Photo by David Vives
The art and paintings in the October Sun Studios are wonderful works worth admiring, but are there other places in the US to visit and marvel at art?
While there are plenty of beautiful art and paintings inside the October Sun Studios, you might also be inclined to go and visit other places to look at other examples of art, especially the more famous ones.
A Brief History of Collecting Art and Paintings in the US
The history of collecting art and paintings in the United States of America can be argued to begin during the founding of the original thirteen colonies when European settlers brought works of art from the Old World to the New World. The early collections were often small and highly varied, consisting of religious imagery, portraits, and decorative art.
Through this humble foundation would emerge the establishment of several large and impressive art collections. Some of these museums will be named in the list below.
Due to a growing population of immigrants and an emergent middle class, as well as a large pool of wealth to draw from, artists from the country and abroad were attracted to the prospects of the United States when it came to art.
There is also the well-known commitment that the US government has to the arts.
The Best Art Museums in the United States
As a result of these interconnected connections, the United States is not only home to a bustling and ever-innovating art scene but to a robust network of art museums that have an ever-growing body of art and paintings kept within their walls.
Here is ReadersMagnet’s curated list of some of the best places for art and paintings:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Affectionately called the MET, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its permanent possession over two million pieces of art and paintings–not only curated from within the US but from across the whole of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This is not even mentioning the monthly exhibitions they have that cater to up-and-coming and foreign artists. All these make it the largest museum in the country.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located in New York City and is always expanding and transforming its presentation to suit an America that is always in flux.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
While it does not equal half of the Metropolitan Museum’s permanent collection of more than two million pieces, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston can still boast a collection of over 450,000 works, which makes it one of the largest museums in the United States.
It is widely known for its collections of American, Egyptian, and SciFi-esque art and paintings. The status of Boston as a twin city to the Japanese city of Nagoya also makes the Museum of Fine Arts as having the largest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan itself.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art owns one of the most extensive and largest collections of American art and paintings. It is also home to works from important artists such as Manet, DuChamp, and Cezanne. There are over 220,000 pieces in the Museum of Art’s collection, including world-renown sculptures.
The museum also has a reputation for being a growing hub for young people due to its medley of fascinating cultural and sophisticated art exhibits.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Commonly referred to as LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the largest art museum found on the West Coast, holding approximately 100,000 pieces of art and painting. It is the best museum in this list for works that hold a particular focus on American art, including examples from the pre-Columbian period and Latin American art.
The warm climate of California also lends to LACMA hosting several outdoor art exhibits, both temporary and permanent.