Moderna Museet, Stockholm

Moderna Museet is the modern and contemporary art museum you see on Skeppsholmen, in a building designed by Rafael Moneo. Its collection brings together Swedish and international art and design, with paintings, sculpture, photography and art film represented across the museum’s holdings. The story here includes a spectacular theft.

On 8 November 1993, burglars entered through the roof at night and stole six Picasso works and two by Georges Braque, with a combined value exceeding £40 million. The break-in copied a method from the 1955 French film Rififi. All six Picasso paintings and a Braque painting were later recovered.

The museum opened in 1958, and its current building opened in 1998 after a temporary move during construction. The outdoor sculpture park extends the visit beyond the galleries, with works by Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle and Pablo Picasso among the artists represented. A particularly rich addition came in 2005, when former director Pontus Hultén left more than 700 artworks, together with his archive and library.

Some are displayed in the permanent collection, while many are shown in the purpose-built Pontus Hultén Study Gallery. The museum also presents temporary exhibitions, including Brassaï’s photographs of Parisian street life and nocturnal culture, on view until 4 October 2026.