In 1984, the Dallas Museum of Art was fittingly relocated to the center of the Arts District in downtown Dallas. During this move, the museum took the name that it bears today. Originally founded in 1903, its paintings once hung on the walls of the Dallas Public Library.

An artist by the name of Frank Reaugh was a member of the Art Committee of the Public Library. He was the first to come up with the idea to designate library space to the discovery and observation of art. A room was set aside and given the proper lighting to create a small gallery. Enthusiasm developed among other committee members and they soon decided to organize a fund-raiser to begin a library art collection.

The Committee also possessed a wealthy benefactor, Mr. J.S. Armstrong, who was also a member of the library’s building committee. By 1902, the committee assembled the most impressive art collection in the history of Texas. The collection, cost twenty-cents admission and consisted mainly of pieces on loan from the Mrs. Sydney Smith’s donation to the Fair Association. The exhibit was an overnight success.

In 1903, the committee evolved into the Dallas Art Association (DAA), which still housed art in the library, but acted independently. After the success of the first collection, from 1904-1909 the Association sponsored an annual collection in the library, all the while purchasing works of art with money raised. In the same year, the DAA donated its collected works to the city of Dallas and opened the museum’s first official doors at Fair Park. It was originally titled the Free Public Art Gallery of Dallas.

Today, the tradition of art collection and public sponsorship lives on. The museum now contains more than 23,000 pieces of art from all over the world. Famous collections include pieces from the Ancient Mediterranean and Egypt as well as more than 1,400 unique pieces from the Wendy and Emery Reves collection. But, unlike other art museums, the Dallas Museum of Art is not devoted solely to a singular media. The museum also offers an annual jazz series: Jazz Under the Stars and educational lectures on art from visiting speakers.