Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv's first mayor, envisioned the growth of the small but highly energetic town of Tel Aviv into a vibrant metropolis with a world-class museum beating at its heart. It all started in his home. Dizengoff enlisted the help of his connections, both locally and from around the world, transforming his two-story residence into an art hub. Rooms were converted into 15 exhibition spaces, a concert hall, with the upper floor as his living space. In 1948 the same hall became the location where the State of Israel was declared.
Architecture Pearls
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art includes three buildings: the Paulson Family Foundation Building on Shaul Hamelech Boulevard, whose galleries house the Museum’s permanent collections of modern art and temporary exhibitions; the Herta and Paul Amir Building, which includes a comprehensive presentation of Israeli art from the Museum’s collection and temporary exhibitions; and the Eyal Ofer Pavilion, devoted to temporary exhibitions. Each of these buildings was, for one historical moment, the Museum’s “new building,” representing a cultural and architectural period — the 1950s’ late Modernism, Brutalist architecture in the 1970s, and postmodernist and digital architecture in the 1990s.
Leading Artists of All Times
Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s collection has grown and evolved on two parallel tracks domestic and international. It comprises extensive collections of modern and contemporary art, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, including items of the finest art from Israel and the world at large, in a range of fields: painting, sculpture, print, drawing, photography, video, installations, architecture, and design. The museum hosts the world’s largest and most up-to-date collection of Israeli art. Visit the museum for a day of inspiration and follow up with lunch at Pastel, one of Israel’s most-loved restaurants, an ode to the art of Israeli cuisine.