]
• Danielle Genadry, The Fall, 2016 [15]
• Assadour, landscape in Motion, 2016 [16]
• Ali Cherri. A Taxonomy of Fallacies: The Life of Dead Objects, 2016 [17]
• Let's Talk About the Weather: Art and Ecology in a Time of Crisis, 2016 [18]
• Susan Hiller Magic Lantern, 2016[19]
• Adelita Husni-Bey: A Wave in the Well, 2016[20]
• Fabrik, 2017[21]
• Les mondes de Willy Aractingy, 2017[22]
• Hrair Sarkissian Homesick, 2017[23]
• Partitions et Couleurs : Hommage à Amine El Bacha, 2017[24]
• Fruit of Sleep. Curated by Reem Fadda – Part of Act II program of Tamawuj, Sharjah Biennial 13, 2017[25]
• Monira Al Qadiri: The Craft, 2017[26]
• Abed Al Kadiri, The Story of the Rubber Tree, 2018[27]
• Cy Twombly Photographs, 2018[28]
• Zad Moultaka: ŠamaŠ[29]
• Fleeting Exits, Curated by Marwan T. Assaf, 2018[30]
• Past Disquiet, Curated by Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti, 2018[31]
• Gregory Buchakjian Abandoned Dwellings, Display of Systems, Curated by Karina El Helou, 2018[32]
• Laure et Mazen : Correspondance(s), 2019[33]
• La Fabrique des illusions: Collection Fouad Debbas et commentaires contemporains, 2019[34]
• Baalbek, Archives of an Eternity, curated by Vali Mahlouji, 2019[35]
• Picasso et la famille, 2019[36]
• At the still point of the turning world, there is the dance. Curated by Carla Chammas and Rachel Dedman, 2019[37]

• Sursock family
• Sursock House

[1]

• Sursock Museum website
• Lebanon.com information
• Onefineart.com information