The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum is a museum located in Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1964, Lafayette businessman and philanthropist, Maurice Heymann donated to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), now University of Louisiana at Lafayette, three-acres of land located on the corner of East Saint Mary Boulevard and Girard Park Drive for the purpose of building the Art Center for Southwestern Louisiana.
In 1965, USL Foundation began planning for the construction and operation of the new Center. Starting with a fund of $100,000, the Foundation began a campaign to secure an additional $100,000. Construction on the Center began in April 1967 and the building opened to the public in March 1968. The new Center, a replica of the Hermitage (Darrow, Louisiana), a 19th century Louisiana River Road plantation house, was designed by A. Hays Town. In 2002, Lafayette residents, Paul and Lulu Hilliard, presented UL Lafayette Foundation a lead gift of $3 million for the construction of a new $8.4 million University Art Museum. The new Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum opened in April 2004.
The museum building is 33,000 square feet (3,100 m2) with over 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) of gallery space. The University Art Museum is an education-oriented museum that serves as a center for interdisciplinary learning. It serves the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s educational mission to a traditional liberal arts and sciences education.
The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum collection consists of over 4,000 objects including 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st century American, European and Asian art works.