Humans are always interested in their past and one of the fascinating traits of human nature is our unsatisfiable need to know more about our roots – to learn more about where we came from.
While it is not as easy as it sounds, to find the answer to these doubts, we have come a long way in understanding our history than ever before.
One of the most essential elements that have helped people understand more about the life of our predecessors is the well-maintained art museums and galleries.
Without a doubt, they provide an insight into the past glory and history of mankind. It is true that museums cannot provide a simple picture of our history or the magnificent story of our evolution through time, but they have definitely helped us to understand and learn from the lessons of the past and also to avoid making the mistakes that we had done in the past.
While many people are not interested in visiting museums, we truly believe that paying a visit to one will only improve our knowledge and understanding of our past and it is something that we should consider doing whenever we get the chance.
So if you are someone who is interested in visiting museums or is someone who is planning to visit museums for the first time, here is the complete list of the best art museums in the United States that you should visit if you ever get a chance to.
We have included the location of the museum and some of the major attractions that are exhibited in the museum for you.
List Of Best Art Museums In The US 2023
- The Getty Center
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Art Institute of Chicago
- National Gallery of Art
- Guggenheim Museum
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- De Young Museum
- The Whitney Museum of American Art
- Museum of Modern Art
?️ The Getty Center
Located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the Getty Center is one of the best art museums in the US. The museum was opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and reports say that the museum attracts around 1.8 million visitors annually.
One of the best things about the museum apart from the exhibits is its location. The museum is located on the top of a hill and is surrounded by a beautiful garden. It is located with a beautiful view of Los Angeles city.
The hill that holds the museum is located around 900 feet from the sea level and on a clear day visitors will be able to see the Los Angeles city skyline and if the sky is clear enough, the San Bernardino Mountains and San Gabriel Mountains too.
The Getty Center is not only known for its beautiful occasions and the magnificent architecture of the building. The center holds many valuable and important art pieces that attract a very large number of viewers annually.
A wide collection of art pieces from European art pieces from the medieval period that dates from 300-1400 till the modern period (1860 -1975) is one of the major attractions of the Getty Center.
Among the exhibited pieces, the oil painting Irises by the world-renowned artist Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most noted and valuable pieces in the gallery. Along with the cultural and historically significant exhibits, the Getty Center also has a well-maintained courtyard with lush greenery and a very beautiful fountain too.
?️ Philadelphia Museum of Art
Originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the main building of the museum was completed in 1928.
The Philadelphia Art Museum is located on a hill at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Eakins Oval. Along with the main building, the museum complex also includes two additional buildings. One of them is the Rodin Museum and the other is the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building.
Both these buildings are located close to the main building of the museum. One of the most strange things about the museum is the bronze griffin designs that adorn the structure. These symbols were later adopted as the symbol of museums in the 1970s.
As for the exhibits of the museum, the Philadelphia Art Museum is very rich compared to the other museums. The three different buildings that constitute the complete museum complex hold different pieces of cultural and historic importance from different periods in history.
The report says that the museum is home to more than 240,000 objects of historical importance.https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park The major world of the museum is said to have different origins like Egyptian, pre-Columbian, Roman, and Asian as well.
The artworks in the museum consist of more than three centuries of works and also include some of the best modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Antonio Rotta, Salvador Deli, and many more.
The rotation collection of the museum also features encyclopedic holdings of different costumes and textiles that are historically significant.
?️ The Metropolitan Museum Of Art
Popularly known as ‘The Met,’ the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest art museums in the county. The museum is so famous that millions of people pay a visit to the museum, making it one of the top 10 most visited museums in the world. It is also the second most visited museum in the United States.
The main building of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Met was founded in 1870 and the construction of the main building was completed in 1880.
The museum also has a much smaller additional complex known as The Cloister and is located at Fort Tryon in Upper Manhattan.
The permanent collections that are on display at The Met include different historical works of art from different locations and from different time periods in history.
Some of the most notable works in the gallery are from ancient Egypt, paintings, sculptures, and other forms of artworks from some of the best masters from Europe, and also a very large collection of American and modern art too.
The museum also holds different musical instruments, costumes, weapons, armor, and other historically valuable items from different parts of the world. The Met is literally considered as one of the best art museums in the US.
?️ Art Institute Of Chicago
Founded in 1879, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and also one of the largest museums in the world. The museum is located at 111 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
The Art Institute of Chicago is the second largest museum in the country after The Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York. The museum is associated with the School of Art Institute of Chicago.
The museum is also one of the most visited locations of its kind in the world. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries are located on the museum’s ground floor. The museum also added a new wing in 2009.
The Art Institute of Chicago is known for the valuable collection that it holds from different locations and different periods. The museum is the home to some of the most iconic works like The Old Guitarist by Pablo Piccaso, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, and the American Gothic by Grant Wood.
The permanent collection that is exhibited in the museum is around 300,000 pieces of different origins and significance.
The exhibited artifacts and other historically significant pieces in the museum come from different periods and areas like African art, and the Indian art of Americans. American art, European paintings, and sculptures, European decorative arts, modern contemporary arts, painting and drawings, and many more.
?️ National Gallery Of Art
The National Gallery of Art is located in Washington D.C and is a museum that is open to the public free of charge. The museum was privately established in 1937. The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue.
Andrew W. Mellon, an American politician, and businessman has donated a substantial amount for the constitution of the museum and also a huge art collection to be exhibited at the museum. The collection of Andrew W. Mellon was collected by him during the time of World War I.
The collections that are exhibited at the National Gallery of Art are of very much historical and cultural; significance. The major focus of the museum is on artworks that are from the Middle Ages to the present day. The museum also has different pieces from the time of the Italian Renaissance.
The works from the period like The Maesta by Duccio, the Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico, the Allendale Nativity by Giorgione, and The Feast of the Gods by Giovanni Bellini are some of the permanent exhibits that are housed at the National Gallery of Art.
The collection also includes some of the most famous works by different European masters also. The museum is also known for its 75,000 prints and also the collection of rare books that are present at the Museum.
?️ Guggenheim Museum
Often referred to as the Guggenheim Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is located at 1071 Fifth Avenue, on the Eastern Upper Side of Manhattan. The museum was founded by Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and it was established in the year 1939.
After the death of its creator, Solomon R. Guggenheim, in 1952, the museum was given its current name. The main building of the museum is known for its unusual shape and it took around 15 years to design and build the structure.
The structure, which is considered a landmark of architecture in the 20th century, was designed by Frank Loyd Wright. The construction of the main building was completed in 1959.
From the time of the establishment of the museum till now, the collection that is exhibited in the museum has grown over a number. The museum holds around 8000 works as of 2022 and it attracts millions of visitors each year.
Among the different 8000 pieces that are held in the museum, the works mostly come from different significant eras in history like pop art, impressionism, and surrealism.
Some of the most valuable and significant collections that are exhibited in the museum include Women with Yellow Hair by Pablo Picasso and Paris Through the Window by Marc Chagall. A separate gallery that honors the word by the abstract artist Vasily Kandinsky is also set up in the museum.
?️ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Formerly known as the National Museum of American Arts, the Smithsonian American Art Museum is located in the capital city of the United States, Washington D.C.
The museum is a part of the Smithsonian Institute and the collection in the museum is said to be some of the most inclusive ones that are present in the whole of the country.
This museum is considered as one of the best art museums in the US according to the visitor’s suggestions.
The museum also has an associate museum named the Renwick Gallery and together, these two institutions include some of the most significant art pieces ranging from the colonial period to the modern period of the country.
The main building of the museum is the Old Patent Office Building and it holds the major artifacts of the museum. The branch museum Renwick Gallery mainly holds craft-focused exhibitions.
One of the major attractions of the museum is the exhibitions that are held in the complex. The museum has hosted hundreds of exhibitions since it was founded. The exhibitions are also associated with different scholarships for people who intend to work in the field of American art.
The American collection that is featured in the museum represents over 7,000 artists and it covers almost all regions and the prominent art movements that are marked in the history of the United States. The museum also holds the record for having the biggest collection of New Deal art.
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?️ De Young Museum
The de Young Museum located in San Francisco, California is a fine arts museum and is a component of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.
The name of the museum comes from an early San Francisco newspaperman M.H de Young. The museum opened in the year 1895 and the initial purpose of the museum was to serve as an outgrowth of the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894.
The building of the museum got damaged several times in the 1906 earthquake and it remained closed for almost a year for repairs. The current building of the museum was completed by famous architects Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, and Fong Chan. The construction of the new building was completed in 2005.
The major collection that is exhibited in the de Young Museum is American Art. The works range through a tie period from the 17th century to the 21st century.
Along with the historically significant pieces from American Art, the museum also holds different contemporary arts, textiles, and costumes from different other countries too.
Some of the most prominent featured artists in the de Young Museum include Frederic Edwin Church, George Henry Durrie, William Hahn, and many more.
?️ The Whitney Museum Of American Art
Another prominent museum from the city of New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art is regarded as one of the best art museums in the US. It is commonly known by the name ‘The Whitney’ and is located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York.
The establishment of the museum is credited to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who was wealthy and one of the most prominent socialites and sculptors of American society. The museum moved to its current location very recently, in 2015 to be exact. The current building of the museum was designed by Renzo Piano.
The major focus of the exhibits in the Whitney Museum of American Art is from the 20th and 21st centuries. The permanent collection of the museum includes more than 25,000 different paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and so on, which are majorly from the late 19th century.
Along with these exhibits, the museum also holds different photographs, videos, films, and other artifacts of new media which are credited to more than 3,500 artists.
?️ Museum Of Modern Art
Regarded as one of the largest and most influential museums in the world, the Museum of Modern Art is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The collection of the museum ranges to almost all significant areas and time periods in our history.
In the past years, the museum has also made its way to the list of some of the most visited museums in the world. The Museum of Modern Art was established in 1929, which is more than nine decades ago.
The wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and her friends Lillie P. Bliss and Mary Quinn Sullivan are credited with the idea for establishing the museum.
The collection exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art is mainly from modern and contemporary art along with different historical and culturally significant works in architecture, drawing, painting, photography, prints, films, electronic media, and more.
Some of the most famous artworks that are featured in the museum include The City Rises by Umberto Boccioni, I and The Village by Marc Chagall, The Song of Love by Giorgio de Chirico and so many more. It is also the home of one of the most famous paintings in the world, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gough.
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Conclusion
While humans are getting more busy day by day, we sometimes tend to forget who we are and who we were. Art museums serve a significant purpose by reminding us who we were and also by shedding light on our past.
These institutions hold the key to our past lives and help us to learn from the mistakes that our race had committed in the past.
So, if you ever get a chance to visit any museums or are planning to visit a museum, make sure you make the most of the opportunity and make use of this list of 10 of the best art museums in the US.
