Museums of fine art are special places where visitors gain unique understanding and insights into people and cultures of different times and places. Often, as museum visitors gaze at fine works of craftsmanship and artistry from centuries ago, the viewer senses a connection to the artist. A museum of art can even be a hallowed place where a person's heart and mind can easily meld and accept a different level of knowledge, self-awareness and self-affirmation, and even spiritual understanding.

For those who work diligently to create the beautiful and meaningful art exhibitions that are found at a fine art museum, they strive to create presentations of art that lift and inspire. In most cases, the overriding desire is to foster an experience for the visitor through the various exhibitions that will nurture a more reflective state of mind, will increase the capacity for deeper inquiry, will foster a greater commitment to excellence and integrity, and will heighten the appreciation for other people, their cultures and ideas.

Even though it is not widely known outside the region of the Western United States, the Museum of Art located on the campus of Brigham Young University, or BYU, has grown to become one of the area's largest museums dedicated to showcasing fine art. It is a very popular museum and it draws a steady flow of visitors year round, in part because of the many art exhibitions that are scheduled.

The BYU art museum features an extensive permanent collection of art, world-class traveling art shows and a variety of unique temporary gallery exhibitions that help to fulfill the unique mandate and goals of the museum, as set out by the administration of the university and the museum. Accordingly, one of the most important roles of the museum is to contribute to the overall academic mission of the university.

From aspects of research and detailed study of the artwork in the museum collections, to the instruction and learning that happens in the art exhibitions, galleries, and classrooms, the museum is seen as playing a key role in the academic goals and objectives of many students at BYU. The museum also connects to broader community audiences through its many varied art exhibitions and community educational programs.

Since it first opened its doors in the fall of 1993, the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University has quickly become recognized as one of the premier university art museums anywhere in North America. In 2004, the Association of Art Museum Directors conducted a survey of more than 150 member museums. The BYU facility ranked number one in attendance for university campus art museums.

The BYU art museum has a permanent collection that in comprised of more than 16,500 art objects, which have a special emphasis on American historic art and religious art. The American art history collection is made up of paintings, photography, prints and works of sculpture from the later part of the 18th century to the present time. This collection includes significant pieces from the Hudson River School landscape paintings and many works of American impressionism as well.

In addition to many art exhibitions from the permanent collection, the Museum of Art at BYU also displays some traveling exhibitions from many world-class museums. The museum has been host to exhibitions from the Vatican, the People's Republic of China, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Khalili Collection, the London Museum, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, just to name a few.

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