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 by
Francisco 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, London
by 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 Postimpressionist artworks. This assortment was
made up of the well-known art works of Van
Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso.
Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam
by 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-20thcentury 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. Guggenheim
New 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 DC
by 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. Largescale 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 by
DeShawn 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.