'', 1913, by
Dominique Lang, is held in the museum's collection The first proposal for such a museum was made during the
French occupation of the
Revolutionary Wars, when Luxembourg was annexed into the
département of
Forêts. However, the museum was never opened, despite the expropriation of a number of artefacts from the church. With the affirmation of Luxembourg's independence under the
1839 Treaty of London came a greater interest by native Luxembourgers in promoting the history of their country. In 1845, historians and archaeologists formed the 'Society for the Study and Preservation of Historic Monuments in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg' (), regularly known as the 'Archaeological Society' (). amongst the responsibilities of which was the conservation of archaeological collections. In 1946, the museum reopened as the Luxembourg State Museums; its collections were moved back. In 1988, the museum was separated into the National Museum of History and Art and the
National Museum of Natural History, which moved to a new building in 1996. ==Governance==