The United States is home to some of the most well known art museums in the world with some of the most famous works of art. From Leonardo da Vinci to Roy Lichtenstein, every artistic era and medium is represented in American museums throughout the country.
The following list covers museums from New York City to Los Angeles and places in between. These are just a few of the America’s museums, so bear in mind that there are many other, but use this list to get off to a good start.
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bordering New York City’s Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in the United States. it houses more than two million pieces in its permanent collection of curated artwork from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The Museum is always expanding. It transformed its Whitney space in March 2016 to the new Met Breuer, a separate museum of the Met that houses exclusive contemporary art pieces.
2, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The more than 450,000 works of art held by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston makes it one of the largest museums in the United States. Its most renowned collections are its American Art, Egyptian Art, and ongoing #techstyle exhibit that features fashion in the age of sci-fi technology. Thanks to Boston’s twinning with the city of Nagoya—the MFA’s Japanese art collection (the Edward S. Morse Collection)—this museum houses America’s most extensive collection of Japanese art and pottery outside Japan. Music lovers should also check out the gallery of 1,100 musical instruments from Medieval times to now, complete with daily gallery demonstrations.
3. PHILADELPHIA Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art features one of the largest collections of American artworks in the USA, next to its acquisition of important paintings by Cezanne, Manet, DuChamp, and Marisso. The often busy museum contains more than 220,000 pieces, such as intricate Persian and Turkish rugs, along with one of the world’s most-visited Rodin sculpture collections. For young art lovers or fashionistas, the museum has a bevy of interesting art exhibits, from its fashion-heavy Creative Africa exhibit to play installations by Joseph Kosuth.
4. National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art was established in 1937 and is the United States’ national collection of fine art housed on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The museum is split into west and east buildings. The west building contains the museum’s American and European Collections, specifically its Kress collection featuring an abundance of Italian pieces. The east building is mostly modern art and special exhibition space. (Note: The National Gallery of Art is not under the jurisdiction of the Smithsonian Institution.)
5. Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, is in Midtown Manhattan and contains a vast collection of Modernist art. It also organizes short exhibitions featuring collections from overseas in its stunning white abstract backdrop. Some of the 20th Century’s most recognizable paintings by the likes of Van Gogh, Rousseau, Pollock, and Picasso grace the walls of the MoMA.
Tips for the MoMA: Note that admission to the MoMA is free on Fridays from 4-8 p.m. (expect crowds). The Modern, the restaurant that is open only to museum patrons, is one of New York City’s Michelin-starred restaurants The Modern does not accept reservations.
6. Cleveland Museum of Art
If you’re visiting Ohio and want to saunter through an art museum, look no further than the Cleveland Museum of Art. It’s a buzzing 45,000-piece art museum that houses Botticelli, Van Gogh, Goya, Matisse and other famous painters in less crowded, larger spaced galleries when compared to the Met or MoMA. This museum has art for every age, from ancient Tibetan pieces to art models for kids, and it’s the only American museum to possess a surviving Gothic table fountain.
7. Art Institute of Chicago
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art are the highlights of the collection at The Art Institute of Chicago, which is the second largest art museum in the US. The museum is famous for its expansive collection of American art, African-American art, antique Asian art and 20th-century furniture. If you are a Monet lover, don’t forget to stroll through this museum to catch one of America’s largest collection of Monet paintings.
8. Detroit Institute of the Arts
The Detroit Institute Of The Arts is one of the smaller museums on the list, with 65,000 pieces on display, but what it has packs a punch. Containing exclusive collections of Early European art paintings, American art, and ancient artifacts, the museum frequently ranks in the top 5 art museums in the US. This museum is the museum you should run to if you are desperate to stare at Rodin’s “The Thinker”, and glimpse Peter Bruegel The Elder’s “The Wedding Dance.”
9. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The LACMA, as it’s often called, is the largest art museum west of Chicago. It houses an estimated 100,000 works of art dating from ancient times to the present day. It’s a museum best known for its American galleries, which focus on pre-Columbian and Latin American art. Thanks to perpetually nice weather, the LACMA has numerous temporary and permanent outdoor installations.
10. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Set in a distinctive Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is known for its modern artworks. Originally called The Museum of Non-Objective Painting when it opened in 1939, the Guggenheim started with a collection of American and European abstract and non-objective works. The museum was renamed after its founder in 1952, and now the Guggenheim displays its core abstract collection along with works from all manner of contemporary art genres, among them, Dada, Impressionism, Pop Art, and Surrealism.
