The N. Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery was presented to the Benaki Museum by the distinguished greek painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas during his own lifetime. Since 1991 it has functioned as an annex of the Museum. The permanent exhibition of his works was selected and arranged by Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas in person, and is housed in the apartment block situated at Kriezotou Street in Athens, where the artist resided for forty years.

Works representing every aspect of Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas' oeuvre are displayed in this space. The main body of the exhibition comprises oil paintings, the earliest dating to 1930 and the latest to 1990. There are also watercolours, drawings, stage and costume designs, tapestries, manuscripts and the artist's tools. A complete series of sculptures and reliefs inspired by Greek mythology and dating to the period 1940-1970, are likewise on display.

The Gallery also houses the important photographic archive formed by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas. This comprises a large indexed collection of black-and-white and coloured prints and negatives which offers a valuable insight into the artist's life and work.

Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas' library, with its rare illustrated volumes, its carefully chosen ornaments, and its antique furnishings from the artist's ancestral home on the island of Hydra, gives a good indication of his skill and personality. Likewise, his aesthetic sensibilities are immediately obvious in the arrangement of his home and studio, both of which have been preserved exactly as they were during his lifetime.

N. HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKAS (1906-1994)