While San Francisco may not be a well known art center, like New York or London, it does have a lot to offer. But, there are many great art museums in San Francisco!
Here is my list of San Francisco museums any art lover must visit on their next trip to the city.
Related Read: The Most Unusual Museums in Barcelona
Best Art Museums in San Francisco
Asian Art Museum
Located in the Civic Center across from City Hall in the former library building, the Asian Art Museum houses one of the largest collections of Asian art in the Western world. While primarily focused on traditional art, the museum has done a great job of promoting contemporary artists from all across the region.
Its largest displays cover Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean art, though along the way you’ll learn about Cambodia, Iran, and many other Asian countries. Often overlooked by tourists, any trip to the Asian Art Museum will be free of crowds and quite enjoyable.
de Young Museum
The oldest museum in San Francisco, the de Young museum was established in 1895 as a memorial to the California Midwinter International Exposition. The collection is rather eclectic, ranging from Contemporary American to African to Meso-American.
The museum is best known for its Jolika Collection – the finest collection of New Guinea artwork in the country. They also have a strong representation of African-American artists. Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron designed the current copper-clad building, which will slowly blend into its Golden Gate Park surroundings, as the copper oxidizes and turns green.
Legion of Honor Museum
Everything that one thinks of when they imagine a museum is represented by the Legion of Honor. Perched high up on a hill with marvelous views of downtown San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge – reason enough to make the trek out there – this marble structure houses classical European artwork, stretching from the Greeks to the Impressionists.
My favorite painting in all of San Francisco, La Tour Eiffel by Georges Seurat, can be found here. If you’re looking for that typical art museum experience, this is the place to visit.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
One of the most known art museums in San Francisco. Known as SFMOMA by locals, this was the first museum located on the West Coast to dedicate itself solely to 20th-century art when it opened in 1935. Since its 2016 expansion, it has shown the Fisher Collection – an outstanding collection of contemporary art gathered by Gap founders Donald and Doris Fisher – and is an internationally known institution.
Works by Jackson Pollock, Marcel Duchamp and Diego Rivera already hang in the permanent galleries, and outdoor terraces on the upper floors display sculpture and offer city views.
Hopefully this is more than enough for your visit, but if you’re a museum addict like myself, you should also check out the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, conveniently located across the street from SFMOMA.
