About the AGLG
A. G. Leventis Gallery is a landmark cultural institution in Nicosia dedicated to the study, preservation, and presentation of European and Cypriot art. Established through the vision and generosity of the A. G. Leventis Foundation, the Gallery houses distinguished collections spanning from the Renaissance to the modern era, including important works of painting, sculpture, and works on paper.
Through permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, educational programmes, and public events, the Gallery promotes artistic knowledge, historical awareness, and cultural dialogue, offering visitors an enriching experience that connects art, history, and society across time and place.
History
The A. G. Leventis Gallery was opened in central Nicosia in 2014, fulfilling Anastasios G. Leventis’ bequest to make the art treasures acquired during his lifetime accessible to his compatriots in Cyprus. True to the founder’s vision, the A. G. Leventis Foundation resolved that his Collections should be exhibited in a building worthy of the art it houses.
Following an international architectural competition, construction of the Gallery began in 2011 and was completed in 2014. Eco-friendly and equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual resources within the framework of a traditional museum, the Gallery is designed to inform and entertain visitors of all ages.
The Gallery is home to three collections: the Paris Collection and the Greek Collection, acquired by Anastasios G. Leventis himself, and the more recent Cyprus Collection. Taking its name from Anastasios G. Leventis’ Paris apartment where it was housed for more than 50 years, the Paris Collection features European art from a range of artistic schools from the 17th century to the 20th, as well as period furniture and objets d’art.
Making up the Greek Collection are works of local artists from the early 20th century to 1930s. The primary focus of the Cyprus Collection is work by the first generation of local artists. Together, the three Collections and the Gallery serve as a landmark for Nicosia and a fitting tribute to the magnificence of our shared European heritage.
The Building
A. G. Leventis Gallery is housed in a purpose-built contemporary complex in the historic centre of Nicosia, designed to serve both as a cultural landmark and a functional museum environment.
The building combines clarity of form with a restrained architectural language, allowing it to integrate respectfully into its urban context while asserting a strong civic presence. Its layout is carefully organised to accommodate a wide range of uses, including exhibition galleries, educational spaces, an auditorium, and public areas, all connected through clear circulation and generous spatial transitions.
Advanced building technologies and environmental considerations are embedded throughout, supporting conservation requirements and visitor comfort. Internally, the architecture provides a neutral yet refined backdrop for the artworks, ensuring flexibility, durability, and coherence across the Gallery’s permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Director's Welcome
The A. G. Leventis Gallery
Established in 2014, the A. G. Leventis Gallery is the realisation of the long-held desire of Anastasios G. Leventis to share his extraordinary art collections with his compatriots. The Gallery is unique in Cyprus for the quality and breadth of its Collections; it is a destination and a gift for any art lover, who, until the Gallery’s founding, had to travel outside the island for such an experience. The Gallery houses four Collections: the Paris Collection, with European artworks chosen by Leventis himself, which includes rare gems spanning from the Renaissance to the Impressionists; the Greek Collection, which highlights the development of Greek art from the country’s independence to the 1970s; the Cyprus Collection, which shows our island’s first steps into the world of artistic creation at the start of the 20th century; and the Gold Collection, which comprises 605 gold coins and commemorative medals ranging from ancient to contemporary.
Yet the Gallery, after more than a decade since its opening, is so much more than its permanent Collections. Throughout the year we offer a full calendar of events and activities that make the Gallery a location warranting repeated visits. Our programme includes compelling and thought-provoking exhibitions with local and international artworks, public lectures featuring renowned art historians, symposiums, conferences and a variety of creative educational workshops for people of all ages. And more: we strive to be a cultural resource for our community and a place for active dialogue. We believe that interaction with and conversation around art can inspire growth and change. Our renewed focus is to make the Gallery even more accessible and inviting to all – literally and figuratively – so as to create a forum for our visitors and our collaborators to be actively involved in sharing and exchanging ideas and artistic practices that will instil new energy and creativity in the cultural and social life of Cyprus.
Katerina Stephanides
Director, A. G. Leventis Gallery
Honorary Committee
Evita Arapoglou
Art Historian, Curator of the Greek Collection of the A. G. Leventis Gallery
Colin B. Bailey
Director of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York
Paul Dujardin
Former General Director of BOZAR, Brussels; Vice-president of the European Festivals Association (EFA)and Strategic Advisor JRC SciArt project Board
George Manginis
Academic Director of the Benaki Museun, Athens
Karl B. Murr
Director of the State Textile & Industry Museum Augsburg; Chairman of the European Museum Academy
Andreas Pittas
Art Collector
Danièle Wagener
Chair of the Board of Directors of the Oeuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchess Charlotte, Luxembourg; Honorary Director of the Museums of the City of Luxembourg
The Founder
Anastasios G. Leventis
Founder
Anastasios G. Leventis was born in December 1902, in the mountain village of Lemythou, Cyprus.
After World War I he went to Marseilles to work and then studied commerce in Bordeaux.
In 1920 he was employed by an Anglo-Greek company and was initially assigned a managerial position in south-eastern Nigeria, then in 1922 in Abeokuta, in south-western Nigeria, and, subsequently, was named general manager for the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Ivory Coast and Togo.
In 1936 he formed his own trading company, A. G. Leventis & Co. Ltd, which expanded rapidly in the Gold Coast and, after 1942, in Nigeria. By the time of his death, this company and its affiliates had become one of the largest enterprises in Nigeria and were poised to expand internationally.
Anastasios G. Leventis was a leading philanthropist in Africa and Cyprus. He supported many projects to improve life in his homeland, intensifying his efforts in view of the political turmoil. In 1966 he was appointed Cyprus’ Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, partly in recognition of his support for education and cultural heritage. He built up a notable private collection of European art and acquired an important collection of works by 19th- and 20th-century Greek artists.
The 1974 invasion of Cyprus imposed a particular burden on him, with the personal loss of the cultural centre and family church he had built in Petra, but also coping at UNESCO with the widespread destruction of Cyprus’ cultural heritage. He helped repatriate looted and smuggled treasures and focused particularly on helping the injured and refugees. Anastasios G. Leventis died in October 1978, having provided for the establishment of a foundation to support educational, cultural, artistic and philanthropic causes in Cyprus, Greece and elsewhere.
The Foundation
Established in May 1979, the A. G. Leventis Foundation is the outcome of the vision of the Cypriot entrepreneur Anastasios G. Leventis (1902-1978), who had set out the primary objectives of action for his eponymous foundation since its inception, with a focus on society, education and culture.
Now in its fifth decade the A. G. Leventis Foundation demonstrates significant involvement in the study and conservation of the cultural heritage of Cyprus, Greece and the Hellenism of the Diaspora. In Ghana and Nigeria, there is an ongoing commitment to agricultural training programmes and sustainable management of environmental resources. Support for the environment and conservation of biodiversity has increasingly received a greater emphasis in recent years.
In March 2014 the Foundation launched one of its most ambitious projects to date by opening the A. G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia to house the Foundation’s art collections.
Through an international programme supporting Greek studies, with the fostering of various educational activities, the systematic granting of scholarships, the ongoing contribution to academic research and the production of scientific publications, the Foundation consistently adheres to A. G Leventis’ vision.