Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Art museum in Overton Park, Memphis, United States

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is an art museum in Overton Park that holds works ranging from ancient cultures to contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, and decorative arts. The collection is spread across multiple galleries inside a Beaux-Arts building set at the edge of one of Memphis's oldest parks.

The museum was founded in 1916 as Tennessee's first art museum, with the original building designed by architect James Gamble Rogers and funded by patron Bessie Vance Brooks. In the late 1980s, the building was substantially expanded, adding new gallery spaces and increasing its overall size.

The collection features works by French Impressionists and American artists that reflect the tastes and interests of the local community over generations. In the European painting galleries, visitors can see which artistic movements shaped the tastes of Memphis audiences over time.

The museum sits inside Overton Park and is easy to reach on foot from nearby parking areas. The galleries are arranged in a clear layout, so visitors can move through sections at their own pace without getting lost.

The museum holds the Samuel H. Kress Collection, a group of Renaissance and Baroque works from Italy and other parts of Europe that is rarely found in this concentration in museums across the American South. This collection came together through the philanthropy of department store magnate Samuel H. Kress, who donated works to museums across the country in a planned and systematic way.

• Location: Memphis
• Inception: 1916
• Phone: [phone]
• Website: https://brooksmuseum.org
• GPS coordinates: 35.14620,-89.99540
• Latest update: March 3, 2026 08:18