The Meadows Museum of Art was established at Centenary College of Louisiana in 1975 on the occasion of the College's 150th anniversary for the purpose of housing the Jean Despujols Collection of Paintings and Drawings of Indochina, one of the largest collections of French colonial art in the world. The Museum was made possible by a gift from Algur H. Meadows, a Centenary alumnus, who had purchased the collection for his alma mater in 1969. Since that original gift, the museum's collection has grown to more than 1600 works, largely through the generosity of donors. Major collections include the Carlton Collection of African Art, the Stein Collection of Inuit Art, the Miller Collection of Haitian Art, as well as works by Louisiana, Latin American, and American modern and contemporary artists. The Meadows is nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.