Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the Baltimore Museum of Art is home to 95,000 works, spanning the art of ancient Egypt to some of the most significant works of today.

The BMA has a history of collecting art that responds to the present moment, including pivotal gifts from Baltimore’s Cone sisters, whose acquisitions from living artists encouraged the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art. Our curatorial team continues this long tradition, creating new ways to interpret art history and acquiring artworks that tell the rich and varied stories of our community.

Our internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art includes the largest holding of Henri Matisse’s works in a public institution, alongside important examples of artistic expression from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands. Nearly three acres of gardens provide towering and smaller-scale examples of modern and contemporary sculpture created within the last 100 years.