Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid: Your Art Journey Starts Here

The art collection that forms the basis of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum was initially started in the 1920s as a private collection by Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon, who acquired works from American collectors during the Great Depression.

Heinrich's son, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, significantly expanded the collection, acquiring works ranging from Gothic art to contemporary pieces and assembling most of the works from his relatives' collections.

The collection was originally housed in the Thyssen family estate in Lugano, Switzerland, in a building modeled after the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

In 1988, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza proposed an extension to his museum in Lugano designed by architects James Stirling and Michael Wilford, but this plan was rejected by the Lugano City Council.

Influenced by his wife, Carmen Cervera, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza agreed to relocate the core of his collection to Spain, where the government made a building available next to the Prado Museum.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum officially opened in Madrid in 1992, initially displaying 715 works of art, under the directorship of Tomás Llorens.

A year after the museum's opening, in 1993, the Spanish Government purchased 775 works from the collection for $350 million, which are now housed in the purpose-built museum in Madrid.

In 1999, Carmen Cervera loaned 429 works from her private collection to the museum for 11 years, a loan that was subsequently renewed annually for free until 2021.

In June 2021, Spain's Ministry of Culture finalized an agreement to loan Carmen Cervera's collection for an annual fee of 6.5 million euros over 15 years, securing its continued presence at the museum.

Descendants of Lilly Cassirer filed a lawsuit against the museum in 2015 for the return of Camille Pissarro's painting 'Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain', which was sold under duress in 1939.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is a key component of Madrid's 'Golden Triangle of Art', alongside the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofía, filling historical gaps in their collections.

The museum's collection is noted for its comprehensive span of eight centuries of European painting, from the 14th to the 20th century, presenting a curated selection of highlights.

In 2011, Carmen Cervera sold John Constable's painting 'The Lock' from her private collection due to a lack of liquid funds, fetching £22.4 million at auction in 2012.