I have been interested in Art museums in the US for some time now, but I know there are great art museums that might not be the best known. I was wondering about other Fodorites' experiences with art museums in the US. which have been your favorite? I am interested in American art, and 20th century art. Museums I've enjoyed have been the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cincinnati Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Art in DC. Anyway, advice about good art museums to visit would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

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Try coming to New York, you have so many wonderful museums to choose from you won't have time to see them all.

Fifth Ave is called Museum Mile, because upper 5th Ave has so many from the Frick up to the Guggenheim (i think that is the right spelling).

The Metropolitan Museum at 83rd alone is several days worth of exploration.

Have fun.

There was a very similar thread on the forum a few months ago. Do a search and check it out.

My favorite museum is the Brooklyn Musuem of Art. It often gets overlooked by tourists afraid to venture out of Manhattan, but it's got a wonderful collection of American decorative arts, and it's right next to a beautiful botanic garden.

The Getty Center in Los Angeles is wonderful! Great art, beautiful setting and wonderful food at their main restaurant. Make sure and check about parking. The museum is free to the public, but parking is $5 per car, but requires reservations on many days of the week.

New York is definitely a destination for you. The Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and the Whitney all specialize in twentieth-century modern, and the Whitney specializes in American. The Brooklyn museum frequently has special exhibits focusing on twentieth-century aret, the Met sometimes, but less often. There are also a number of galleries showing prestigious modern painters.

Jackie, here are some American art and 20th century art museums that fall outside of the “usual suspects” (which includes the Whitney, Modern, and Metropolitan in New York and the currently closed Museum of American Art in Washington):

American art: The Big Three are Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Art Museum, and Philadelphia’s Art Institute. Those three museums are the repositories for the cream of American art from colonial times through the end of the 19th Century. Just below that for quality and quantity are the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Wadsworth Antheneum in Hartford, the Cochoran in Washington, D.C., and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. You also saw one of the better collections of American art in your visits to the Art Institute of Chicago and Cincinnati Art Museum.

For 20th Century art, you said you had been to National Gallery in Washington, but did you also see the Hirshorn, which is part of the Smithsonian? The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA) in North Adams has drawn considerable attention for its collection of large pieces. I lack the appreciation for 20th Century art, so I’ll stop there and let someone else pick up the thread.

Regarding "xxx's" suggestion of the Getty; I'm a bit confused, as 20th Century and American art are the two areas that aren't represented at that excellent institution.

The National Gallery is best of show...but don't overlook smaller galleries. The Frick in NYC, Corcoran in Washington and the Gardner in Boston, among the best. Don't miss Getty even though it may not have your favorites. The architecture and location are superb...the old art ain't bad either.

Williamstown, MA is home to a couple of wonderful small museums. The Clark Museum there features a good selection of late 19th/ early 20th C. American and European paintings - in particular wonderful group of french impressionists and several very nice Sargents - it's a beautiful building and a pleasure to visit. Williams College, down the street, has a good, small collection worth seeing if you're in the area. Mass MOCA is close by - worth a visit if you're out there or if you are a fan of that sort of thing (can't say that it's one of my favorites - but did get a kick out of checking it out).
In Boston you must visit both the MFA and the Gardner - can easily walk from one to the other.
In DC we love the Corcoran - nice little collection a bit off the tourist track.
As previously mentioned, the Wardsworth Atheneum in Hartford very strong not only in American painting, but also American furniture.
The art gallery at Yale University in New Haven features a nice broad collection which includes some pretty significant 20th C. stuff.
Hope this helps.

Haven't been to the corcoran or the hirshorn, and i should since i live in the DC area. Thanks!