Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art, Art museum in Historic Center, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art is an art museum in downtown Porto Alegre, located on Praça da Alfândega. The building was constructed in an eclectic architectural style and holds paintings, sculptures, photographs, and installations across several exhibition rooms.
The museum was founded in 1954 by official decree but spent its early years moving between temporary locations without a permanent home. It settled into its current building in 1978, a structure that had previously served other civic purposes.
The museum is known locally as MARGS, a name visitors will see on signs and in conversation throughout the city. Its galleries bring together works from artists of Rio Grande do Sul and the rest of Brazil, showing how regional and national art have influenced each other.
The museum sits on Praça da Alfândega in the city center, within walking distance of other downtown landmarks. It opens Tuesday through Sunday, and a visit of around two hours is generally enough to cover the main galleries.
The museum spent over two decades collecting works without a permanent building to display them in, which means much of its collection was stored or loaned out for years before the public could see it together. Today the collection is considered the largest public holding of visual art in southern Brazil.
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