Hours: Tuesday- Saturday, 11 am–4 pm

Mission and History

Our Mission

Our mission at the Glacier Art Museum is to enrich the cultural life of our community and region, and preserve the artistic legacy of Montana and Glacier National Park.

Land Acknowledgement

In the spirit of healing, we honor and recognize that the state of Montana has been peopled and stewarded by unique, distinct, and prosperous groups of Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Today, eight federally recognized Tribal Nations that comprise 12 different tribes exist in Montana: The Blackfeet Tribe, the Chippewa-Cree Tribes, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, the Crow Tribe, the Fort Belknap Tribes, the Fort Peck Tribes, the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. These are not the only indigenous peoples to have inhabited the Montana region and we also acknowledge tribes such as the Bannock, Nez Perce, Northern Arapaho, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Shoshone.

Building History
Glacier Art Museum is housed in a turn-of-the-century Carnegie Library Building that is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The nearly 125-year-old building, now wheelchair accessible, has undergone significant renovations to create a sophisticated museum setting while retaining the building’s historic beauty.

Museum History
In 1967, the Flathead Branch of the Montana Institute of the Arts explored the need for a community art center in the Flathead Valley. Area residents responded enthusiastically, and on February 10, 1969, the Flathead Valley Art Association opened the Hockaday Center for the Arts as a community art center in the Carnegie Library building.

The art center was named for Lakeside artist Hugh Hockaday (1892-1968), who moved to the Flathead Valley after a successful career as a commercial artist. In 1998, the Hockaday Center changed its name to the Hockaday Museum of Art to reflect its new focus as a collecting museum. It was then renamed to Glacier Art Museum in 2025 to reflect the museum’s continued commitment to regional representation

Permanent Collection
The Museum’s growing permanent collection of over 2500 artworks focuses on the art and artists of Montana and Glacier National Park. For a list of artists, please go to our permanent collection page. To find out more about donating a work of art to the permanent collection and information on legacy giving, please visit here.

Glacier Art Museum is proud to be a longstanding member of the following organizations:

American Alliance of Museums

Bigfork Chamber of Commerce

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

Kalispell Downtown Association

Montana Art Gallery Director’s Association

Montana Nonprofit Association

Museums for All

North American Reciprocal Museum Association

Whitefish Chamber of Commerce

Glacier Art Museum has achieved the Silver Seal of Transparency on Guidestar/Candid:

We are also thankful to our current sponsors and community partners:

Montana Arts Council

Whitefish Community Foundation Greatfish Community Challenge

Applied Materials Foundation

Glacier Art Museum is a current recipient of the 2019-2021 Cultural & Aesthetics Trust Grant through the Montana Arts Council. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.

Visit Us

Winter Hours beginning Oct. 14:

Tuesday through Saturday 11 am- 4 pm

302 2nd Avenue E – Kalispell, Montana 59901
Call Us: (406) 755-5268
Email Us: info@glacierartmuseum.org

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