The museum was founded in 1986 in order to house the collection of Cycladic and Ancient Greek art belonging to Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris.

[1] Starting in the early 1960s, the couple collected Greek antiquities, with special interest in the prehistoric art from the Cyclades islands of the Aegean Sea.

[2] The museum's main building, erected in the centre of Athens in 1985, was designed by the Greek architect Ioannis Vikelas [el].

[3] In 1991, the Museum acquired a new building, the neo-classical Stathatos Mansion at the corner of Vassilissis Sofias Avenue and Herodotou Street.

[3] The museum's temporary exhibitions have included some of the most important Greek and international modern and contemporary artists.