The history of the Matisse Museum in Nice is closely linked to Henri Matisse’s deep attachment to Nice, a city in which he realized most of his work, as well as to the successive donations made to the City by the artist himself and his heirs.

When in 1950 the City of Nice acquired the Garin de Cocconato villa, also known asVilla des Arènesclose to the master’s residence in Regina, the idea made its way to make it a place where the donations made by the painter himself and those of his heirs would be presented.

This is how the Matisse Museum of Nice was inaugurated on 5 January 1963 in the presence of many people from the world of culture and art. The works are then presented on the first floor of the villa, the ground floor being occupied by the Archaeology Museum.
In 1978, following the donation Jean Matisse, the City of Nice wanted to proceed with the redevelopment of the museum in order to better highlight the collections while preserving the intimate character of the original donation of Madame Henri Matisse.

The complexity of the procedures, the searches on the future site and the appeals, greatly slowed down the construction of a new archaeology museum that was only completed in 1989. The relocation of this last detail on the neighbouring Roman site allowed the Matisse Museum to occupy the entire villa.

Following an architectural competition organized in 1987, Jean-François Bodin is chosen to implement the redevelopment of the villa des Arènes and the realization of the new contemporary wing. Enlarged and renovated, the museum opens its doors on 26 June 1993. In 2002, he will set up a workshop for artistic initiation and, in 2003, a drawing firm dedicated to the conservation and management of graphic works.

In 2013, a new level layout -2 allowed to welcome the donation of ceramicsSwimming pool.

Finally, in 2017, the redeployment of the collections requires the establishment of a new museum course and the renovation of the museum and its surroundings.