Established | 1927 |
---|---|
Location |
The Pioneer Endicott 141 E. 4th Street, Suite 101 St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 |
Type | art museum |
Director | Kristin Makholm |
Website | www |
The Pioneer Endicott 141 E. 4th Street, Suite 101
The Minnesota Museum of American Art (MMAA), founded as the St. Paul School of Fine Arts in 1894, is an American art museum with offices in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
After incorporating as the Saint Paul School of Art in 1926, the institution began collecting art in 1940 after receiving a collection of Chinese jade art pieces in a bequest. From the 1950s on, it operated under the name Saint Paul Gallery and School of Art and later the Saint Paul Art Center. It was renamed the Minnesota Museum of Art in 1969 and renamed the Minnesota Museum of American Art in 1992.
In 2009, MMAA galleries closed after losing its gallery space in the Ramsey County Government Center to redevelopment, though they maintained offices and traveling exhibitions. Most of the works were put in storage. In 2012, MMAA announced they would reopen for limited hours in the Pioneer Building in Lowertown in October of that year.
The museum has been housed in a variety of St. Paul locations throughout its history, including the Jemne Building, Landmark Center, and through January 2009, the West Publishing Company on Kellogg Boulevard.