The Museum of Cycladic Art was founded in 1986 in order to house the collection of Cycladic and Ancient Greek art belonging to Nicholas and Aikaterini Goulandris. A new building was designed and erected for that purpose in the centre of Athens, on 4 Neophytou Douka Str. Since 1991 the Museum has acquired a new wing, the magnificent neo-classical Stathatos House on the corner of Vassilissis Sophias and Herodotou Streets..

The Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation, to which Dolly Goulandris donated the collection in 1985, is dedicated to the study and promotion of Aegean Studies, and Cycladic culture in particular. The exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art, and the temporary exhibitions organised every year, reflect these interests.