The Jorge Vieira Museum is part of the artistic collection that the sculptor Jorge Vieira donated to the Beja City Council in 1994. Housed in a building in the historic city centre since May 1995, it has been located in the former Governor's house in Beja Castle since 1 September 2019, housing an important collection of sculptures, models and drawings by Jorge Vieira, a visual artist who left his mark on Portuguese art throughout the 20th century. Jorge Ricardo da Conceição Vieira was born in Lisbon on 16 November 1922. Between 1944 and 1953 he attended the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, where he first enrolled in architecture and later switched to sculpture. He was a student of Simões de Almeida and Leopoldo de Almeida and worked in the studios of António Duarte, Francisco Franco and António Rocha. He participated in several artistic gatherings of the time, together with numerous figures of Portuguese culture, such as Sena da Silva, Lagoa Henriques, Dias Coelho, João Abel Manta, among others. In 1953, he entered the International Sculpture Competition The Unknown Political Prisoner, promoted by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, in London. Among more than 2,500 competitors, representing 54 countries, he was the only Portuguese selected, exhibiting his work, together with the other winners, at the Tate Gallery. In 1954, he moved to London to attend the Slade School of Fine Arts, working under the guidance of Henry Moore, F. E. Mc’William and Reg Butler. He returned to Portugal in 1956, where he resumed his teaching activity, participating, since then, in numerous group and solo exhibitions, in Portugal and abroad, winning several awards. His works are in several cities and collections in the country. His connection to Beja was strengthened in 1994, when his Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner was inaugurated at a roundabout leading into the city, an initiative of the city's Municipality. It was after this relationship grew stronger that the sculptor decided to donate part of his estate to the city of Beja. Jorge Vieira died in Estremoz in 1998.