Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is the living memory of Québec art and artists, housing over 42,000 works from the 17th century to today.

Planning your visit

The MNBAQ holds over 42,000 works and is the principal collection of Québec art anywhere — which matters, because Québec's artistic development followed a distinct path from anglophone Canada's, shaped by French colonial roots, the Catholic Church's long dominance, and the Quiet Revolution that broke it in the 1960s.

The Riopelle holdings are the standout. Jean-Paul Riopelle was the major Québécois painter of the twentieth century and a signatory of Refus global, the 1948 manifesto that attacked clerical conservatism and is treated as a founding document of modern Québec. The museum holds his monumental Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg.

Inuit art is a further strength, and the collection covers religious art from the colonial period, nineteenth-century painting, and contemporary work.

The complex spans four buildings, including a former prison whose cells are preserved, on the Plains of Abraham. Allow two to three hours. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is listed below.