About the Collection

The CAM Collection currently has almost 12,000 works by a diverse range of artists, media and supports. Built up over more than 60 years, the Collection is the result of various encounters, intimacies, rifts, aesthetic relationships and contrasting artistic languages.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation began supporting artists and cultural activities both in Portugal and in countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Iraq, after its creation in 1956. This early internationalisation was related to the fact that Calouste Gulbenkian was a British citizen and that his fortune had been made in the oil industry emerging in the Gulf region.

After the inauguration of CAM building in 1983, it was possible to exhibit the Collection that had been gathered up to that point. The intense activity of CAM provided for the purchase of works exhibited at its regular temporary exhibitions, a practice which has remained one of the criteria for the acquisition of artworks for the collection.

Following the reconfiguration of CAM’s building, the Collection is now available in various exhibition spaces. CAM also continues to lend works for exhibitions in national and international museums, and the Collection continues to grow as a result of acquisitions and generous donations.