15 Top Art Museums in Los Angeles

Posted by Art Junkie

February 26, 2008

• J. Paul Getty Museum

With two locations in California–the Getty Villa in Malibu and the Getty Center in Los Angeles–the J. Paul Getty Museum provides public access to European sculpture, painting, drawings, and manuscripts, as well as American and European photography and over 44,000 artifacts of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan culture. The center also sponsors research, publications, and educational programs.

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Founded in 1910, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art features a collection of over 100,000 pieces gathered from the ancient world as well as contemporary art studios. You can explore art from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the largest collection of Korean art outside of the Korean peninsula. There’s also an extensive research library and Japanese garden open to the public.

• Armand Hammer Museum of Art at UCLA

Operated by the University of California Los Angeles, the Armand Hammer Museum–aka “the Hammer”–began from the personal collection of former OPEC Chairman Armand Hammer. Currently, the Hammer exhibits contemporary and historical art–from drawings, paintings, and sculpture to photographs and films. In an effort to promote the work of underrepresented contemporary and historical artists, the Hammer offers lectures, symposiums, film series, readings, and musical performances open to the public.

• Autry Museum of Western Heritage

Co-founded by film legend Gene Autry in 1988, The Autry National Center–formerly The Autry Museum of Western Heritage–now incorporates the efforts of three institutions: The Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Together, all three explore the art and history of the American west through a collection of art and artifacts, special exhibitions, and programs.

• California African-American Museum

Located in Los Angeles, California, the Corita Kent Art Center showcases the seriograph and silk screen artwork of Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986), a practicing Catholic nun and artist/activist. As part of the ecumenical Immaculate Heart Community, the Corita Art Center offers public exhibitions of Sister Corita’s art, educational outreach programs, and a calendar of weekly lectures and symposiums.

• Corita (Kent) Art Center

Begun in 1965 as The Egg and the Eye, an Arts- and Crafts-themed café, the Craft and Folk Art Museum exists today as a “living museum.” Although there’s no permanent collection, the CAFAM offers rotating exhibitions of folk art from around the world while inspiring contemporary craft artists of all ages through workshops, summer camps, and classes.

• Craft and Folk Art Museum

• Fisher Gallery at the University of Southern California

Founded in 1939, the Fisher Gallery is the accredited gallery of the university of Southern California. Dedicated exclusively to fine art, the Fisher Gallery presents exhibitions ranging from antiquities and old masters to contemporary local, national, and international artists–in addition to the permanent collection. Educational outreach programs–including lectures and symposiums–are free and open to the public.

• Korean American Museum

Established in 1994, in the West Hollywood home of Viennese architect Rudolph M. Schindler, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture offers a year-round events calendar of exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and concerts, as well as a bi-annual residency program for eight artists and architects from outside the U.S.

• MAK Center for Art and Architecture

• Museum of Contemporary Art

One of the largest facilities dedicated to present-day creativity, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art offers visitors a permanent collection of 2,345 pieces created since 1945. Although the permanent collection focuses on surrealism, minimalism, and conceptual photography, the MCA also offers rotating exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, and workshops for art fans of all ages. Situated on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the MCA facility includes a 300-seat theater, terraced sculpture garden, gift shop, and restaurant.

• Museum of Neon Art

Founded in Los Angeles in 1981, the Museum of Neon Art is dedicated the promotion and preservation of fine art in the medium of electric light–specifically, the neon sign. MONA offers exhibitions of neon light and art, Neon Cruises (bus tours), and eight-week neon art workshops for prospective illumination artists.

• Skirball Cultural Center

Applauded as one of the world’s most dynamic cultural institutions, the Skirball Center of Los Angeles explores four thousand years of Jewish tradition through revolving exhibitions of rare artifacts, photographs, and interactive multimedia stations. The facility, designed by New York architect Moshe Safdie, includes a museum, revolving exhibitions of music, comedy, theatre, film, and literature, a Café, museum store, even an interactive model of Noah’s Ark!

• Southwest Museum

One of three institutions administered by the Autry National Center, the collection of the Southwest Museum is currently closed to the public while new facilities are constructed to house the museum’s over 250,000 artifacts. In the meantime, you can still visit the museum store on Saturdays and Sundays, enjoy weekend family activities–including arts and crafts and a hands-on archaeology program–or visit the Braun Reserch Library by appointment.

• UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History

Located at the University of California Los Angeles, the Fowler Museum of Cultural History consolidates the varied collections of non-western art and artifacts on the UCLA campus. The Fowler’s permanent collection includes 150,000 pieces of art and over 600,000 archaeological artifacts from the ancient, prehistoric, and present-day cultures of Africa, Latin America, and North America. In addition, the Fowler museum sponsors rotating exhibitions and interdisciplinary events, including lectures, hands-on workshops, and film-screenings.

Exhibits