The Homage

The last time George Costakis saw his collection (the part of it that ended up abroad) was a year before his death at an exhibition in Montreal. After his death in 1990, after travelling from one exhibition to another, the paintings returned from America to Europe. For the storage of the art works, a secure warehouse with suitable temperature and humidity regime was chosen near Cologne. At the same time, it became obvious that the second part of the collection at some point will be needing a new home - a museum space.

In the wake of the Montreal exhibition, the ministry of Culture of Canada has begun negotiations to purchase the collection. As a weighty argument in favour of Canada, the construction of a special building was proposed, which was supposed to adjoin the Museum of Fine Arts. However, this project never materialised due to financial difficulties. Numerous other proposals for the acquisition of art works came from various museums, institutions and individuals. A new stage of negotiations began in 1995, after the exhibition of the collection at the National Pinakothiki of the city of Athens. The Greek Ministry of Culture offered to buy the collection and immediately exhibit it as a permanent show in one of the major museums. The choice fell on the Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki. All financial and legal formalities were completed in 2000 - Costakis legacy, which amounted to more than a thousand exhibits, remained in Greece and acquired a new home. It is noteworthy that the sum of 10 percent of the sale of the collection, according to the bequest of George Costakis, went to charity.