The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Unite States. It was founded in 1879 by lumberman Thomas Barlow Walker and was formally established at its current location in 1927 as the first public art gallery in the Upper Midwest. The museum's focus on modern art began in the 1940s, when a gift from Mrs. Gilbert Walker made possible the acquisition of works by important artists of the day, including sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, and others.