The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution, it moved to its current location in 1912 thanks to a large donation from businessman James Ross

James Ross (Canadian businessman)

James L. Ross , was a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer and businessman, who developed his fortune in railway construction.-Early life:...

.

It is Montreal's largest museum and is amongst the most prominent in Canada. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a member of the International Group of Organizers of Large-scale Exhibitions, also known as the Bizot Group, a forum which allows the leaders of the largest museums in the world to exchange works and exhibitions.

The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile

Golden Square Mile

The Golden Square Mile was the name of a luxurious neighbourhood at the foot of Mount Royal in the west-central section of downtown Montreal, Canada...

 stretch of Sherbrooke Street

Sherbrooke Street

Sherbrooke Street is a major east-west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, intersecting Gouin Boulevard and joining up with Notre-Dame...

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The museum is partitioned into three pavilions: a 1912 Beaux Arts building designed by William Sutherland Maxwell

William Sutherland Maxwell

William Sutherland Maxwell was a well-known Canadian architect and a Hand of the Cause in the Bahá'í Faith. He was born in Montreal, Canada to parents Edward John Maxwell and Johan MacBean.-Education:...

 and brother Edward Maxwell, now named the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion; the modernist Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion across the street, designed by Moshe Safdie

Moshe Safdie

Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...

, built in 1991; and the Liliane and David M.