The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec , often abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park, and is a complex made up of four buildings. Three of the buildings in the complex were purpose-built for the museum, while the other was initially built as a provincial prison, before being re-purposed for museum use.
The institution was opened as the Musée de la province de Québec in 1933. The museum initially served as the provincial archives, art, and natural science museum until 1962, when the natural science collection was removed. In the following year, the museum was renamed the Musée du Quebec. The provincial archives were moved from the museum in 1979, leaving it solely as an art museum. In 2002, the museum was renamed the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
Its collection includes over 40,000 works spanning from the 16th century, to the present day. Its collection primarily includes works that were produced in Quebec, or by Quebec artist, although it does also includes works from other parts of Canada, and the rest of the world. The museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums Association, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
