On March 20, 1924, the institution now known as the Tucson Museum of Art was founded in Tucson's Presidio district as the Tucson Fine Arts Association. Its creation by members of the Tucson Women's Club and other local supporters, including Louise Norton, established a civic art organization before Tucson had a purpose-built art museum. The association initially functioned as a gallery and lecture space, later moving into the Temple of Music and Art and expanding through exhibitions, educational programming, and collecting. Its development from volunteer-led art association to regional museum is important for the history of art infrastructure in the American Southwest, especially in relation to Western American, Latin American, Native American, Asian, modern, and contemporary collections.
The founding created the institutional base for one of Arizona's major art museums.