19 Free Art Museums You Should Visit Over The Holidays
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“Art is a nation’s most precious heritage," Lyndon B. Johnson famously proclaimed, while signing into existence the National Endowment for the Arts. "For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation."
Art museums across the country continue to uphold Johnson's rather romantic sentiment, providing patrons with an evolving glimpses of this "inner vision." Over the next few weeks, you might find yourself home for various winter celebrations, and, surrounded by family and friends, you'll either have more free time than you can handle or you'll be grasping for moments of tranquility amidst the chaos. Either way, it's a better season than ever to explore the country's various art institutes -- particularly the ones funded by tax payers and philanthropic collectors.
Yes, we're talking about the United States' free art museums. These gems, scattered from New York City to Los Angeles, provide art lovers with the space to relish paintings, photography, sculpture, performance and everything in between. Because the holidays can be expensive -- and free art museums aren't -- we've compiled a list of the 19 destinations you should visit in the next few weeks. Behold:
1. The Getty Center in Los Angeles
Where: Los Angeles, California
What: Part of the Getty Museum (and the larger Getty Trust family), the Center pays special tribute to 20th century art and architecture, with an outdoor garden you can't miss.
On view now: "World War I: War of Images, Images of War"
"Mr. Getty believed that art was a civilizing influence in society that should be freely available to the public for education and enjoyment," Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, wrote to HuffPost. "Thanks to his generosity, we are able to offer free admission to the nearly 1.8 million visitors who come to the Getty Center and Getty Villa to enjoy our renowned collections and wide range of public programs. We are also able to take arts education into K-12 classrooms, and bring students to the Museum on Getty-funded buses to experience the arts firsthand -- often for the first time."
2. The Saint Louis Museum of Art
Where: St. Louis, Missouri
What: Smack dab in the middle of the city's Forest Park, admission to this institute (a part of the former 1904 World's Fair grounds) is free through a subsidy from the cultural tax district for St. Louis City and County.
On view now: Nick Cave, Nicholas Nixon and Vija Celmins
"The phrase 'dedicated to art and free to all' is engraved in stone above our front entrance," Brent R. Benjamin, the director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, proclaimed to The Huffington Post. "I believe there is virtue -- the rather old-fashioned notions of civic welcome and hospitality -- to the fact that the taxpayers of St. Louis offer admission to their Art Museum free of charge to all visitors, regardless of where they reside, a generosity of spirit that now dates back more than a century."
3. The Cleveland Museum of Art
Where: Cleveland, Ohio
What: The museum houses over 43,000 works in its permanent collection thanks to a trust founded in 1913. The holdings place an emphasis on Asian and Egyptian art, but the museums showcases everything from Surrealist photography to landscape paintings of Maine.
On view now: "Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography"
4. The Baltimore Museum of Art
Where: Baltimore, Maryland
What: This museum -- free thanks to grants from Baltimore City and Baltimore County -- houses mostly 19th and 20th century art. The Cone collection alone has pieces by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-August Renoir. Fun fact, this museum possesses the largest holding of Matisse works in the world.
On view now: "On Paper: Alternate Realities"
"As we celebrate our 100th Anniversary, we are thrilled that The Baltimore Museum of Art can make the civic legacy of our incredible art collection accessible to all, free-of-charge," Doreen Bolger, director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, explained via email. "This makes the BMA not only a destination for cultural tourists who visit our city, but also an anchor institution for our community, serving more people -- families, for example, have tripled their participation in our Free Family programs."
Click here to see the full list.