From its founding as the Dallas Art Association in 1903 to its current location in the Dallas Arts District as the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum has a long and ingenious history.
The Dallas Museum of Art is a space of wonder and discovery where art comes alive.
The DMA will:
- Place art and our diverse communities at the center around which all activities radiate.
- Pursue excellence in collecting and programming, present works of art across cultures and time, and be a driving force in contemporary art.
- Strengthen our position as a prominent, innovative institution, expanding the meaning and possibilities of learning and creativity.
July 2023–Present
The first museum retrospective and U.S. museum exhibition devoted to Matthew Wong opened in October 2022. Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances offered the first formal account of the full scope of Wong’s six-year oeuvre, with a particular focus on his landscape paintings and what they reveal about his process and commitment to dialogue and collaboration. Matthew Wong welcomed 27,406 visitors between October 16, 2022, and February 5, 2023. In August 2023, Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances was named “Best Exhibition” by D Magazine.
In February 2023, the Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition launched and attracted 154 team submissions from around the world. In April six finalist teams were selected by the Museum’s Architect Select Committee (ASC) and given a nine-week period to develop concepts. On August 3, 2023, the DMA announced that the team led by the award-winning Madrid-based practice Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (NSA) won the Reimagining the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition.
Important exhibitions include Movement: The Legacy of Kineticism; Focus On: Rashid Johnson; Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks; and Concentrations 64: Ja’Tovia Gary, I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD.
July 2021–June 2022
In 2021 and 2022, the DMA and the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) hosted the first exhibition dedicated to Vincent van Gogh’s important olive grove series, executed during his yearlong stay at the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Van Gogh and the Olive Groves welcomed 47,372 visitors between October 17, 2021 and February 6, 2022.
Cartier and Islamic Art: In Search of Modernity, on view from May 15 to September 18, 2022, received international acclaim from Forbes, Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Harper’s Bazaar. Cartier and Islamic Art welcomed 64,634 visitors, including 4,000 visitors on the FREE Community Day, sponsored by the DMA’s Board of Trustees.
Spirit Lodge: Mississippian Art from Spiro, the first major exhibition dedicated to the art and culture of Mississippian peoples, was on view from March 13 to August 7, 2022.
On July 26, 2022, the Board of Trustees announced the addition of four new officers and 12 elected trustees representing diverse backgrounds, international leadership expertise, and distinction in business, technology, building design and creative industries. The Officers Nominating Committee, chaired by Catherine Marcus Rose, announced that Gowri Natarajan Sharma, former Vice President, was unanimously elected President of the Board of Trustees.
July 2020–June 2021
After a five-month closure, the Museum reopened its doors to the public in August 2020 and enacted a series of stringent COVID-19 visitor safety guidelines to align with the CDC and City of Dallas public health recommendations.
Nine special and focused exhibitions were opened, showcasing the breadth of our global collection and our commitment to presenting groundbreaking research, spotlighting the work of living artists, and representing the diversity of our community.
During this hybrid time, the Museum served 20,375 virtual tour participants, the Center for Creative Connections (C3) welcomed 75,261 visitors and 8,292 virtual visitors, and 17,535 art kits were handed out to the community.
The Museum acquired 333 works of art, and exhibitions included Frida Kahlo: Five Works, Cubism in Color: The Still Lifes of Juan Gris, and To Be Determined.
July 2019–June 2020
On March 14, 2020, nearly three-quarters into the fiscal year, the Museum closed its doors to protect the health and safety of City of Dallas residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Museum was closed for five months and reopened in August 2020. Staff rallied together and quickly pivoted to new strategies for connecting with our community. The Museum debuted nine virtual exhibition experiences, launched the Museum Mondays email newsletter, and collaborated with community partners to bring original content to our followers.
Major exhibitions during this fiscal year included Not Visible to the Naked Eye: Inside a Senufo Helmet Mask, Flores Mexicanas: Women in Modern Mexican Art, For a Dreamer of Houses, and Dior: From Paris to the World.
During this time, the Education team hosted over 150 virtual programs and distributed 1,500 free art kits at city libraries, recreation centers, schools, and community sites. The Museum also supported artists in responding to the contemporary moment by distributing more than $12,000 in emergency relief to 37 artists through the DeGolyer and Kimbrough funds.
Both the physical distancing required by the pandemic and the racial tensions that arose throughout the period demonstrated that the Museum must work harder to engage and be reflective of our diverse communities.
July 2018–June 2019
The Museum welcomed over 800,000 visitors, reached 1.1 million people online, and connected with over 200,000 individuals through programming. The Marguerite S. Hoffman and Thomas W. Lentz Curator of Islamic and Medieval Art and the Jorge Baldor Curator of Latin American Art were established.
The Mildred R. and Fredrick M. Mayer Library celebrated 75 years on March 12, 2019. Exhibitions included Dior: From Paris to the World; Berthe Morisot, Woman Impressionist; and Ida O’Keeffe: Escaping Georgia's Shadow.
Dior: From Paris to the World welcomed 139,082 visitors between May 17, 2019, and October 27, 2019. The show received international press from outlets including Vogue, D Magazine, KERA, Dallas Voice, France-Amérique, and the Dallas Morning News.
July 2017–June 2018
In February 2018, Tamara Wootton Forsyth was promoted to the Marcus-Rose Family Deputy Director. The endowment of the Museum’s Deputy Director position was made possible through a generous $3 million gift from Catherine Marcus Rose and Will Rose, longtime patrons of the Museum.
In her near two-decade tenure at the DMA, Wootton Forsyth was central to the realization of many of the DMA’s most exciting and innovative achievements. In addition, she oversaw the care of the Museum’s extensive collection, comprising more than 24,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and installations, and the execution of the Museum’s ambitious exhibitions and publications program.
Another record-breaking year for the DMA, with attendance at 829,293 visitors, 11.7 percent above the projected 742,608 visitors. Total special exhibition revenue was $1,042,792, a 17.1 percent increase above the projected goal of $890,181.
Digitally, the DMA also broke records. The website garnered 2,674,371 visits, the DMA’s official Facebook page generated over 43,300,000 impressions, and engagement on the DMA’s Instagram account reached 103,396.
July 2016–June 2017
In July 2016, Dr. Agustín Arteaga was named the new Eugene McDermott Director by the Board of Trustees. He began his tenure on September 1, 2016. Dr. Arteaga previously served as the director of the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City, one of Mexico’s largest and most prominent cultural institutions, presenting work from the mid-16th through the mid-20th centuries. His vision for the DMA encompassed a renewed commitment to the Museum’s role as a leader in the museum field, as well as a challenge to meet the diverse needs of our growing community.
México 1900–1950, curated by Dr. Arteaga, opened on March 12, 2017, and showcased works by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and José Clemente Orozco, among others. The show incorporated works from the DMA’s own collection and celebrated 50 years of paintings, sculptures, films, and murals from modern Mexico. The Museum also implemented a strategic outreach plan to welcome first-generation Latino families in the DFW community to the groundbreaking show.
With the support of Kosmos Energy, a new permanent gallery space for the Keir Collection of Islamic Art opened to the public on April 18, 2017. The long-term loan collection features nearly 2,000 objects and is among the most important and comprehensive collections of Islamic art in the world.
The Museum saw its highest attendance in a decade and the second highest in the Museum’s history, as we welcomed 802,870 visitors.
July 2015–June 2016
The new Eagle Family Plaza opens to the public, offering improved vehicular circulation, enhanced pedestrian access, and exhibition space on the north entrance grasses. Also, the Museum’s Fleischner Courtyard improved and revitalized the interior food service offerings and a new outdoor dining venue. On September 25, 2015, the DMA unveiled its new third-level Arts of Africa Gallery. The new gallery space, the first major redesign in nearly 20 years, features more than 170 works from the Museum’s world-renowned African art collection.
Max Anderson stepped down as The Eugene McDermott Director on September 28, 2015, and was replaced by Board President Walter B. Elcock. The search for the next director continued and was led by a committee chaired by Jeremy Halbreich.
A total of 728,699 visitors attended the Museum. Important exhibitions include Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots, Spirit and Matter: Masterpieces from the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, Inca: Conquests of the Andes, Vermeer Suite: Music in 17th Century Dutch Painting, Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty, and Rebecca Warren: The Main Feeling.
July 2014–June 2015
A new fiscal model was adopted to align with other nonprofits, with FY15 beginning October 1, 2014–June 30, 2015. The DMA had 527,882 visitors with an average of 58,654 monthly visitors.
Benefactors Jennifer and John Eagle donated $3 million to the Museum for renovations of the Museum's north entrance; the Hamon Charitable foundation gave an additional gift of $1.3 million for a total $4.3 million. Record-breaking fundraising included Art Ball’s $2.4 million, the highest grossing event in the 50-year history of the gala, and 2014’s TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art fundraiser event raised a total of $7 million for the DMA and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.
The Museum was awarded the prestigious LEED Silver Certification for energy use, lighting, water, and material use, as well as for incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies.
2013
The Museum returns to free general admission on January 21, 2013. The DMA Friends & Partners program, an innovative new membership model, is launched. The program emphasizes visitor engagement and participation and is designed to build long-term relationships with visitors. The first catalogue of South and Southeast Asian art in the DMA's collection is published. The Arts of India, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas explores over 450 works of art in the Museum's collection acquired over nearly sixty years of collecting. The Marguerite and Robert Hoffman Fund for European Art Before 1700 was established with a $17 million gift from Marguerite Steed Hoffman. The fund was conceived to expand and enhance the Museum's collection of European art, primarily of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
2012
Dr. Maxwell L. Anderson becomes The Eugene McDermott Director on January 9, 2012. The Laboratory for Museum Innovation is established to test and develop digital projects, pioneering new ways of engaging Museum audiences and enriching visitor experience at the DMA and within the broader museum community. The DMX (Dallas Museum Exchange) program, designed to establish international collaborations for the loan of works of art and sharing of expertise in conservation, exhibitions, education, and new media, is launched.
2010
A Framework for Engaging with Art, a groundbreaking seven-year study providing an unprecedented understanding of the preferences and behaviors of museum visitors, was completed. The research was published in Ignite the Power of Art: Advancing Visitor Engagement in Museum Experiences. The Museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. The collection, received in 1985 from the Wendy & Emery Reves Foundation, Inc., contains over 1,400 works from the private art collection of Emery Reves, including impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, and decorative arts objects.
2009
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs completed its run at the Dallas Museum of Art as the most popular exhibition in the Museum’s history, drawing 664,000 ticketholders since its October 2008 opening. Additionally, the Museum reached a historic high in attendance, welcoming for the first time more than one million visitors to date in the 2009 fiscal year.
The Museum celebrated 25 years in the Dallas Arts District. The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened, completing the Dallas Arts District and making it the largest urban arts district in the United States. The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, designed by I. M. Pei, marked its 20th anniversary in September. The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, the first catalogue featuring African art objects in the collection is published, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the acclaimed collection.
2008
Bonnie Pitman became The Eugene McDermott Director on June 1 after the retirement of Director John R. Lane on May 31; Dr. Lane was named Director Emeritus; the Center for Creative Connections opened with free admission for their first weekend on May 3-4, 2008; programming anniversaries included the 25th anniversary season of the Jazz Under the Stars series (beginning May 22), 25th anniversary of the “Thursday Night Live!” series, 15th season of the Boshell Family Lecture Series on Archaeology (in November); 2008–2009 marked the 27th season of the Bancroft Family Concerts presented by the Fine Arts Chamber Players since its inauguration in 1981 and the 17th anniversary of Arts and Letters Live which began in 1992.
Arts District celebrations included the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Trammel and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art (opening Saturday, December 5, 1998) and the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (a DISD magnet school) reopening in April after a major renovation and expansion.
2007
In February the Museum celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Hoblitzelle Foundation gift; on May 4 the Museum was awarded a grant from the Meadows Foundation of $4.38 million and on May 5 it was announced that The Allen & Kelli Questrom Foundation made a five-year, $2.825 million grant in support of its educational mission; on December 19 the Dallas Museum of Art announced its highest attendance ever for a fiscal year (October 2006–September 2007) with 641,000 visitors.
2006
The Museum named Harry S. Parker III Director Emeritus on January 23; Bonnie Pitman was named to the American Association of Museums Centennial Honor Roll on May 8.
2005
On February 16, unprecedented bequests of private collections (Hoffman, Rachofsky, Rose and a Monet from the McDermott collection) were announced; galleries were named for donors Hanley, Stoffel, Lamont, and Rachofsky in November; the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection celebrated its 20th anniversary on November 29. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the Dallas’s new AT&T Performing Arts Center in November (scheduled to open October 12, 2009).
2004
Late Nights programming began with an all-night Late Night Kick-off Party January 23, 2004 and the Museum commemorated the 20th anniversary of moving to the Arts District; Edward Larrabee Barnes, architect for the current Museum’s location, died September 21, 2004; The contemporary gallery reopened in December after renovation by Gluckman Mayner Architects.
2003
The Dallas Museum of Art marked its 100th birthday January 19, 2003, and celebrated by remaining open for 100 continuous hours with 45,000 visitors in attendance January 8–12, 2003 (10 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Sunday). The Museum’s mission statement was redefined and a new graphic identity was launched. The Flora Street Entrance was redesigned by Gluckman Mayner Architects; groundbreaking took place May 9, 2003 and continued through September. A family programs mascot, Arturo, was introduced whose design was based on a vessel from the ancient American collection.
Additional anniversaries celebrated in 2003 included Jazz Under the Stars – 20th anniversary; the Hamon building expansion – 10th anniversary; the Dallas Museum of Art Sculpture Garden opening – 20th anniversary. The Museum welcomed the Nasher Sculpture Center to the Arts District with an opening on October 19, 2003.
2001
The Museum began charging admission October 2, 2001.
2000
Construction began on the Nasher Sculpture Center.
1999
John R. (Jack) Lane became the director of the Dallas Museum of Art. The Museum received an $11 million benefaction from an anonymous donor, the largest single gift in its history specifically for the advancement of programs.
1996
The third floor of the Museum, featuring the arts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, was completely refurbished and opened in 1996. The Searching for Ancient Egypt exhibition opened and was one of the most well attended exhibitions in 15 years. The Education Department began an adult lecture series with SMU's Master of Liberal Arts degree program, and partnered with UT Austin to create a special lecture series, Art and the Domestic Sphere. Attendance for adult programs increased 20% over the previous year. The Education Department piloted a groundbreaking interactive computer program, The Art of Looking, which enabled fifth graders in Dallas to experience a virtual "first visit" to the Museum. New credit courses for teachers were added to the ongoing teacher programs and the first interdisciplinary seminar was started, Exploring World Cultures: The Art and Writing of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The library unveiled its online public access catalog. Museum membership grew to 19,537 members. The Chairman's Circle was established as a new level of membership.
1995
The Museum League published The Artful Table cookbook.
1993
The Nancy and Jake L. Hamon Building, a new addition of 140,000 square feet, opened to the public on September 26, 1993.
1991
Construction began on the addition of the Nancy and Jake L. Hamon Building, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 23, 1991.
1989
Nancy Hamon donated $20 million toward the construction of a new Museum wing.
1987
The Hoblitzelle Foundation donated 550 pieces of British silver to the Museum, along with a collection of old master paintings.
1986
The decorative arts collection was substantially augmented by the donation of the Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection of American Furniture. The Museum organized the exhibit Lone Star Regionalism, the first official event of the Texas sesquicentennial. Allen Ginsberg conducted a poetry reading at the Museum.
1985
The new decorative arts wing, built to house 1,400 objects from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, opened Friday, November 29.
1984
The name was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art. The building was officially opened to the public on January 29, 1984. The first exhibition was of the newly installed permanent collection. New programming included the annual performance series Jazz Under the Stars and a lecture series. Wendy Reves donated her art collection to the Museum. An entire wing devoted to educational programming was unveiled.
1982–1983
Thirty-eight impressionist, post-impressionist and contemporary American paintings and sculptures were donated to the Museum from the collection of Algur H. Meadows and his wife, Elizabeth. Museum staff moved into the new downtown building, and the Sculpture Garden was opened to the public at noon on Monday, October 10, 1983. The Museum commissioned major works of art by Ellsworth Kelly and Claes Oldenburg, among others, to celebrate the new building downtown.
1981
Richard Shaffer's art was featured in the DMFA's first Concentrations show, a new series of exhibitions featuring the work of emerging contemporary artists.
1980
A program of annual awards to young artists in Texas and the Southwest was made possible by the DeGolyer and Kimbrough funds. A groundbreaking ceremony for the New Museum Building was held November 15, 1980.
1979
A city bond election was passed on November 6, 1979 and Dallas voters pledged $24.8 million toward the construction of a new museum building downtown. The exhibition Pompeii A.D. 79 was hosted by the DMFA, breaking attendance records at the Museum and increasing membership levels by 400%.
1977
James and Lillian Clark gave Brancusi's Beginning of the World to the Museum.
1975
Mrs. John B. O'Hara bequested $4.5 million to the Foundation for the Arts for the purchase of art.
1974
Harry Parker III was named the new director of the DMFA and was very effective at fundraising and increasing membership for the Museum. Parker also spearheaded the construction of the current museum building downtown, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes.
1972
Donors who contributed $500,000 in funds or art were honored as benefactors. Eugene and Margaret McDermott and Algur and Elizabeth Meadows were named the first Lifetime Trustees.
1970
The Museum’s Education Committee recommended that the Museum School be discontinued in June 1970 due to overlapping services with other schools in the city, and recommended that a new creative learning program for youth, including free drawing classes, be implemented in its place.
1965
A new two-story wing was added to the Museum building, nearly doubling the exhibition space. Henry Moore visited the Museum after it purchased his Two Piece Reclining Figure, No 3.
1964
The Foundation for the Arts was established as a holding agency for the former DMCA collection, with the power to solicit funds and acquire art objects to be placed at the disposal of the Museum. Jerry Bywaters resigned as director of the Museum, and was succeeded by Merrill Rueppel. Rueppel supplemented the art collection with important acquisitions in pre-Columbian, ancient, Asian, and contemporary art.
1963
The Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (DMCA) merged with the DMFA on May 30, 1963, with both Museums being represented by the name the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The boards of the two Museums were also merged, increasing the total number of trustees to 82.
1962
The Arts of Man an exhibition acclaimed by critics as the most significant accomplishment in the Museum's 60-year history, attracted record attendance. Andrew Wyeth's That Gentleman was purchased by the Museum after a community-wide fundraising effort.
1960
The McDermott Fund was established by Eugene and Margaret McDermott, supplementing the Munger Fund in significant acquisition endowments.
1956
The Society for the Contemporary Arts was founded by a civic group interested in promoting greater appreciation of contemporary art. The society later became the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, directed by Douglas MacAgy (October 1959 – November 2, 1962). The DMFA signed a new contract with the city that formalized operating procedures in existence since 1909.
1955
The Public Affairs Luncheon Club, a local women's group, accused the Museum of exhibiting the work of artists with Communist affiliations. Later that year, on December 7, 1955, the Board of Trustees issued a statement that they would "exhibit and acquire works of art only on the basis of their merit as works of art."
1951
The Art Rental Program began which supported local artists and allowed patrons to rent works while considering a purchase.
1950
The DMFA initiated a weekly television program on WFAA called Is This Art? Exhibitions averaged 40 per year.
1949
The Crafts Guild of Dallas cosponsored with the DMFA the First Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition.
1948
New membership categories were created based on the amount contributed annually to the Museum: Benefactors ($1,000 or more), Honorary (members who placed important collections on indefinite loan to the Museum), Donors ($100–$1,000), Contributing ($50), Sustaining ($25), Participating ($10), and Active ($5). The First Southwestern Exhibition of Prints and Drawings was held. Additional staff was added and attendance reached almost 200,000 for the year.
1944
The Museum Library opened to the public on Sunday, March 12th and consisted of approximately 1,200 art books, 400 prints, color reproductions, art annuals, and current periodicals.
1943
Jerry Bywaters was hired as Director of the DMFA, a position he would keep for 21 years. Under his leadership, the Museum focused primarily on exhibiting regional art. Museum attendance topped 100,000 and the city increased its contribution to almost $27,000.
1942
Members of the Museum League served as hostesses, sold Defense Stamps, held gallery tours, and sponsored free music programs on Sundays at the Museum.
1941
The Museum School of Art was created and began offering classes to children and adults. Such prominent artists as Merritt T. Mauzey, Otis Dozier, Correen Spellman, Octavio Medellin, and David McManaway taught at the Museum school until it closed in June 1970. Adult classes were added to the children's programs. The First Annual Texas Print Exhibition was held.
1940
Museum membership was approximately 950. The Junior League provided volunteers for the Education Department to help with Saturday classes. The Museum League, comprised of 30 members, held its first annual Hobby Show.
1939
The DAA hosted its first exhibition devoted exclusively to African-American artists. Museum membership was 746. Although the director, Richard Howard, had been conducting tours since 1936, and education staff were also teaching children's classes for approximately three years, it was not until 1939 that a definitive education department was started. Mrs. Maggie Joe Hogue, the Museum's first Supervisor of Education, started an appreciation tour for children of members of the Art Association and began giving tours to a variety of local clubs that met regularly at the Museum.
1938
The Museum League was established. The League was responsible for providing entertainment such as concerts, printing programs, cataloging books in the library, keeping a clipping bureau, conducting radio programs, cataloging private art collections in Dallas, arranging certain exhibits, hosting children's tours, providing relief lectures for tours, and encouraging membership in the Dallas Art Association.
1936
The Texas Centennial was celebrated in Dallas, prompting renovations and additions at Fair Park. The new Museum building opened in Fair Park May 31, 1936. The Centennial Exposition Art Exhibition drew over 154,000 visitors to the Museum from June 6 to November 26, 1936.
1934–1935
The Depression caused the city to cut the Museum's budget to $5,500 per year. City bonds worth $500,000 were sold to build a new Museum facility in Fair Park.
1933
The name of the Museum was changed from the Free Public Art Gallery of Dallas to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (DMFA) on January 13, 1933, and subsequently moved to the ninth floor of the Dallas Power and Light Company building.
1930
Museum membership was approximately 700. Director John Ankeney stated, "Nature made Dallas rich, Time will make her powerful, but only Art can make her great."
1929
The DAA moved its art collection to the Majestic Theatre to better protect it from fire and weather conditions until the new Museum building in Fair Park could be used. The first professional director, John S. Ankeney, was hired for the DAA. Ankeney increased the importance of exhibits and the Museum began offering weekly lectures, started a program of children's classes, and sent members a monthly newsletter, Art Notes. Museum membership reached 650.
1928
The DAA started annual exhibitions of work by area artists with the First Annual Allied Arts Exhibition of Dallas.
1927
A city bond issue passed, providing $500,000 in city bonds for building and equipping a new Museum facility.
1926
A hailstorm broke the glass roof of the Fair Park Free Public Art Gallery of Dallas in May 1926, but only one painting suffered minor damage as a result.
1925
The Munger Fund was established by Mrs. S. I. Munger with a $50,000 endowment for art acquisitions.
1916
The second catalogue of the permanent collection was published.
1915
The DAA held its first large exhibition downtown at the Adolphus Hotel.
1909
The DAA donated its permanent collection to the City of Dallas and moved to the new Textile and Fine Arts building in Fair Park, the site of the State Fair of Texas. The Free Public Art Gallery of Dallas was the Museum's first official facility. The first catalogue of the permanent collection was published on this occasion.
1903–1909
Exhibitions were held at the Dallas Public Library and the Art Room was open to the public every Saturday afternoon from November to May. In 1903 the DAA hosted its first annual exhibition. Donations were made to the new Dallas Art by Mrs. A. H. Belo and Mr. J. S. Armstrong to purchase pictures and further the work of the organization.
1903
The Dallas Art Association (DAA) was founded by a group of 50 citizens at a meeting, Monday, January 19, 1903, at 10:30 a.m. in the Dallas Public Library. The DAA was established as a dedicated organization to support the visual arts in Dallas, with the goal of creating a permanent art gallery.
1902
The Art Committee of the Dallas Public Library gave an exhibition in the art gallery that was by far the best collection that had ever been brought to Texas at that time. Two paintings were purchased through funds raised by the exhibition: My Gondolier's Kitchen by Herbert Faulkner and September Moonrise by Childe Hassam. Frank Reaugh and Gustave Wolf also presented pictures to the Art Committee.
1899–1902
The Dallas Public Library was planning a new building. At the suggestion of well-known Texas artist Frank Reaugh, an art gallery was included on the second floor of the library.