About this Organization
In 1928, Hagerstown native, Anna Brugh Singer and her husband, noted American Post-Impressionist painter, William H. Singer, Jr., gave the art museum building designed by Hyde and Shepherd of N.Y.C., and an art collection for the City of Hagerstown and Washington County.
Officially founded in 1929 by a Maryland State Charter, established as part of the Code of Local Laws of Washington County, MD, and opened in 1931, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) has a long-time horizon, and has maintained accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 1976. It is a recognized community anchor and meets the community’s need for a high quality, full-service art museum. The MFA (33,130 square feet) is housed in a 1930 Hyde and Shepherd building protected by an easement of the Maryland Historic Trust. Two additions, one in 1949 and one in 1994, and the Kaylor Atrium enclosure of 2011 have increased exhibition and educational spaces of the museum.
Since 1931 the public-private partnership between the MFA and the City of Hagerstown and Washington County, Maryland, has underpinned the continued growth and respect which the MFA enjoys locally, state-wide and nationally, for the significant cultural opportunities and services which are offered to its residents, and for making Hagerstown and Washington County an attractive place to do business. The MFA plays a vital role in tourism and the economic development efforts of the county and region. It is a major cultural attraction and is touted by economic and governmental leadership when seeking to attract new business and industry to the area.
Admission to the Museum is free and its collection includes some 6,800 works of art. The MFA actively collects works of art in the fields of American Art, and world cultures. Changing exhibitions are developed from the museum’s permanent collection and through traveling exhibition opportunities. The MFA regularly offers art opportunities for students of all ages through tours, arts and cultural festivals, special events, studio art classes, art historical lectures, and performing arts. The MFA is funded through support from museum memberships and annual fund donations by the public, grants from the business and corporate communities, and support from Washington County, the City of Hagerstown, private foundations, and the Maryland State Arts Council. The WCMFA is open over 300 days per year.
The MFA averages over 46,000 visitors per year, from all 50 states, the District of Columbia & 67 foreign countries.
