There is, of course, no need to go to Europe to see great works of art. Some of the most famous and renowned collections in the world are housed in museums here in the United States. Artrevived.com has assembled this list of some of the best art museums in the United States based on reputation and popularity.
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The “Met” is one of the world’s largest museums, measuring almost a quarter mile long and containing over 2 million works of art. Besides housing widely varied collections ranging from antique weapons to Australian Aboriginal rock paintings, the cornerstones of its European paintings include works by Cézanne, Monet, Rembrandt and Van Gogh.
2. J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles, California
The Getty Center features stunning garden and fountains in addition to Western and European works of art including paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne.
3. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The National Gallery of Art, located on the Mall in Washington, was created by a joint resolution of Congress in 1937 for the American people. Its permanent collection is most well known for its Italian Renaissance paintings including works by Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael as well as “Ginerva de Benci,” the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the western hemisphere.
4. Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
The MOMA is widely considered to have one of the best Modern Art collections in the world. It displays iconic works of sculpture, architecture and electronic media in addition to “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” by Pablo Picasso and paintings by Kahlo, Monet, Cézanne and Matisse.
5. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Illinois
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest museums in the United States, second only to the Met. It is famous for its renowned Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections that contain more than thirty paintings by Claude Monet as well as works by Cezanne, Seurat and Van Gogh.
6. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Boston’s most well known art museum draws over one million visitors every year to see its more than 450,000 works of art which includes paintings by Monet as well as American art by Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. It also frequently has innovative and popular new exhibits such as this year’s “Walk this Way,” an exhibit that traces our fascination with footwear all the way from ancient Egyptian and Nubian sandals to the latest heels designed by Miu Miu.
7. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
The SF MOMA was the first West Coast Museum dedicated to collecting and displaying exclusively 20th century Art. Its permanent collection boasts paintings by Klee, Duchamp, Warhol and Pollack.
8. The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA
The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum is one of the United State’s most renowned small art museums. The paintings, including works by Matisse, Sargent and Botticelli are housed in an intimate setting with low lights and most are displayed without labels, giving its guests the feeling of observing these masterpieces in a private residence. Isabella Stuart Gardner’s will contained several quirky provisions for the management of the museum such as free admission for anyone named Isabella or anyone celebrating their birthday on that particular day.
