The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation was established in 1979. It is a nonprofit organization for public benefit, whose main objective is to support and promote the visual arts. The founders, Basil P. Goulandris and his wife Elise B. Karadontis, remembered for their uncontained passion and love for the arts, envisioned, inspired and sponsored the creation of an international decentralised cultural institution, which would reflect the spirit and meet the demands of our times.