Welcome to

Museums from

Around the World

African Museums

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum by Jackie Bonner

Established 1956, Renamed 2002

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, formerly the King George VI Art Gallery, is located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The museum’s collections are housed in two buildings framing the entrance to St George's Park and consist of South African art (particularly that of the Eastern Cape), British art, international printmaking and Oriental art (including Indian miniatures and Chinese textiles). Limited exhibition space requires the constant rotation of works of art from their Permanent Collection, and researchers wishing to see specific works not currently on exhibition are advised to do so by appointment.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities by Will Bigham

Established 1835

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms. The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of history. Not only does it house the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, it also houses the many treasures of King Tutankhamen, and many interesting statues that moved with the museums many relocations. There are two main floors of the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor visitors will find an extensive collection of papyrus and coins used in the Ancient world.

National Museum of Tanzania by Francisco Gutierrez

Established 1940

The National Museum of Tanzania is a scientific educational and cultural institution charged with the duties of collecting, conserving, displaying, and researching on all materials relating to Tanzanian’s cultural and natural heritage. The history of the National Museum of Tanzania dates back to the year 1934 when the Governor of Tanganyika Territory Sir Harold Mac Michael conceived the idea of a Museum for Dar es Salaam. Displayed in the History gallery are historical objects collected from various localities in Tanzania. They include pottery, Chinese porcelains, coins and beads excavated from Kilwa (World Heritage Site) a famous coastal town.

Nairobi National Museum by Michael Chandler

Established 1910

Nairobi National Museum is located at the Museum Hill. It is the flagship museum of NMK, housing some of the most celebrated collections of history, culture and art from Kenya and East Africa. The museum aims to interpret heritage of Kenya to stimulate appreciation and learning. The Museum was initiated by the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society. The group consisted mainly of colonial settlers and naturalists who needed a place to keep and preserve their collections of various specimens. Its first site was at the present Nyayo House in the Nairobi city centre. A larger building was put up in 1922 where the Nairobi Serena Hotel now stands.

Asian & Australian Museums

Tokyo National Museum by Sydney Hendricks-Tricks

Established 1872

The Tokyo National Museum or TNM, is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. The museum collects, houses, and preserves a comprehensive collection of art works and archaeological objects of Asia, focusing on Japan. The museum holds over 110,000 objects, which includes 87 Japanese National Treasure holdings and 610 Important Cultural Property holdings. The museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection. There are outdoor exhibitions and a garden where visitors can enjoy seasonal views. The museum's collections focus on ancient Japanese art and Asian art along the Silk Road. There is also a large collection of Greco-Buddhist art. All information is provided in Japanese, Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, and Spanish.

National Museum, New Delhi by Veronica Chandler

Established 1983

The National Museum in New Delhi is the largest museum in India. It holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It is run by the Ministry of Culture, part of the Government of India. The museum has in its possession over 200,000 works of art, of both Indian and foreign origin, covering more than 5,000 years of Indian cultural heritage. Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong perspective for the future, brings history to life. The collections cover archaeology, armour, decorative arts, jewelry, manuscripts, and paintings.

Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Australia byFrancisco Gutierrez

Established current location 1991

The Museum of Contemporary Art (the MCA) in Sydney, Australia is dedicated solely to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art, both from across Australia and around the world. Housed in the Art Deco-style former Maritime Services Board Building on the eastern edge of Circular Quay. It is one of the youngest of the chief cultural venues in Australia's largest city. The MCA was established to fulfill the museum aspect of the vision of Australian expatriate artist John Power (1881–1943), who bequeathed his personal fortune to the University of Sydney to inform and educate Australians in the contemporary visual arts.

Hong Kong Museum of Art by Claudia Gutierrez

Established 1962

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is a museum for Chinese cultural heritage, and local and international art in Hong Kong. In 1991, it was moved to the present location near the Hong Kong Cultural Center and the Hong Kong Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui. A branch museum, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, is situated in the Hong Kong Park. The museum changes its displays regularly. The exhibitions in the museum are mainly of paintings, calligraphy and sculpture from Hong Kong, China and other parts of the world.

European Museums

Louvre, Paris by Paola Espinal

Established 1793

The Louvre Museum located in Paris, is the world's most visited art museum, a historic monument, and a national museum of France. It is a central landmark, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighbourhood). Objects from the 6th millennium BCE to the 19th century CE are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres dedicated to the permanent collection. The Musée du Louvre contains more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments. The Louvre exhibits sculptures, objets d'art, paintings, drawings, and archaeological finds. It is the world's most visited museum, averaging 15,000 visitors per day, 65 percent of whom are foreigners.

The Tate, Londonby Sydney Hendricks-Tricks

Established 1897

The Tate is the United Kingdom’s national museum of British and Modern Art, and is a network of four art galleries in England. It was founded in 1897 as the National Gallery of British Art. When its role was changed to include Modern Art it was renamed the Tate Gallery after Henry Tate, who had laid the foundations for the collection. The Tate Galleries display the collections of British art from 1500 to the present day; International Modern and Contemporary Art from 1900 to the present day, and Contemporary Art by artists who have connections with the area. All four museums share the Tate Collection. One of the Tate's most publicised art events is the annual Turner Prize.

Acropolis Museum, Athens by Veronica Chandler

Established 1865

The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum located in Athens, Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. It is considered one of the major archaeological museums in Athens and ranks among the most important museums of the world. Due to its limited size, a New Acropolis Museum is now being built at the base of the Acropolis and is expected to open early 2009. In June 2007 the old museum closed its doors so that its antiquities could be moved to their new home. The museum is home to many of the Greek world's ancient relics, stone sculptures and bronze remains found in and around the Acropolis site since excavations started.

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow by DeShawn Smith

Established 1912

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow is the largest museum of European art. Although it has the name Pushkin, the museum actually has nothing to do with the well-known Russian poet. In 1918 the Russian capital was moved to Moscow and with it the government decided to transfer thousands of works from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. It was these works that formed the basis of the collection of Western Art at the Pushkin museum. Later the State Museum of New Western Art added an important assortment of Impressionist and Post-impressionist artworks. This assortment was made up of the well-known art works of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdamby Michael Chandler

Established 1800

The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (English: State Museum) is a Dutch national museum in Amsertdam. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art. The front of the museum is located at the Stadhouderskade, but on the other side it has a prominent position on the Museumplein, nowadays among the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw. In 1890 a fragment building was added to the Rijksmuseum. This building was made out of fragments of demolished buildings that together give an overview of the Dutch history of architecture.

North American Museums

Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh by Sam Bigham

Established 1895

The Carnegie Museum of Art was, arguably, the first museum of modern art in the U.S. Numerous significant works have been acquired for museum's permanent collection including Winslow Homer's The Wreck and James A. McNeill Whistler's Arrangement in Black: Portrait of Señor Pablo de Sarasate. The marble Hall of Sculpture replicates the interior of the Parthenon. The Hall of Architecture contains the largest collection of plaster casts of architectural masterpieces in the world. The museum's permanent collection includes European and American decorative arts from the late seventeenth century to the present, works on paper, paintings, prints (notably Japanese prints), sculptures and installations.

Getty Center, Los Angeles by Will Bigham

Opened 1997, museum established 1954

The Getty Center in Brentwood, Los Angeles, is the current home of part of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The museum's permanent collection includes "pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, decorative arts; and 19th and 20th-century American and European photographs". Among the works on display is the painting Irises by Vincent van Gogh. The Center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well-known for its architecture, gardens, and view (overlooking Los Angeles). Besides the Museum, the Center's buildings house the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the J. Paul Getty Trust which owns and operates the Center.

Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City, Mexico by Paola Espinal

Established 1958

The Frida Kahlo Museum is a beautiful place where you can see all the artwork that she created. This museum is found in Coyoacan, a suburb of Mexico City, Mexico. There is a special atmosphere in this place, the house where Frida Kahlo was born. The Blue House holds the paintings that made Frida famous: The Two Fridas, Viva la Vida, an the easel given to her as a gift by Nelson Rockefeller, as well as the paint brushes she used and a collection of butterflies. Exhibited in the Blue House is a small part of Diego Rivera’s collection of pre-Hispanic art. The Blue House receives more than 200,000 visitors annually.

Solomon R. GuggenheimNew York, New York Museum by Jackie Bonner

Established 1959

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is one of the best-known museums in New York City and one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the museum––which is often called simply The Guggenheim––is home to a renowned permanent collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art, and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. The building has become a cultural icon, can be seen widely throughout popular culture, and features prominently in many films.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DCby Gabriel Argimon

Established 1829

The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. has an extensive collection covering all regions and art movements found in the United States. Among the significant artists represented are Nam June Paik, Jenny Holzer, David Hockney, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, and Winslow Homer. The Luce Foundation Center for American Art features paintings, sculptures, crafts, folk art objects, miniatures and medals. Large-scale sculptures are installed on the first floor. Interactive computer kiosks provide information about every object on display, including a discussion of each artwork, artist biographies, audio interviews, video clips and still images.

South American Museums

Museo Larco, Lima Peru by Sam Bigham

Established 1926

The Museo Larco is housed in an 18th century vice-royal mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It boasts one of the world's largest collections of pre-Columbian art including Moche, Nazca, Chimú, and Inca pieces. It was one of the first museums in the world to put its entire 45,000 piece collection in an electronic catalog. Its Gold and Silver Gallery showcases the biggest and finest, pre-Columbian ancient jewelry collections, comprised of crowns, earrings, nose ornaments, garments, masks, and vases.

El Museo de Arte Costarricense byDeShawn Smith

Established 1977

The Costa Rica Museum of Art is responsible for the promotion and conservation the arts and the Costa Rican literature. Its permanent exhibition includes important works of Costa Rican sculpting. It is the principal institution of the Costa Rican sculpture. In 1984, the curator Luis Lizard initiated a contemporary art program with an international collection of 560 works of art. The opening of National Gallery of Contemporary Art complemented the project with a program of annual expositions that opened the local panorama to the production of artists of great prestige like Richard Be, Richard Hambleton, Eve Sonneman, Sandro Chia, Kazuya Sakai, among others.

Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales Uruguay by Claudia Gutierrez

Established 1911

The Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales is the most important museum in Uruguay and contains 6000 works from prominent collections that complement the activity of the museum, temporary expositions of national and foreign artists. Some of the foreign artists whose works were exhibited in the National Museum of Visual Arts are: Paul Klee, August Rodin, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Henry Moore, Francisco Goya, Diego Rivera, José Luis Caves, Jesus Rafael Thicket, Fernando Botero, Santiago Calatrava, and many more.

São Paulo Museum of Art by Gabriel Argimon

Established 1947

The São Paulo Museum of Art (in Portuguese, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP) is an important fine-art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, in Brazil. Famous for an imposing building which houses its collections, it is an authentic landmark of the largest Brazilian city. The museum is renowned for its extraordinary collection gathered since the end of World War II. Internationally recognized for its diversity and quality, the museum's holdings are considered the most important of Latin America and all Southern Hemisphere, with thousands of works ranging in period from antiquity to contemporary art.