Break out the hats and cake. The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland turns 60 years old in 2008, and the venerable institution is celebrating with a really big show.

“The Farnsworth and the Art of Our Time,” opening on Saturday, March 8 in the museum’s Tim, Micah and Sam Morehouse Galleries, showcases the Farnsworth’s broad, fascinating collection of contemporary art. It features works from such renowned artists as museum favorite Andrew Wyeth, Neil Welliver, Richard Estes, Robert Indiana and Milton Avery, whose 1952 oil painting “The Typist” (above left), along with Michael Loew’s 1977 acrylic painting “Green, Purple, Orange on Ochre” (above right).

Also opening March 8 are two exhibitions featuring two of Maine’s most accomplished artists, Louise Nevelson and Alex Katz. “Nevelson” will be the first time the museum shows its extensive collection in nearly its entirety, encompassing her works in sculpture, prints, paintings, drawings and jewelry. The Farnsworth holds the second-largest Nevelson collection in the world.

“Alex Katz and Friends” features the legendary Katz’s cheerful, engaging realist paintings, along with works by Sylvia Plimak Mangold, Janet Fish, Philip Pearlstein and a host of other friends and contemporaries of the artist.

While all three shows open on March 8, a grand opening is set for Friday, April 4, featuring live music and a curatorial tour, as well as the unveiling of two more exhibitions: “Uncommon Treasures: Folk Art from the Farnsworth” and “Picturing the Decades – 60 Years of Photography.” It’s a banner year for the Farnsworth, and it’s pulling out all the stops to show off the world-class art it has accumulated over the years.

Winter hours for the museum are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; admission is $10 adults, seniors and students over 18 $8; 17 and under and Rockland residents free. For more, call 569-6457 or visit www.farnsworthmuseum.org. The Farnsworth is located at 16 Museum St. in downtown Rockland.