The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal), founded in 1860, remains the most famous and oldest museum in North America to the present time.

The museum was initially founded by the Art Association of Montreal. The Association did not have a permanent home; it was itinerant, organizing temporary exhibitions in different parts of Montreal.

In 1877, businessman Benaiah Gibb made a generous gift. According to the businessman’s will, the Art Association received most of Benaiah Gibb’s art collection, a piece of land, and a sum of money, upon the condition that the Association will build a museum there within three years. In 1879, the Art Gallery of the Art Association was opened. It was the first building in Canada built specifically for the arts.

Other wealthy people of the city followed the businessman’s lead and donated art objects and money to the museum. By 1893, the museum area was not enough to comfortably accommodate the entire collection. It was decided to create a new building for the museum. The construction site was chosen flawlessly: it was the perfectly-fitting Golden Square Mile stretch in the center of the commercial and financial district.

The project of the museum building was designed by the architects and brothers Edward and William Sutherland Maxwell. According to the project, the museum was built in the neoclassical style. The construction began in the summer of 1910. Prince Arthur, 10th governor-general of Canada, presided over the splendid official opening, attracting more than 3,000 people to the event.

In 1976, the museum got a new wing designed by Fred Lebensold, and in 1991, another building in the modernist style was erected by architect Moshe Safdie. In 2010, the building of the former American United Church became part of the museum.

The museum collection is extensive. It contains over 33,000 exhibits, most of which are contributed by patrons. The museum displays a collection of art objects from Canada and other countries: engravings, drawings, paintings by old and modern masters, collections of Chinese tea, Japanese porcelain, and fabrics. The most valuable works belong to such recognized artists as El Greco, Titian, Francois Boucher, and others.