History
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1930 with the mission "to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art of the highest quality for the enrichment, enlightenment, and enjoyment of its public." The museum is the oldest fine arts museum in Alabama and was the first museum in Alabama to be accredited by the American Association of Museums in June 1978. The museum moved to its current home, a state-of-the-art facility in the Blount Cultural Park, in 1988. As one of the leading cultural institutions in the region, the museum has enjoyed substantial public support, annually growing attendance, and increasing public demand for its programs and educational resources.
The museum's permanent collection consists of paintings, sculpture, and works on paper that represent the work of artists of national as well as regional reputation, and from all ethnic backgrounds. The core of the American collection is the Blount Collection of American Art, a group of forty-one paintings that includes works by American masters John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, and Winslow Homer. The MMFA has a collection of Old Master prints, including works by Rembrandt, Dürer, and Whistler. The museum hosts a broad range of temporary exhibitions to enhance its offerings with art from international and American collections as well as works by contemporary artists.
Education based on its collection and exhibitions is at the heart of the Museum's public mission. The MMFA's art reference library has more than 4,000 volumes, periodicals, videotapes, and CDs, available to those needing information or doing research. One major component of the education program is ARTWORKS, an interactive gallery designed to interpret items from the Museum's permanent collection through hands-on exhibits. The ARTWORKS gallery attracts over 60,000 people each year. Other programs for youth include a preschool puppet show; a tour program for every third grade student in Montgomery Public Schools; after school programs for under-served youth, and the AP Art History Course that allows high school students to earn college credit. In addition to ongoing programs, the MMFA offers two major events for families each year, Holiday Open House and the spring Flimp Festival. Educational programming for all ages is offered through workshops, tours, lectures, and other activities. From an annual attendance of 160,000 visitors, the museum estimates that roughly half of its visitors participate in an educational offering.
The MMFA receives approximately two-thirds of its annual budget from the city and county of Montgomery with the remainder provided through the MMFA Association, a private support group. Corporate and individual memberships comprise the largest source of MMFA Association revenue. Additional income is generated through the Museum Shop, special events, catalog sales and program fees. The Museum recently completed an $8 million capital campaign for endowment and building expansion. The new Education Wing, dedicated in March 2007, provides gallery space and doubled the size of the ARTWORKS interactive gallery and studio space. This expansion allows the museum to more fully accommodate the demands of growing public interest. The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums program.
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