Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (National Museum of Fine Arts of Québec)

Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (National Museum of Fine Arts of Québec) Review

A neoclassical beaux arts showcase, the museum has more than 22,000 traditional and contemporary pieces of Québec art. The original building houses 5,635 objects, including portraits by Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), Jean-Paul Lemieux (1904-90), and Horatio Walker (1858-1938) that are particularly notable, as well as legions of other artifacts. The museum's dignified building in Parc des Champs-de-Bataille was designed by Wilfrid Lacroix and erected in 1933 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Québec. Incorporated within is part of an abandoned prison dating from 1867. A hallway of cells, with the iron bars and courtyard, has been preserved as part of a permanent exhibition on the prison's history.