Nevada Museum of Art

The Nevada Museum of Art (NMA) provides a forum for the presentation of creative ideas. We aspire to serve as a cultural resource for every member of our community. Through innovative programming and scholarship, the Museum provides the opportunity for people of all ages to encounter, engage, and enjoy a diversity of art experiences. The NMA's focus on its collections, education, and outreach are means to conserve, convey, and expand artistic knowledge.

The museum is the oldest cultural institution in the state of Nevada. Founded in 1931 as the Nevada Art Gallery by Dr. James Church and Charles F. Cutts, the organization provides a forum for community visual arts activities, exhibitions, and artists. With Cutt's bequest of his Ralston Street home and collection in 1949, the Gallery obtained a facility and the foundation of a permanent collection.

The Nevada Art Gallery remained largely a volunteer organization until 1975, when the Board of Trustees hired two art historians and began to improve upon the quality of the collection, exhibitions, and programming. In 1978, the Nevada Art Gallery purchased the Hawkins House, a national historic landmark building. Located on Court Street overlooking Reno's Truckee River, the house was commissioned in 1911 by Nevada banker and lawyer, Prince Hawkins. The Hawkins House was designed by Elmer Grey, a prominent Los Angeles architect who also designed the Huntington Mansion (now the Huntingon Library and Gallery), The Pasadena Community Playhouse, and the Beverly Hills Hotel. Upon moving into the new facility, the organization's name was changed to the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art.