A review of the museum just before it closed. It is located right on the water's edge on Tahiti's south coast. Built with money from the Singer family, of sewing machine fame, they were great collectors of Gauguin's art. There are very few original artworks of his on display. What you will see when it reopens is ceramics, early sketches and personal items from his stay in Tahiti and the Marquesas islands. The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens with a couple of carved tiki's. What the museum lacks in original art, it really makes up for in detailing his life. His lifestyle didn't go down well with the strict catholic missionaries on the island who disapproved of his multiple relationships and his 13 year old wife. You will see a mock up of his studio, a printing press he used to create his own newspapers. There is a great model of his Tahitian hut called Maison de Jouir (House of Orgasms) where he did a lot of his work. Some wooden panels survived and are on display. There is also a menhir all the way from Brittany. Overall it is a great museum once it re-opens late 2014.
We went and only found workmen. It does look run down and we were told maybe shut for another year?! Best check in the tourist office before going.
The museum is still closed. I noted Henrik N's review talking about the Gaugin and Brel museums. I am not aware that there is a Brel museum here. There is a Brel Museum adjacent to the Gaugin museum on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. The restaurant is open. We had the lunch buffet. There was a fair variety. I particularly enjoyed the number of local dishes from breadfruit, taro, banana and pumpkin. Our one complaint was that they were slow in replenishing empty platters and it was not clear if they would restock all of them. One person complained that the beer (not included in lunch) was expensive but I did not think it was out of line considering the overvaluation of French Polynesian currency.There are views of the water from inside and there is a fish pond adjacent to the dock where the candidates for subsequent meals are kept.
I've always loved Gauguin's work and been fascinated by his time in French Polynesia, so the museum was a bit of a required destination.Sure, its not up to European standards...its not climate controlled, its quiet open and a bit dusty. Yes, there are no major canvasses....they are all elsewhere. Nevertheless the museum gives a fascinating insight into Gauguin and his work and, if your interested in Gauguin, it's well worth a few hours. There are nice gardens outside too, near the beach, for a picnic if you are so inclined.
It is disappointing that they don't have a single original piece of his work in this museum. The replicas are of ok quality. There is a lot of interesting information to read and the open air building is pleasant.
Unexpected surprise to find this museum at only $6 USD in this otherwise expensive location. There was a very good collection of Paul Gauguin art in this nicely laid out building. It's small, and not climate controlled, so very hot and we didn't stay as long as we would have liked to because of the heat. But very glad we decided to visit this museum
the museum is just closed. Don't go. The information policy is terrible. Even the brand new tourist leaflet from Tahiti does not mention this. The sign on the road neither, lets you drive the last 2 km for nothing. There is however a lovely public beach/park with grass almost worth the trip. Botanic garden near by is ok.
This was one of the things that we had looked forward to seeing and it's a fair drive from Papeete. The place is still shut, looks abandoned and absolutely no work appears to be in progress. Tahiti is not exactly awash with things to do and see so it's a great shame that no priority is given to honouring such a world famous artist.
The museum was closed but we were able to walk through the adjacent gardens for a fee. This was not worthwhile as the potentially interesting gardens were poorly maintained and the walkways and directions were badly marked out. It seemed that the amount of attention that had been given to the area in recent times was low.
Part of the bus trip after our Paul Guaguin Cruise. It was very interesting and learned a lot about the region.