Our Mission

Building History
The Hockaday 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.