At the Holter Museum of Art's very first opening reception the members of the Helena Arts Council served hummus -- it was the only thing they could think of to feed 100 people that cost next to nothing.

Those who attended the opening were in for a visual feast, anyway, of photographs by Ansel Adams, pieces from the Montana Historical Society's Poindexter Collection, sculpture by Jeff Holter and paintings by William F. Reese.

Now, the museum is celebrating 20 years of providing that same combination of humble hospitality and extraordinary artwork.

The museum will host a birthday party Tuesday, 5:30-7 p.m.

"This was big stuff for Helena, Montana," says Dick Duffy, who remembers that day in December of 1987 as "very cold."

Even so, a group gathered outside on the sidewalk to cut the 3-foot-wide red ribbon wrapped around the front of the building.

Joan Holter, who contributed her family's name as well as plenty of financial backing to the museum, did the honor -- and one of Helena's most vital arts organizations was born.

The Holter was started by a group of local arts lovers who joined together as the Helena Arts Council, which was dedicated to developing the arts in town.

Once upon a time, the Helena Arts Council was a very busy organization. Two of Helena's most important annual exhibitions, the Electrum and Western Rendezvous of Art, began under its auspices, and the proceeds from those exhibits trickled down into the greater arts community.

The problem, says Duffy, is that because the HAC had to use existing venues for its shows, they rarely were on display for more than a few days.

"The arts council for years had thought about establishing a visual art museum," said Duffy, who was president of the board around the time the museum talk began to get serious. "There was nothing really in Helena in a major fashion."

Liz Gans, executive director of the Holter, said she suspects Duffy was the true champion of the idea, who, along with a few other key figures, really got things going.

As museums cropped up in Montana cities like Billings and Missoula, they felt it just became high time for Helena to have one, too.

The group looked at everything from the former J.C. Penney's downtown to the New York Block and the old IBM building, but nothing was quite in their range financially. They approached the dean of Carroll College and started talking about building a new facility on campus, but had a setback when an architect drew up a proposal that was a little too grand.

Then, Duffy heard the Montana Powder and Equipment building on Lawrence was going to become available.

"When I saw it, I knew it clicked," said Duffy, who helped engineer the sale for $100,000. After that, the group poured its resources into renovating the space.

"By the time we were through, the building cost us close to half a million dollars," Duffy said.

Duffy approached Holter about using her family's name for the museum. The Holters were a pioneer Montana family whose business savvy and intellectual acumen have resulted in numerous important contributions to progress in the state and beyond.

Because Duffy knew that the Seattle Art Museum was often just referred to as "SAM," the group elected to call the new space the Holter Museum of Art, lest it be given the nickname "HAM."

From the beginning, the HAC vowed that the museum would show a little bit of everything, with an emphasis on contemporary art.

Fortunately, that didn't stop some dedicated Western art collectors from backing the project. One of those was Alberta Bair, who was approached by Jean Baucus -- also a major contributor -- and like that, agreed to match a $50,000 grant from the Murdoch Trust.

In the museum's planning stages, Duffy said, those involved discussed at length whether they should charge admission to the museum and decided strongly against it.

The people they wanted to bring in, he said, were not the ones who could necessarily afford to pay admission for the whole family.

"Not that we didn't need the money," added Duffy.

Despite the inevitable financial ups and downs a nonprofit faces, the museum has remained strongly committed over the years to keeping admission free, says Gans.

"So many people in Helena don't know that it's free," she added.

Over the years, the Holter has carefully cultivated a non-intimidating atmosphere that makes it feel more like a community center than a museum.

But that atmosphere sometimes belies the caliber of the work the museum has exhibited from day one.

From reknowned Montana-based artists like Rudy Autio, Gennie and Robert DeWeese, Russell Chatham and Ann Appleby to ceramic greats like Jun Kaneko and Helena's own Richard Notkin, Gans says the museum has shown many heavyweights of modern contemporary art.

It's also provided a venue for outstanding regional artists, many of whom exhibited at the Holter on their way to becoming established. The only real through line, says Gans, is that the quality of the work is always high.

The Holter has shown African quilts and Ji Xing ceramics, black-and-white photography and neon "sculpture."

"We're not rigid," said Gans.

The museum has also slowly built up its small but impressive permanent collection, which includes work by many of the state's most important artists.

In 1999, the Holter began a capital campaign to raise funds to expand its space. Gans, who was also the museum's executive director in 1991-93, said that even then it felt like the size of the building somewhat hampered the museum's potential.

The museum's physical transformation was the impetus for some changes in its offerings as well.

In February 2002, the Holter unveiled its updated facility, which added 8,000 square feet of classrooms, gallery space and storage to the existing building.

Part of that addition was the Holter's gorgeous High Gallery, designed by Helena architect Susan Bjerke.

"That space enables us to show major work of a major scale," says Gans, who describes the gallery as both "grand and intimate."

The addition of classrooms and educational facilities meant that the museum could finally begin to meet the demand for those programs.

According to Gans, the museum's educational offerings have "exploded" as a result.

On Tuesday night, the museum staff will celebrate with champagne instead of hummus, but the focus, says Gans, will really be on the museum's community of supporters.

"We're toasting the museum but we're all toasting each other," she said.

Call 442-6400.