HISTORY

The Bass Museum of Art was founded in 1964 through the donation of a private collection by John and Johanna Bass to the City of Miami Beach. The museum opened in what was formerly the Miami Beach Public Library and Art Center, a 1930s Art Deco building designed by Russell Pancoast, grandson of Miami Beach pioneer John Collins. The building itself already had a rich history on Miami Beach as the first public exhibition space for art in South Florida, and was placed on the National Register in 1978.