Los Angeles' Best Art Museums

The arts are alive and well in Los Angeles. They’re also well-preserved, thanks to the city’s world-class art museums. From the seasoned, household-name Getty to the stunning new Broad, here’s a look at the City of Angels’ most tremendous art repositories.

Instagram“Human behavior is so murky and violent and messed-up and inappropriate. And I think my work draws on that. It comes from there. It comes from responding to situations like that, and it pulls it out of an audience.”—Kara Walker . Happy birthday to #KaraWalker, born #onthisday in 1969. Tune into our Facebook Live art talk with VSA @_quinnsta_gram_ on Tuesday at 10 am PT to hear more about this @kara_walker_official work, African’t. . African't, 1996, Cut paper on wall. © Kara Walker 📸: @brucedamonte

The Broad

Philanthropists Eli and Edyth Broad are committed to the notion that art should be accessible to all. And at the shining new(ish) contemporary art museum founded and funded by the art-collecting couple, it is. General admission to The Broad’s permanent galleries is free every day the museum is open to the public. The collection includes works by well-known 20th- and 21st-century artists Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtensteinn, Andy Warhol, and Damien Hirst. In good traffic, The Broad Museum is a 15-minute drive from AMLI Lex on Orange.

InstagramNOW OPEN ✨ Caravaggio: Masterpieces from the Galleria Borghese . Draped in a voluminous red cloak, the saint sits at a simple table, pouring over an ancient tome, immersed in his studies. Two additional volumes with an inkwell and a skull, juxtaposed with the saint’s bald pate, form a simple yet dominant still life. . In this painting Caravaggio combined with extraordinary poignance two of the influential pictorial traditions associated with Jerome: the Doctor of the Church at work on his seminal translation of the Bible, and the ascetic penitent and mystic God-seeker. . Painted for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the picture has been part of the @galleriaborgheseufficiale’s collection since 1613. . This exhibition #onview until February 18th, offers a rare opportunity to experience THREE masterpieces from the renowned Galleria Borghese collection. The paintings provide insight into the three crucial stages in Caravaggio’s short but intense career. . “Saint Jerome” (detail), about 1605-1606, Caravaggio, Oil on canvas. Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo-Galleria Borghese. . . . #gettymuseum #gettycenter #galleriaborghese #borghese #la #rome #italianart #renaissance #art #caravaggio #oiloncanvas #painting #exhibition #freeinla #happeninginla

The J. Paul Getty Museum

A bastion of fine Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day, L.A.’s Getty Museum attracts more than one million visitors annually. The museum’s collection includes works from Rubens, Rembrandt, Manet, Monet, and Renoir. The exemplary architecture of the museum’s two campuses makes them works of art in their own right. The Getty Center’s manicured gardens are another artistic highlight.

InstagramAs we make our way into the final month of the year, we’re as thankful as ever for our Instagram followers and friends. 🙌 As always, here are just a few of our favorite photos you shared this month. #Hammergram

Hammer Museum

Entrepreneur-industrialist Armand Hammer amassed an extraordinary art collection during his lifetime. Shortly before his death, he founded a museum to house his collection and make it accessible to the public. Today, the UCLA-affiliated Hammer Museum is one of the most highly regarded cultural institutions in Los Angeles. In addition to highlighting the works of underrated and overlooked artists, the museum hosts more than 300 programs annually. Among the Hammer Museum’s highlights is a 125-year retrospective of National Geographic photography.

InstagramWe're getting into the holiday spirit. Pictured here: "Snow on Willow Bridge"or 柳橋の雪, Ohara Shōson (Japan, 1877-1945), Japan, 1927

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

The largest art museum in the western United States, LACMA’s collection is vast in every sense of the word. The sprawling museum houses antiquities, modern art, and everything in between. Japanese art, Latin American art, and Islamic art are particularly well-represented. This Miracle Mile museum’s most extraordinary features include its stunning Grand Entrance building and multi-level Broad Contemporary Art Museum, distinct from the aforementioned Broad Museum.

InstagramAdrián Villar Rojas: “These materials are foundational in my practice: clay is life on earth before humans, while cement is the stage of the Anthropocene, the era in which human beings adapt the planet to make it suitable for their own needs.” [Installation view of Adrián Villar Rojas: The Theater of Disappearance, October 22, 2017–May 13, 2018 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, image courtesy of the artist, kurimanzutto, Mexico City and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York / Paris / London, photo by Studio Michel Zabé]

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

MOCA’s collection of 5,000+ works includest iconic examples of abstract expressionism, pop art, and other modern artistic styles. Jackson Pollock, Julian Schnabel, and Philippe Vergne are all represented at the museum’s main branch on Grand Avenue.

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Pasadena Museum of California Art

This art museum is one of the best places to view and experience California-inspired art and design. The Pasadena Museum does not have a permanent collection, but its changing exhibits are all California-centric. The museum, a 15-minute drive from AMLI Lex on Orange, hosts the California Design Biennial.

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