The museum is located in the Chateau Sainte Hélène, the former private residence of perfume master François Coty, surrounded by a garden with rare aromatic plants. It showcases a collection of 'Naïve Art' paintings.
The collection was donated by Anatole and Renee Jakovsky (Anatole was a French art critic) in 1982. Naïve Art is the name given to artworks simple in both technique and subject matter, resulting in images drawn from the artist's imagination & spontaneity.
The collection covers the history of Naïve painting from the 18th century to the present day, and includes works loaned by the Georges Pompidou Centre National Museum of Modern Art. It showcases paintings and sculptures by Bauchan, Bombois, Séraphine, Lackovic, O'Brady, Ligabue, Rousseau, Rimbert, and many others.
