Until its purchase by the City of Cannes, La Malmaison s history was closely linked with that of the Grand Hôtel. Built in 1863 by the architects Vianey and Blondel, the Grand Hôtel was occupied until the end of the 1950s, demolished, then rebuilt in 1963. La Malmaison is the only pavilion which today remains of the original ensemble. The games room of the Grand Hotel, tea room, La Malmaison would be the setting for the first painting exhibitions organised by Aimé Maeght from 1945.
Open as an exhibition area in 1983 and renovated in 1993, the ground floor of La Malmaison now hosts two major exhibitions a year, regularly honouring such great painters as Matisse, Ozenfant or Picasso - for whom the French Riviera was an inexhaustible source of inspiration - as well as world-famous 20th and 21st-century artists like Mirö³, Masson, César and the Chinese painter Chu Teh-Chun. These prestigious contemporary collections are enhanced by the intimist character and charming proportion of the rooms.