Winners For

Best Museum

Prospectors were a notoriously rowdy bunch, leaving broken hearts and broken bottles in their wake. But they also left behind great cities, which likely wouldn't have coalesced without the cash they were willing to spend on snow goggles, snowshoes, and whatever else scam artists could persuade them to buy. Seattle was a tremendous beneficiary of...

Visiting the 122,500-square-foot Norton is like shopping at an enormous department store: The most pressing question is where to stop off first. The permanent collection alone, which comes to more than 7,000 works of art, includes five sections — American, Chinese, contemporary, and European art, along with photography — any one of which could o...

Let's face it: Miami is not always seen as the classiest town. Many outsiders still think our idea of art is a stripper's Betty Boop tramp stamp. But if Art Basel and the explosion of Wynwood aren't enough to silence the critics, try taking them to one of the most unique and well curated museums in any city. The Wolfsonian, which was born from a...

It's been a year of turbulence for the Nasher, which has found itself the unfortunate target of a neighboring U.V. ray gun. Sure, some art work has been jeopardized on account of the conflict, and we've lost some dear friends, including the Turrell, because of the encroachment. What has not eroded during that time is the Nasher's curation and ex...

Think of the John C. Freeman Weather Museum as the little museum that could. Sitting in the shadow of its bigger, shinier cousins, the Weather Museum is housed in what was once a private two-story home. Each room downstairs has been transformed into an exhibit area, the most popular of which might be the WRC TV Studio, which features a camera, t...

Like the New York Yankees, the only word to really describe the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is "powerhouse." True, it has the kind of deep-pocketed endowment that attracts top-dollar traveling exhibits like the recent "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs," but it concurrently showed its annual collection of Third Ward photograph...

The award-winning Menil Collection's Montrose-area campus is an architectural delight. It's amazing permanent collection and exciting visiting exhibits make the Menil Collection a favorite for local art lovers. Past exhibits have included shows by Maurizio Cattelan, Joaquín Torres-García and Willem de Kooning. Upcoming shows include "Byzantine T...

The Station Museum of Contemporary Art won the number three spot on our list with its recent exhibit of mostly local artists, "Houston Times Eight [HX8]." The show included work by our favorite street artist Daniel Anguilu, along with Robert Pruitt, Prince Varughese Thomas, Forrest Prince, Serena Lin Bush and Floyd Newsum. Past shows include "Ir...

Nobody does blockbuster exhibitions better than the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Unfortunately, the expense of mounting such exhibits means most of the MFAH's visiting shows require a separate entry fee. Some are as much as $20. Ouch! We understand that's a reflection of the economic reality of today's museum world, not the MFAH's desire to gou...

Another in our list that isn't primarily an art museum is the Houston Museum of Natural Science, although geologists, paleontologists, scientists and archeologists certainly see some of the museum's exhibition pieces as works of art. (Ditto thousands of wide-eyed school kids who visit throughout the year.) Current touring exhibits include "Faber...

Some of our favorite exhibits ever have been at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. 'The Puppet Show," "Splat Boom Pow! The Influence of Comics in Contemporary Art" and "Bert L. Long, Jr.: Looking and Seeing in Rome," are just a few. The museum's Perspectives series and its dedication to artists in all phases of their careers, as well as its s...

The Holocaust Museum of Houston is a hybrid of sorts, presenting a standing history exhibit and seasonal art exhibits. In the permanent exhibition "Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers" artifacts, photographs and film footage document life in pre-war Europe, the Holocaust and its aftermath. Among the items on display are a 1942 Holocaust-era r...

The Blaffer Art Museum is dedicated to contemporary art. The most recent exhibit, "Tony Feher," is a survey covering 20 years of work by the American sculptor with 60 important works on display. The Blaffer staff does a great job of programming events and lectures to deepen the viewers' appreciation of the works. There have been performances and...

Lots of museums have a strict "do not touch" policy. Children's Museum of Houston has just the opposite, encouraging kids to touch, handle and manipulate almost everything on display. There are standing exhibits such as the EcoStation (an indoor/outdoor environmental gallery with a native plant garden, pond, woodlands and pavillion) and a Cum Ya...

The thing we like best about Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts is its dedication to local artists and collectors. Many of its exhibits are based on the private holdings of local residents. Currently on display is "Northwest Houston Collects: Selections from the Home of Ginger and Fred Palumbo," an exhibit of paintings by two Texas artists, Emma ...

The City Museum is positively Whitmanesque: It's large; it contains multitudes. Consider the radically varied "Bests" it has merited over the years: "Best Kids' Thrill," "Best Place to Take Out-of-Town-Guests," "Best Place to Slip an Out-of-Towner Some Acid," "Best Place to Take a Cynical Out-of-Towner," "Best Place for a Last Date," "Best Place...

The Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City is a dream come true for kids young and old. The 38-room house is filled with nostalgic toys, fine-scale miniatures, and marbles. You'll marvel at the details in the tiny houses and buildings, and your kids will laugh at the types of toys you used to play with.

Philadelphia has several great museums (including the Barnes Foundation, which recently relocated to the Parkway), but if you only have time to visit one, go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They have a great collection of modern and ancient art, including an awesome room full of ancient armor and weaponry that kids love. Be on the lookout for...

In a city fraught with wonderful museums, this collection is a demurely hidden gem. Phillips offers exhibits of modern art in a smaller, more intimate setting. Don’t miss Phillips at 5, where you can peruse art along with live music, food, and a cash bar.

Sure, it's the obvious choice, but the Museum of Fine Arts really feels like a new spot. With a stunning new Art of the Americas wing and an expanded emphasis on contemporary art, this isn't your parents' MFA. It also plays loyal host to many international film festivals, a swanky summer music series, and intimate gigs by the likes of My Morning...

The heart of a great museum is its collection and The Detroit Institute of Arts is proud to claim one of the largest, most significant art collections in the nation. From the first painting donated in 1883 to the most recent acquisition, our collection of over 60,000 works brings the culture and creativity of the world to Detroit's doorstep. Ran...

Birch Aquarium at Scripps is the public exploration center for the world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the aquarium features more than 60 habitats of fish and invertebrates from the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest to the tropical waters of Mexico and the Carib...

We’re blessed with a bounty of museums (see Top 5 Museums). The BMA may seem like the obvious choice—there was serious lobbying for AVAM—but we can’t always pick the unexpected. With director Doreen Bolger at the helm, the BMA has become such a force in the city’s life that we can’t overlook it. Not only does the BMA have a spectacular collectio...

The largest museum in the country devoted to a single artist — Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol — The Warhol earns another 15 minutes of fame from our readers. Since 1994, this North Side attraction has been engaging and sometimes enraging Pittsburghers with exhibits, film, performances and special events.

Science, technology, culture, and history come together in this mega-museum downtown. OMSI has figured out a way to be fun and educational at the same time—as enjoyable for grandparents as for the children they bring. The best time to go is for OMSI After Dark, a monthly event that takes place 6 to 10 p.m. for adults only, meaning no competition...

The Crocker Art Museum was one of the first art museums in the U.S. and is now one of the leading art institutions in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, ...

The Cleveland Museum of Art is like a history of the world contained in a spacious, newly renovated venue that gives the classic works all the space they need. You could devote a whole day to walking the halls and checking out everything from modern art to a golf-ball-sized gem that used to hang from the neck of an Egyptian princess. Best of all...

Forget that the Morse houses one of the most comprehensive collections of original Louis Comfort Tiffany glass and jewelry art, which is remarkable. The fact that the Morse managed to salvage an entire Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company chapel from 1893 is worth the visit alone. And consider this: When the permanent exhibit opened inside the M...

This is one of those categories we could confidently retire, since the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design — you know it as the RISD Museum — wins this honor every year. But you can't argue with the distinction: RISD's five buildings house 84,000 "objects of international significance" (including its iconic 12th-century wooden Buddha) a...

The undisputed crown jewel of art appreciation in Providence is the museum of the Rhode Island College of Design. But really, who's surprised? RISD regularly ranks as the top art school in the country. This forward-thinking museum balances a collection of centuries-old art and artifacts with innovative, modern programming and events. Every Sunda...

Minnesotans love a bargain, even in the arts. With the exception of special exhibits, the halls at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts are always free. Have a few minutes to kill before a Children's Theatre Company show, or just looking for a bit of calm on a busy afternoon? You can check out one (or more) of the museum's collection of classics, f...