Incoming exhibition
Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors
from Sep 27, 2025 to Mar 8, 2026
Montreal museum of fine arts
History painting is a term that was introduced by the French Royal Academy in the 17th century to describe large-scale paintings with historical, mythological, or biblical subjects. Representing the peoples and territories that have shaped the Turtle Island (North America) of today, Monkman’s works both draw on and subvert the conventions of this genre to address contemporary societal concerns. Central among them are: the climate crisis and environmental protection, the impact of government policies on Indigenous communities, intergenerational trauma, and the affirmation of Two-Spirit, queer and trans Indigenous communities’ identities.
The exhibition includes works on loan from Canadian and American museums as well as a selection from the MMFA’s collection.
Exhibition
Incoming
Audiences
Adults
Children
Members
Montreal museum of fine arts
Address
Montreal museum of fine arts
1380 Sherbrooke Street West,
Montreal, QC H3G 1J5
Regular Schedule
From Jan 1 to Dec 31
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 21:00
Thursday
10:00 - 17:00
Friday
10:00 - 17:00
Saturday
10:00 - 17:00
Sunday
10:00 - 17:00
Holidays Schedule
Holidays follow the regular schedule
Facilities
Permanent exhibition
Collections du Musée
The Museum’s rich collections are divided into six major sections distributed among the five pavilions of the Museum complex, each of which focusses on a particularly strong aspect of the holdings. Today, 158 years after its founding, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is more forward-looking than ever! This institution is not a government-run museum, but relies on generous patrons for the expansion of its encyclopedic heritage collection, which has risen to a historic total of 43,000 works.
Temporary exhibition
from Sep 11, 2024 to Oct 5, 2025
Two by Two, Together: Recent Additions to the MMFA’s Collection
This exhibition unveils a selection of artworks that have been acquired by the MMFA over the last five years, displayed in groupings that create a dialogue between the works, through their subject, medium, form, function and time period. Through these juxtapositions, we hope to provoke new and enlightening interpretations of the Museum’s collection.
Permanent exhibition
ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life
The new presentation of the Inuit art collection will open in November 2024! Displayed in brightly lit modernized galleries that double the Museum’s exhibition space dedicated to Inuit art, the presentation brings together an extensive variety of works – prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures and installations – some of which are recent acquisitions.
Temporary exhibition
from Mar 26, 2025 to Aug 10, 2025
Bad Girls Only: Women and the Seven Deadly Sins
Have you ever felt badly for celebrating yourself, prioritizing rest over productivity, showing anger, feeling jealous, or acting on natural desires to have nice things, eat good food? If so, you are already acquainted with the Seven Deadly Sins – pride, sloth, wrath, envy, avarice, gluttony, and lust.
Temporary exhibition
from Apr 17, 2025 to Sep 28, 2025
Worlds of Wonder: The Surrealist Journey of Alan Glass
In spring 2025, discover the Surrealist works of Montreal-born artist Alan Glass (1932-2023), who lived most of his life in Mexico.
Organized by the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico, in collaboration with the MMFA, Worlds of Wonder is the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in a Canadian museum. It reveals the artist’s unique exploration of Surrealism across varied media, ranging from drawings to intricate assemblages.
Temporary exhibition
from Jun 13, 2025 to Jan 4, 2026
Marie-Claire Blais: Streaming Light
For her first solo exhibition in a Quebec museum, Marie-Claire Blais is unveiling an entirely new body of work, composed of a monumental installation, several paintings and a sound work. In this contemplative environment, pictorial atmospheres of rose, blue and orange tints remind us of the affect and meditative rhythms of sunrise and sunset.
Incoming exhibition
from Sep 13, 2025
From the Functional to the Fabulous: 600 Years of Decorative Arts and Design
In September 2025, the Museum will unveil a new installation of this collection in the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion. Bringing together more than 800 works dating from the Renaissance to today, the reinstallation combines collection highlights, recent acquisitions, and objects never before displayed.