The Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation was founded in 1979. It is a non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to support the arts, especially the visual arts. The aim of the founders, Basil & Elise Goulandris, was to establish and operate a decentralized cultural institution with an impact beyond national borders. Basil P. Goulandris was the first President of the Foundation; he was succeeded in 1994 by his life partner Elise V. Goulandris. Since 2000, her niece, Fleurette P. Karadontis, has been President of the Foundation.

The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation inaugurated the Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros, the birthplace of Basil P. Goulandris, in 1979, which was expanded into a new wing in 1986. The Museum’s premises were designed according to the most modern museum standards in order to accommodate the works of the Foundation’s collection as well as the temporary exhibitions of important 20th century artists (Braque, Miró, Toulouse-Lautrec, Moore, Klee, Giacometti, Chagall, Rodin, De Chirico, etc.) which have been held every summer since 1986. 

The main purpose of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation is to support the arts, especially the visual arts. Both the exhibition activities of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Andros and the scholarships and donations of the Foundation aim to achieve this goal. Since 1986, the Foundation has also established a scholarship program for postgraduate studies abroad on subjects directly related to culture.

In addition to cultural activities, social care and assistance is another purpose of the Foundation. In addition to cultural activities, the activities of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation also include social welfare projects, such as the construction, equipping and maintenance of the exemplary “Estia Athinon” guesthouse and the renovation of two pavilions at the Athens Old People’s Home, which are part of the Foundation’s general purpose.