The museum occupies a former silk factory
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was one of Portugal's major artists in the 20th century. Born in Lisbon in 1908, she began exhibiting her paintings in Paris in 1930, when she married her husband Arpad Szenes, an Hungarian artist. She later made the French capital her permanent home, and became the first woman to receive the French "Grand Prix National des Arts."
Vieira da Silva's abstract paintings were donated to or bought by the museum
Most of her work consists of abstract compositions, and many examples can be seen in this museum along with pieces by her husband. Those works were left to the Portuguese state upon her death, and are on permanent display, together with temporary exhibitions of paintings by artists related to Vieira da Silva and Szenes.
Works by Arpad Szenes can be seen together with those of his wife
The site for the museum and foundation with the artists' names is a former silk factory from the 18th century, and was chosen for its proximity to Vieira da Silva's studio. It faces a pleasant park, in the shadow of arches of the city’s 18th-century aqueduct.
How to Get to the Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva Museum
The museum is a short walk up the road from the Rato metro station (the last stop of the yellow line). Tram 24, which departs from Chiado, also stops by (the stop is marked “Jardim Amoreiras”).
You may ride the metro and the tram (and the city’s buses, funiculars and trains) for free with the Lisboa Card.
Praça das Amoreiras, 58, Amoreiras
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Admission and Tickets to the Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva Museum
Tickets are 5 euros (there’s a 50% discount with the Lisboa Card).
It’s closed on Mondays
Attractions Nearby
Walk up Rua das Amoreiras from the museum for about 10 minutes, and you’ll reach the glass towers of Amoreiras, which house a shopping mall and an observation deck called Amoreiras 360º, which overlooks most of Lisbon.
The main section of the city’s monumental aqueduct is another 10 minutes from there.
