About the Museum
Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has been built on the generosity of multiple generations of Montrealers. Its mission is to acquire, conserve, study, interpret and present significant works of art from around the world and from every era, in the hope that members of its community and all Museum visitors may benefit from the transformative powers of art.
The MMFA’s collection showcases Quebec and Canadian heritage, Indigenous art and international art from a progressive and innovative perspective. It comprises close to 47,000 paintings, sculptures, graphic artworks, photographs, multimedia installations and decorative art objects dating from antiquity to the present. The MMFA’s exhibitions and cultural programming aim to inspire new ways of looking at art and the history of art.
As a hub of art, community and exchange and a pioneer in the provision of art therapy, the Museum collaborates with partners in the fields of community organization, education, health and technology to offer all audiences an enriching and transformative experience of art. Thus, through each of its projects, the MMFA continues to strive towards a more inclusive, accessible and just world.
Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace.
Photo © Marc Cramer
The story of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
1860-2020, 160 years of history
Founding
(1860-1910)
James L. Weston, about 1815–1896, active in Canada, View of the Art Association Building, Phillips Square, Montreal, Coloured photolithograph (cover page of Canadian Illustrated News, May 31, 1879), 30.4 x 28.2 cm (sheet), 24.4 x 24 cm (image). Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Bronfman Fund for Master Graphics.
1860
Establishment of the Art Association of Montreal (the first art museum in Canada) to “encourage an appreciation of the fine arts amongst the people of the city.”
1879
Opening of the first Art Gallery in Montreal’s Phillips Square.
Notman & Sandham, The 1879 Art Gallery, Phillips Square, main gallery, detail of the hanging arrangement, 1879, albumenized paper. McCord Museum, Montreal. Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd. Inv. VIEW-1051.1. Photo McCord Museum, Montreal
Mission
(1910-1950)
Wm. Notman & Son
Edward Maxwell, architect (detail), 1913, black and white photograph. Archives, MMFA.
Wm. Notman & Son
Edward Maxwell, architect (detail), 1913, black and white photograph. Archives, MMFA.
1912
Relocation of the Art Gallery to a new building on Sherbrooke Street (today’s Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion).
Wm. Notman & Son, The Art Association’s new Art Gallery, Sherbrooke Street, the Sherbrooke Street facade (detail), 1913, Gelatin dry plate. McCord Museum, Montreal. Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd. Inv. VIEW-13052. Photo McCord Museum, Montreal.
1916
Creation of the department of decorative arts and traditional arts, establishing its mission as an encyclopedic museum.
Identity
(1950-1970)
1950
The Art Association is renamed the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Picasso, exhibition poster, 1964. Archives, MMFA.
1960
Celebration of the Museum’s centennial and the democratization of art, including, for the first time, support from benefactors in the French-speaking community.
1961
Creation of an education department.
Democratization
(1970-1990)
1972
The Museum’s status changes from a private institution to a mixed non-profit corporation.
Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, exterior view. Photo: MMFA, Denis Farley.
1976
Opening of a second pavilion (today’s Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion).
1980
A turning point in the Museum’s history, with unconventional exhibitions such as Tintin (1980) and Leonardo da Vinci (1987) attracting new audiences.
Opening up to the World and a multidisciplinary approach
(1990-2010)
Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest
1991
Opening of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion, the Museum’s third.
1994
Création de la Fondation du MBAM pour recueillir des fonds privés et assurer un financement à long terme par des dons capitalisés.
Liliane and David M. Stewart (detail), 1981–82, colour photograph. Archives, Macdonald Stewart Foundation.
1997
The Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, founded by Liliane and David M. Stewart in 1979, takes up residence at the Museum; it will merge with the MMFA in 2000.
Tiffany Studios, New York, Angel of the Resurrection, leaded-glass window, about 1931, 190 x 63 cm, after a 1904 design by Frederick Wilson. Erskine and American Church, Montreal.
2008
The Arte Musica Foundation is created and takes up residence at the Museum.
Exponential expansion
(2010-2016)
Photo: Bernard Fougère
2011
Opening of the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion, the Museum’s fourth, as well as the inauguration of the Bourgie Concert Hall; major reinstallation of 4,000 works in the Museum’s four pavilions.
Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy
Photo © Marc Cramer
2012
Creation of the Michel de La Chenelière Art & Education StudiO, doubling the facilities for educational activities.
Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy
2016
Over 1 million visitors, 107,000 members and 300,000 participants in educational, cultural and community activities.
An engaged, humanist Museum
(2016-2020)
Inauguration of the Pavilion for Peace, the Museum’s fifth, which houses 700 works of international art, from Old Masters to modern pieces, including those of the Hornstein donation.
Expanded spaces for family, educational and community activities; addition of art therapy programs.
Reinstallation of 2,500 works from the World Cultures, Decorative Arts and Design collections in the other pavilions.
Governance
Stéphane Aquin
André Dufour
Alix d’Anglejan-Chatillon
Clare A. Chiu
Sébastien Fauré
Sari Hornstein
Yolande James
G. Pierre Lapointe
Stéphanie Marchand
Lillian Mauer
Alexandre McLean
Alanis Obomsawin
Jessica Pathy
Pierre Raymond
Jonathan Tétrault
As Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since November 2020, Stéphane Aquin aims to further the great Montreal institution with a focus on an inclusive and innovative approach to art, upholding and respecting the artist’s vision, and fulfilling the Museum’s educational mission.
Stéphane Aquin
Yves Théoret
Mary-Dailey Desmarais
Mélanie Deveault
Michèle Meier
