The museum displays French artworks from 1848-1914, including painting, sculpture, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world. Most valuable exhibits: Paintings by Delacroix, Ingres, Moreau, Renoir, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh. The building was originally a train station, Gare D'Orsay, built for the French railway company “Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans” (a railway from Paris to Orleans). It was the final stop of the railways of southwestern France until 1939. In 1939, the station's short platforms became unsuitable for longer trains. Therefore, after 1939, the building was used for suburban communications, and part of it became a postal center during World War II. In 1970, permission was given to demolish the station, but Jacques Duhamel, the Minister of Culture, abandoned the plan. The station was listed as a Historic Monument in 1978. The proposal to turn the station into a museum came from the directorate of museums in France. The idea was to build a museum that would bridge the gap between the Louvre and the National Museum of Modern Art at the Georges Pompidou Center. In 1981, Italian architect Gae Aulenti developed the interior design, including the interior layout, decoration, furniture, and fittings for the museum. Finally, in July 1986, the museum was ready to host its exhibits. It took 6 months to install about 2,000 paintings, 600 sculptures, and other works. The museum officially opened in December 1986 by the president of the period, François Mitterrand. Since its grand debut, the museum has created a renowned art collection that encompasses painting, sculpture, photography, and decorative arts.