Rubell Family Collection

About the Rubell Family Collection and Contemporary Arts Foundation:

The Rubell Family Collection (RFC) was established in 1964 in New York City, shortly after its founders Donald and Mera Rubell were married. It is now one of the world’s largest, privately owned contemporary art collections.

In Miami, Florida, since 1993, the RFC is exhibited within a 45,000-square-foot repurposed Drug Enforcement Agency confiscated goods facility and is publicly accessible. The Contemporary Arts Foundation (CAF) was created in 1994 to expand the RFC’s public mission inside the paradigm of a contemporary art museum.

The collection is constantly expanding and features such well-known artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. In addition to displaying internationally established artists, the RFC actively acquires, exhibits and champions emerging artists working at the forefront of contemporary art.

Each year the Foundation presents thematic exhibitions drawn from the collection with accompanying catalogs. These exhibitions often travel to museums around the world. Recent exhibitions have been presented at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Art Museum in California and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Sponsors for recent exhibitions have included Bank of America, Puma, Audi, Lanvin and Dedon.

The Foundation has been recognized as a pioneer in what is often referred to as the “Miami model,” whereby private collectors create a new, independent form of public institution.

The Foundation also maintains an internship program, an ongoing lecture series and an extensive artwork loan program to facilitate exhibitions at museums around the world. Its ongoing partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools enables thousands of schoolchildren to visit and engage with the Foundation every year. In addition, the Foundation has a public research library containing over 40,000 volumes and a comprehensive contemporary art bookstore.