The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami opened on February 22, 1950, in Coral Gables. Established through a gift from philanthropists Joe and Emily Lowe, it became the first art museum in South Florida and gave the young university a public-facing collections institution. Its early role was not merely local: the museum developed holdings across antiquities, European painting, Asian art, Indigenous arts of the Americas, modern art, glass, and ceramics. A dedicated Lowe Art Gallery building followed in 1952, and subsequent gifts, including Native American material and Kress Collection works, expanded its curatorial reach. The opening marked a foundational moment for museum culture in Miami-Dade before the later boom of South Florida art institutions.
It established the first art museum in South Florida and anchored the University of Miami's long-term collecting program.