La Collection Lambert

Collection Lambert in Avignon is a unique museum of contemporary art born from the initiative of an art dealer and collector, Yvon Lambert, who donated to the State an exceptional collection of major works from the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Housed in two magnificent 18th century mansions in the heart of Avignon, Collection Lambert presents ambitious exhibitions and a varied cultural and educational program with the support of the State, the City of Avignon, the Region, the Department and private sponsors. When the museum was created in 2000, Yvon Lambert’s works were in depository and the collection was housed in the Hôtel de Caumont. A donation of more than 550 works to the State was formalized in 2012 and an architectural project, led by architects Cyrille and Laurent Berger, brought the museum’s surface area to nearly 5000 m2 in 2015, with the addition of the Hôtel de Montfaucon and the development of an auditorium. The collection includes works by artists as renowned as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Miquel Barceló, Sol LeWitt, Robert Ryman, Lawrence Weiner, Nan Goldin, Andres Serrano, Christian Boltanski, Daniel Buren, Douglas Gordon, Cy Twombly, Niele Toroni, Bertand Lavier, Claire Fontaine, Miroslaw Balka, Adel Abdessemed, and Francesco Vezzoli; with sets that are often unparalleled in any other French collection. An exhibition composed of a regularly renewed selection of works from the collection is presented on a permanent basis in the Hôtel de Caumont, with focuses on certain movements or artists particularly well represented in the collection, while the Hôtel de Montfaucon hosts temporary exhibitions in two annual cycles.