Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Mission

We collect, preserve, present, and interpret works of art of the highest quality from diverse cultures and many centuries, including that of our own time. We champion the power of art, embracing our responsibility to engage and educate our community, to contribute to cultural knowledge, and to advance creative endeavor.

History

The Dallas Art Association was organized in 1903 and was a direct outgrowth of the Art Committee of the Public Library. At the suggestion of Frank Reaugh, the well-known Texas artist, an art gallery, properly lighted and arranged, was provided for in the building.

When completed, this room was most attractive, and the late Mr. J. S. Armstrong, himself a member of the building committee, became so interested in procuring pictures for the gallery that he offered to give half of any amount that could be raised for the purpose.

The members immediately set to work raising funds for the purchase of pictures of recognized value. In the autumn of 1902, they gave an exhibition in the art gallery that was by far the best collection which had ever been brought to Texas at that time.

These works of art were secured through the influence of the late Mrs. Sidney Smith from the Fair Association, which generously loaned its entire collection to the new gallery. An admission fee of twenty-five cents was charged for the exhibit, and the first person to present herself was Mrs. C. E. Fargo, who paid one dollar for admission, the first dollar collected for the art gallery.