The exhibition to be hosted at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2018 will also include never before seen in Australia works from Marcel Duchamp and Jackson Pollock.

Masterworks from MoMA will feature Van Gogh's Portrait of Joseph Roulin, Dali's The Persistence of Memory, Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl and Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel.

Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory. Photo: supplied

The agreement to show the works in Victoria was announced by MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry and NGV Director Tony Ellwood during premier Daniels Andrews' tour of the US this week.

"Many of these works have never been to Australia, they rarely leave New York," Mr Andrews said.

"This exhibition will bring record crowds to the NGV from around the world – that's great for keeping our bars, restaurants and hotels full, and great for jobs."

Mr Ellwood described the collection as "unparalleled"

"We are delighted to be working with MoMA to bring such an extraordinary selection of works to Melbourne," he said.

"Our visitors will be able to experience first-hand the momentous change and creativity in the development of modern art, and consequently appreciate contemporary art and design with greater understanding."

It has been 20 years since the last MoMA collection was displayed at the NGV, the William S. Paley Collection which travelled between Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in 1996.

Melbourne Winter Masterpieces has attracted more than five million people to Victoria's arts institutions, generating more than $475 million, according to the government.

The exhibition will fill the entire ground floor of the NGV from June 8 to October 7, 2018.

Van Gogh's Portrait of Joseph Roulin. Photo: supplied