Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, Florida)

History

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) was founded by art collector and philanthropist Margaret Acheson Stuart (1896–1980). The Margaret Acheson Stuart Society, the museum's independent support organization, is named in her honor.

The city provided the four-acre waterfront site for the construction of the original building and The Junior League of St. Petersburg offered resources for The Great Hall. The building was designed by John Volk of Palm Beach, with a curving colonnade on Beach Drive. Volk stated that "a museum should give a feeling of permanence and that is what I have tried to do with this building." Chartered by the State of Florida in 1961, the MFA opened its Beach Drive doors to the public in 1965; the first art museum in St. Petersburg. The size of the museum was more than doubled in 2008, when the 33,000 square-foot Hazel Hough wing on the north side of the building was completed. The expansion included a new café, an enlarged library and a bigger museum shop, all since removed.

The museum's holdings span over 5,000 years of human history and features significant works of art by artists such as Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keeffe and Kehinde Wiley to name a few.

Recent Collections & Exhibits

The Museum of Fine Arts comprehensive collections and interactive exhibits in the last five years include: Art of the Stage: Picasso to Hockney (2020), From Margins to Mainstays: Highlights from the Photography Collection (2021), Gio Swaby's Fresh Up (2022),True Nature: Rodin and the Age of Impressionism (2023), Claudia Pena Salinas' Aha Can (2024), and Kimono: The Triumph of Japanese Dress (2025).

Publications

The museum offers members MOSAIC, a bi-monthly exclusive publication that features upcoming exhibits, program spotlights, employee articles, merchandise, and more. They also offers members Happenings, a weekly e-newsletter with discounts for their cafe and gift shop.

References

References

1. (2024-09-23). "MFA Home - Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg".
2. "Home".
3. Bennett, L. (2015, January 27). How one woman launched the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, 50 Years Ago. ''Tampa Bay Times''. Retrieved from https://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/visualarts/how-one-woman-launched-the-museum-of-fine-arts-st-petersburg-50-years-ago/2215312/
4. (7 December 2015). "Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg History".
5. "Floridian: Museum's new view".
6. "Newspaper Archives {{!}} tampabay.com - Tampa Bay Times".
7. dschuller. (2024-01-20). "Claudia Peña Salinas {{!}} Ahua Can - Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg".
8. (3 February 2016). "Past Exhibitions". Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg).
9. "mfastpete Publisher Publications".