The National Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) contains the most important public collection of Modernista art. Its origins can be traced back to the fine arts exhibitions that the Barcelona City Council had been organising since 1891 with the aim of creating a museum collection for the city. This collection was deposited in 1973 in the Modern Art Museum (MAM), which now houses the Catalan Parliament, located in Barcelona's Ciutadella Park. According to the Catalan government's museum bill of 1990, MNAC was founded and managed by a board comprising the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

MNAC incorporated the MAM works as part of ambitious project that involved the remodelling of the National Palace on Montjuïc, an emblematic building from Barcelona's 1929 International Exposition, based on a remodelling plan by Gae Aulenti, Enric Steegmann and Josep Benedito. It contains a particularly rich collection of paintings by Rusiñol, Casas, Mir and Nonell; sculptures by Llimona and Blay, and also decorative art works and furniture by Puig i Cadafalch, Homar and Gaudí.