Clio Logo

Founded in the 1970s, the Tampa Museum of Art, located in downtown Tampa Bay, features primarily ancient Greco-Roman, modern, and contemporary art. It hosts traveling exhibitions and offers changing exhibits of its permanent collection and educational programs throughout the year for people of all ages. The museum has been accredited by the American Association of Museums and is also designated as a Major Cultural Institution by Florida.


The Tampa Museum of Art was established in 1979 and moved into its current building in 2010.

The Tampa Museum of Art was established in 1979 and moved into its current building in 2010.

View inside of the museum lobby

View inside of the museum lobby

The museum at night

The museum at night

The museum as seen from another side

The museum as seen from another side

The Tampa Museum of art was created in 1979 by the Tampa Museum Federation. The museum first opened beside the convention center at the convergence of the Hillsborough River and the Garrison Channel. In 2008 the original building was torn down to make way for the current facility, which was constructed in 2010. The 66,000 square-foot structure with its aluminum siding was designed by Stanley Saitowitz, the Principal of Natoma Architects Inc. in San Francisco. The building itself is a work of art with a display of LED lights along the outer walls of the building, an exhibit that is called Sky (Tampa).

The museum has an enormous collection of ancient and modern art. Paintings and sculptures dating from the Ancient Roman world and the art studios of today fill the interior of the museum, along with a strong collection of photography from the 1980s. Other than art collections, the museum also has a rental facility, a cafe, and gift shop. As of 2023, the museum has plans to renovate and expand the building.

Bennet, Lennie. "New Tampa Museum of Art is an artwork itself." Tampa Bay Times. January 31, 2010. Retrieved from archive.today on June 22, 2016. https://archive.ph/20120910224511/http://www.tampabay.com/features/visualarts/article1068360.ece.

Bennet, Lennie. "Tampa Museum of Art wins architecture award" Tampa Bay Times. October 10, 2011. Retrieved from archive.today on June 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20111119052550/http://www.tampabay.com/features/visualarts/tampa-museum-of-art-wins-architecture-award/1196098.

"History." Tampa Museum of Art. Accessed June 22, 2016. http://tampamuseum.org/about.

"The Space." Tampa Museum of Art. Accessed June 22, 2016. http://tampamuseum.org/the-space/