The Bass Art Museum was founded in 1963 when the City of Miami Beach accepted the gift of the art collection of John and Johanna Bass.

It is now the epicentre of South Beach’s art scene. The museum occupies what was originally the Miami Beach Public Library, which was designed in 1930 by Russell Pancoast, grandson of Miami Beach pioneer John A. Collins.

The collection includes European masters, 18th-century English portraits, Chinese art and Flemish tapestries. The museum regularly exhibits three different travelling collections at the same time.