Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL

Visitors to Montgomery, Alabama will enjoy seeing the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, One Museum Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117. They receive money for some of their programs through grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Thursday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The galleries of the museum are closed on Mondays, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Their office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

There are public tours of the museum that are led by docents and museum staff. On Sundays they offer a free 1:00 pm docent led tour. Visitors can also use an audio guide that is available at the front desk so that visitors can tour the museum at their own pace. Wheel chair and touching tours are available depending on their needs.

Visitors will find the museum within the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park. The main entrance to the park is on Vaughn Road. Once inside the entrance the museum is on the right past the lake. Visitors coming into Montgomery on I-85 can go two miles south on Woodmere Blvd, and guests would take Exit 6.

Some of the exhibits that visitors may get to see can include: Patrick Dougherty: Sculpture Installation, Photographs by Yousuf Karsh, Art Auction, Tin Man: The Art of Charlie Lucas, Lost in Form, Found in Line: Works by Robert Motherwell, Nicola Marschall and the Walker Family at Cedar Grove, Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life from the Norton Museum of Art and Fantasies & Fairy Tales: Maxfield Parrish and the Art of the Print.

Collections that the museum has feature the Blount Collection of American Paintings. They include many oil and water color paintings from the United States most important artists. The art was given to the museum in 1988 and has its own gallery in one of the permanent collection wings. The regional art of the southeastern United States and Alabama has art work from the self taught artist Bill Taylor to landscapes from artist J. Kelly Fitzpatrick. Folk art in the form of quilts make up the folk art section, with more than sixty on display.

The Museum Store is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, Saturday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The store has original art by local painters, potters, jewelry makers and glass artists. They also have art from world renowned artists on sale. If visitors are looking for books on art, artists or special exhibitions they can find it in the store. Children's toys, games and books are available to help engage children in the world of art.

There is a caf,at the museum that is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Caf, M is located adjacent to the museum terrace with a view of the lake. They have sandwiches, salads, soups and various entrees.