The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1930 as Alabama’s first fine arts museum, sits in Montgomery’s Blount Cultural Park. It holds more than 4,000 works, and its own pages say the museum and sculpture garden charge no admission.
What the collection holds
The museum describes its collection as mainly works by American artists from the 18th to the 21st centuries. The main areas break down as follows.
| Collection area | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Blount Collection | 41 paintings by 33 American artists, the core of the historical American paintings |
| Old Master prints | More than 500 works, including pieces by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn |
| Porcelain | More than 100 pieces of English First Period Worcester, plus a small Chinese Export group |
| Glass | Historical and American studio glass, including Dale Chihuly and Louis Comfort Tiffany |
| Self-taught Southern art | Drawings by Bill Traylor, other Alabama artists and the Gee’s Bend quiltmakers |
Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama entry on the museum, and the museum’s collection highlights page for the total of more than 4,000 works.
A short history of the museum
The Encyclopedia of Alabama says the museum opened to the public on November 9, 1930, in a renovated schoolhouse on Lawrence Street downtown. The museum’s own history page credits John Kelly Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Harry S. Houghton and a group called the Morning View Painters with starting it, in a building the city rented to them for one dollar a year.
The museum moved twice. A building at High and McDonough Streets opened on September 27, 1959, and the current building in the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park opened on September 18, 1988. The same source says the park was established in 1985 and also houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
The museum’s history page lists later additions: a 5,000-square-foot exhibition wing funded by Ida Belle Young in 1993, a 2006 expansion that doubled the size of the ArtWorks gallery, and the Caddell Sculpture Garden in 2018. It first won accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1978, and its 2018 timeline entry records a third reaccreditation that keeps it in good professional standing until 2028.
The Blount Collection
Blount Incorporated gave the Blount Collection to the museum on February 28, 1989, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The group has 41 paintings by 33 American artists, including John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and John Singer Sargent.
Winton M. Blount first assembled it as a corporate collection, and the encyclopedia calls it the core of the museum’s historical American paintings. The museum also offers an online tour of it; its collection page says The Blount Collection virtual experience launched in February 2021 and a Studio Glass Collection experience launched in March 2021.
Beyond American painting
A collecting policy adopted on May 16, 1990 names three main areas: American art, Old Master prints, and works by Alabama and Southeast artists, per the Encyclopedia of Alabama. That is why the museum reaches well past painting.
- Prints. The Weil Print Fund was endowed in 1980, and Jean Weil gave more than 200 prints in 1999.
- Porcelain and glass. The porcelain includes English First Period Worcester from the Loeb gift, and the glass runs from Tiffany to contemporary studio work.
- Southern self-taught art. The core is drawings by Bill Traylor, given in 1982 by Eugenia and Charles Shannon.
The museum says not every work is on view at any one time, so check its site for current galleries and temporary exhibitions before planning a visit around a specific piece.
ArtWorks and the Caddell Sculpture Garden
ArtWorks has been part of the museum since the 1988 move. The Encyclopedia of Alabama describes it as an interactive gallery for experiencing and learning about art, aimed at building lifelong appreciation of art and creativity in young visitors. The museum’s homepage invites visitors to connect with art through interactive elements or use spaces set aside for quiet reading and imaginative play.
Outdoors, the John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden opened on September 25, 2018, per the encyclopedia. The museum’s garden page lists permanent pieces such as George Segal’s Chance Meeting (1989) and Vincent Buwalda’s The Children’s Gate (2019), plus rotating temporary installations. It states that there is no charge for admission to the museum or the garden.
Planning a visit
The museum is at One Museum Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117, and the museum’s homepage advertises free entry and free parking. Hours and special notices change, and that page has carried late-opening notices for particular days, so confirm the schedule there on the day you go.
The park setting makes the museum a calm half-day stop. For a wider plan, the guide to things to do in Montgomery covers other attractions, and Montgomery’s civil rights sites make a natural pairing for a second day. Visitors in town for a conference can find lodging options in the guide to where to stay in downtown Montgomery, and event details live in the AFITC conference guide. This site is independent and is not affiliated with the museum.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts free?
The museum’s homepage advertises free entry and free parking, and its sculpture garden page says there is no charge for admission to the museum or the Caddell Sculpture Garden.
Where is the museum located?
At One Museum Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117, in the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park, which also houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
When did the museum open?
It was founded in 1930 and opened to the public on November 9, 1930. The current building opened on September 18, 1988.
What is the most famous part of the collection?
The Blount Collection of 41 American paintings, which includes works by artists such as Copley, Homer, Hopper and Sargent, is the core of its historical American holdings.
Photo credits: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (Public domain); Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (Public domain).
