Rubell Museum

Don and Mera Rubell married in 1964 and began collecting art while living in New York City by setting aside money each month from Mera's salary as a teacher while Don attended medical school.[1] Don's brother Steve Rubell, a co-owner of the nightclub Studio 54, passed away in 1989 leaving the couple a significant inheritance that expanded their ability to purchase and showcase art. They continued to finance their art collection with investments in hotels in South Florida.[4]

In 1994, the Rubells opened their private collection to the public as the Rubell Family Collection in a building formerly used by the Drug Enforcement Agency in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.[2] The collection's presence in the neighborhood helped spur further development, with other private collections, galleries, and art-focused businesses moving to the area in the following years.[1] The original building was renovated in 2004 by Miami architect Allan Shulman.[4]

In 2019, the collection relocated from the Wynwood neighborhood to a new location in the Allapattah neighborhood and was renamed the Rubell Museum. The new facility consists of six former industrial buildings redesigned by Selldorf Architects and features 40 galleries, a library, a restaurant, a performance space, and a bookstore.[5] The facility was originally purchased by the museum as a new storage location, but the size of the site inspired museum leadership to utilize it for a larger, more public-focused museum facility.[6]

The Rubell houses over 7,000 works by more than 1,000 artists.[7] Don and Mera Rubell have been noted for their intensive approach to evaluating art to acquire for their collection, which includes multiple studio visits and interviews with artists, often over a period of multiple months and years.[4][2]

The collection includes works by a wide range of contemporary artists, including Nina Chanel Abney, Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, Marlene Dumas, Katharina Fritsch, Robert Gober, Keith Haring, He Xiangyu, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Kerry James Marshall, Takashi Murakami, Oscar Murillo, Cady Noland, Sherrie Levine, Catherine Opie, Celia Paul, Richard Prince, Sterling Ruby, Charles Ray, Cindy Sherman, Rosemarie Trockel, Kara Walker, and Kehinde Wiley.[4][3][5][8]

Since 2019, the museum has hosted an artist residency program that is recognized as one of the most prestigious residencies in the country. Past artists-in-residence include Sterling Ruby, Amoako Boafo, and Lucy Dodd.[9]

Sara Liss of Condé Nast Traveler described the museum as "intimate but ambitious, with daring works and an impressive caliber of artists on display."[10] Writing in the Miami New-Times, Alfredo Triff said "There are other world-class art collections in this city, but none is housed or displayed with such consistency, attention to detail, and outreach programming as the Rubell Family Collection."[4]

In 2015, the Rubell was questioned by the US Senate Finance Committee along with several other private museums over its nonprofit tax status. The Rubell, along with The Broad in Los Angeles, Glenstone in Potomac, Maryland, Pier 24 in San Francisco, and 7 other museums were sent letters by committee chairman Senator Orrin Hatch that read, in part: "Some private foundations are operating museums that offer minimal benefit to the public while enabling donors to reap substantial tax advantages." The investigation came after reporting in The New York Times questioned whether high-value families and individuals were investing money in art and private museums as a form of tax shelter.[11][12]