A unique collection, reflecting UNESCO’s history and values UNESCO’s art collection comprises 1,800 objects by over 360 artists from 150 countries on every continent.
Spanning a period of almost 8,000 years, it includes 281 paintings, 241 sculptures, 200 graphic works, 321 objets d’art and over 600 diplomatic gifts and natural science specimens: all testimony to UNESCO’s mission of international cooperation and cultural dialogue.
The collection began with the construction of UNESCO headquarters in the 1950s.
The Organization commissioned some of the greatest artists of the time, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Jean Arp, Karel Appel, Afro Basaldella, Alexander Calder, Roberto Matta, Henry Moore and Rufino Tamayo, to decorate the building with their works.
They were later joined by acquisitions by Alberto Giacometti, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesus Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely. Exceptional gardens and architectural works by Roberto Burle Marx, Dani Karavan, Isamu Noguchi and Tadao Ando also form the unique setting of the UNESCO headquarters.
An open, constantly evolving collection
An open and constantly evolving collection Since its creation, the collection has continued to reflect contemporary art, enriched by donations from the 194 member states of the Organization, including recently works by Caroline Monnet (2022), Vhils (2023), Mircea Cantor (2023), Shelomo Selinger (2025) Michelangelo Pistoletto (2025), Jiang Qiong Er (2025).
In recent years, under the impetus of its Director-General Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO has opened up its collection to a wider public through visits, loans and partnerships, notably with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, the Fondation Calder, the Fondation Karel Appel, the Mémorial de la Shoah, and the Musée de l’Armée.
Guided tours have been extended to weekends, and over 20,000 visitors discover the collection every year.