The Tampa Museum of Art opened its spectacular 66,000-square-foot Cornelia Corbett Center in February 2010 to critical and public acclaim. Since opening in its new home, the museum has emerged as a center of the artistic life in the region. Its commitment to accessibility is evidenced by its operating hours (open every day and into the evenings) and its embrace of public art on its 14,000 sq ft facade. The museum specializes in modern and contemporary art while holding a prized collection of antiquities.

The Tampa Museum of Art collects, preserves, studies, and exhibits iconic and important works of art to educate, engage, and inspire the residents of our region and others around the world.

In 2020, the Tampa Museum of Art celebrated its 100th Anniversary, finding its historical roots in the community as the Tampa Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in 1920. In 1923, the Tampa Art Institute emerged after a consolidation of the exhibition gallery efforts of the Tampa MFA and the studio art programs of the Student Arts Club. The Tampa Art Institute, which presented both exhibitions and studio art education programs, would remain active until 1967. In that year, the Tampa Art Institute reorganized itself as the Tampa Bay Art Center on the campus of the University of Tampa and would remain the region’s cultural resource for ten years alongside the Tampa Junior Museum, founded in 1958.

In 1977, the underpinnings of the Tampa Museum of Art were established as the result of cooperation among art organizations, private citizens and city government. The City of Tampa reached out to the Tampa Bay Art Center and the Tampa Junior Museum and requested they merge under a municipal operation as the Tampa Museum. In 1979 the museum opened to the public as the Tampa Museum Federation in a building funded by the City of Tampa. The museum was a joint venture of the City of Tampa, responsible for physical plant, operations and administration, security, and maintenance. The 501c3 Tampa Museum of Art owned the collections and was responsible for fundraising and programmatic oversight for exhibitions, programs, and acquisitions. Seven years later, in 1986, the name of the museum changed to the Tampa Museum of Art, the name of the support organization.

Over these early years, the purpose and direction of the museum became more focused. The museum acquired the Joseph Veach Noble Collection of Greek vases and two strong collections and exhibition focuses emerged in Antiquities and Contemporary art. To accommodate the growth of the collection and expanding the programming and staff, two additions to the building were accomplished. After modest additions to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1990 and 1994, the support Board in collaboration with the City decided to expand and relocate its facility. Discussions regarding this new building program began in 2000.

In 2006, the City and TMA’s Board of Trustees selected architect Stanley Saitowitz to build a new 66,000 square foot facility – Phase I of a two-phase program – on a new site in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. In December 2007, the Museum relocated to interim quarters in Tampa and construction began in April 2008. The Tampa Museum of Art in 2009 then reorganized as a private and independent 501c3 and opened to the public on February 6, 2010. Today, the Tampa Museum of Art Board of Trustees governs the facility and all responsibilities regarding the Museum.