Musée Picasso

In 1974, just a year after Pablo Picasso’s death, the decision was made to house the “dation Picasso”—works donated in lieu of estate taxes—in the Hôtel Salé, a historic mansion in Paris’s 3rd arrondissement. Supported by Picasso’s family and facilitated by French Secretary of State for Culture Michel Guy, the building, owned by the City of Paris and designated a Historic Monument in 1968, began its restoration in 1974. In 1975, Paris City Council confirmed it as the site for the Musée National Picasso, which now holds over 5,000 works and tens of thousands of archived pieces.  A 99-year lease was agreed upon in 1981, requiring the City of Paris to renovate and maintain the building.