Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

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Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1912 pavilion

Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (French: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal) is a major museum in Montreal, Canada. It was founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution.

It is the city's largest museum and is amongst the most prominents in Canada. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a member of the International Group of Organizers of Large-scale Exhibitions, also known as the Bizot Group, a forum which allows the leaders of the largest museums in the world to exchange works and exhibitions.

[edit] Pavilions

The museum is partitioned into three pavilions: a 1912 Beaux Arts building designed by William Sutherland Maxwell, now named the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, the modernist Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion across the street, designed by Moshe Safdie, built in 1991, and the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion.

While the Desmarais Pavilion houses works of art from around the world, the Hornstein's focus is specifically Quebec history. Together, the edifices house about 30,000 pieces. The Museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street, famous for the opulent mansions which once lined it. Many of these historic buildings were torn down and replaced by high rise office towers in the second half of the 20th century; however, today the area's historic significance is more highly appreciated thanks to the growth of Montreal grassroots conservationist movements in the 1990s.

On February 14th, 2007, the museum's administration board announced its project to convert Erskine and American United Church, located on Sherbrooke West street, into a Canadian art pavilion. This new building will allow the museum to double the display surface currently dedicated to Canadian artists. Erskine and American United Church, dating from 1894, is renowned as a national historic site. The new pavilion will be named Claire and Marc Bourgie, as a recognition of the family's outstanding financial support. It should open in 2010.

[edit] 1972 robbery

On September 4, 1972, the Museum was the site of the largest art theft in Canadian history, when armed thieves made off with jewellery, figurines and 18 paintings worth a total of $2 million at the time, including works by Delacroix, Gainsborough and a rare Rembrandt landscape. The works have never been recovered. In 2003, the Globe and Mail estimated that the Rembrandt alone would be worth $20 million. ^[1]

[edit] External links

• Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
• More information about the museum

[edit] References

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