The Museu de Arte da Pampulha occupies the original Pampulha Casino building — Niemeyer's most striking work on the lake after the church. The casino opened in 1943, was closed within four years by a national ban on gambling, and was eventually converted into the city's main modern art museum.
The building is essentially a long curving block with a glass facade overlooking the lake. The interior has been preserved with its original parquet floors and a sweeping internal staircase. The collection runs from mid-twentieth-century Brazilian modernists to current contemporary work, with rotating temporary shows. Closed Mondays.