Ancient Masterpieces and
Modern-Day Perspectives

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts showcases diverse art forms this fall-winter

August 21, 2025

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is gearing up for a spectacular fall and winter season. Monumental paintings, ancient marbles, striking photographic portraits, as well as rediscoveries of Canadian and Indigenous heritage, will be on offer. This blend of history and modernity promises to captivate visitors from September 2025 through to summer 2026.

A transformed museum and a dynamic program to remind us that art, whether from the past or present, is a way to tell our stories and understand ourselves.

If you haven’t visited the MBAM in a while, get ready to be surprised. Starting September 13, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion will reopen after months of renovations with an ambitious new presentation of the Decorative Arts and Design collection, at the centre of which will permanently shine Dale Chihuly‘s The Sun.

The space dedicated to decorative arts and design unveils a brand-new parcours spanning over 600 years of creativity. Antique furniture, everyday objects, and iconic pieces of modern design all come together in a refreshed presentation designed to both amaze and provoke thought.

From top to bottom, left to right: Walter Schluep | Maria Grazia Rosin | Arthur D. Bracegirdle | Michael Massie | Verner Panton | Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, decoration painted by Jean Georget (1763-1823)

On September 27, it will be Kent Monkman’s turn to take centre stage, with an exhibition expected to be one of the cultural highlights of the year. Titled History Is Painted by the Victors, it brings together striking and monumental works by the Cree artist from Fisher River, including two massive canvases created for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Kent Monkman, the highlight of the fall season

With humour, irony, and an extraordinary sense of visual storytelling, Monkman reimagines history painting to tell the story of North America from the perspective of the First Peoples. His canvases, bursting with colour and detail, restore Indigenous peoples to a central place in narratives too often erased. This is a powerful, striking exhibition—a journey as spectacular as it is essential.

Kent Monkman (1965-), mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People): Resurgence of the People, 2019

On November 29, the 4th floor of the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion will open in a new light. Each year, it will offer a fresh perspective on Quebec and Canadian art. The first of these presentations will highlight artists from the Confederacies of the Rivers and the Great Lakes. Their works, bridging tradition and modernity, will give a powerful voice to Indigenous stories and cultures.

When Rome comes to Montreal

If fall is defined by Monkman, winter will bring an ancient breath. From March 14 to July 19, 2026, the MBAM will host a spectacular exhibition: The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture. Around 60 statues from the most prestigious private collection of Roman sculptures will make the journey from Italy to Montreal—a unique event in Canada.

Allegory of the Nile, also known as the Barberini-Albani Nile, 69-96 BCE, Rome, Imperial period, Flavian dynasty. Rome, Torlonia collection. © Fondazione Torlonia. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi

Imagine yourself face-to-face with the impassive gaze of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, alongside Hadrian, Commodus, or crossing paths with Hercules, Bacchus, or Cupid. It will be like taking a walk through imperial Rome without leaving Sherbrooke Street. For archaeology enthusiasts and casual visitors alike, this is a truly rare opportunity.

Lights, memories, and faces

This season, the MBAM invites not only lovers of ancient art but also offers spaces dedicated to decidedly contemporary explorations.

At the Contemporary Art Cube, Montreal artist Marie-Claire Blais pushes her work on light and colour even further with Waves of Light (on view until January 4, 2026). Her installation, the most ambitious of her career, immerses visitors in a visual and sensory experience.

Marie-Claire Blais (born in 1974), Fragile Balance, Set 2 (detail), 2024. Photo Pascal Grandmaison

Meanwhile, Canadian photographer and performer Anique Jordan offers a powerful reflection on memory with her recent study of light and colour Replis (on view until February 1, 2026), in collaboration with the MOMENTA Biennale. Her light boxes, sculptures, and photographs challenge us to reconsider the role of images in our societies: to show, to make invisible, or sometimes to restore voice and presence.

Finally, starting February 12, 2026, another must-see event: Richard Avedon: Immortal. This Canadian premiere features nearly a hundred portraits by the master photographer of the 20th century. Richard Avedon captured legendary figures—Samuel Beckett, Patti Smith, Toni Morrison, Truman Capote, Duke Ellington… His elegant yet raw images scrutinize faces and reveal the passage of time.

Richard Avedon (1923-2004)

With its pavilion reopenings, major international exhibitions, and dialogues between ancient and contemporary works, the MBAM once again proves its ability to surprise. Between the majestic marbles of Rome, Monkman’s vibrant canvases, and Avedon’s timeless portraits, the fall-winter 2025-2026 season promises to be one where eras converse and stories are reinvented.

Feature image: Skawennati (1969), Oniehtanó:ron (detail), from the series “The Four Kings, Revisited,” 2022Other recent articles

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