Things to do in Texas, United States: The Best Art Museums

December 21, 2021 Mikaela Didonna

Texas has great beaches for bird watching, boating, and fishing. Plus golf courses, cowboy and high art culture, and a rich history. Bask on the beach and bird watch between golf games before, during, or after spring break in Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Crystal Beach, or South Padre Island. Explore East Texas from Dallas to Tyler, Texarkana, Jefferson, and Nacogdoches. Enjoy golf and big city life in Dallas or Houston. Visit Galveston's coastal Strand. Tour West Texas and Hill Country from San Antonio, New Braunfels, Austin, and Fredericksburg to Amarillo and El Paso.
Restaurants in Texas

1. Kimbell Art Museum

3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2792 +1 817-332-8451 [email protected] http://www.kimbellart.org
Excellent
82%
Good
15%
Satisfactory
2%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 1,657 reviews

Kimbell Art Museum

Fort Worth's premier art museum, featuring paintings from international painters.

Reviewed By greekrabbit - Athens, Greece

I’m a museum maven and was expecting a good one. But the delight was in the details. For starters the Renoir exhibition has some old favorites last seen elsewhere. It was the ambiance of warm proximity to the master that was different. And better. Visiting old favorites in a laid back space gave them a fresh look. As for the facility: Our backstage look at the careful planning and meticulously maintained structures where a sparkling new Renzo Piano pavilion suppléments the grandiose Louis Kahn galleries was accompanied by a wealth of happily shared expertise from the brilliant Senior Deputy Director. It will be interesting indeed to revisit the Reniors back at their more formal Clark home. As got the Kimbell-Go for the architecture. Stay for the attitude. How to feel at home, even cozy, in the presence of genius.

2. Clifton Steamboat Museum

8727 Highway 124, Beaumont, TX 77705-6944 +1 409-842-3162 [email protected] http://www.cliftonsteamboatmuseum.com/
Excellent
84%
Good
12%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
4%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 25 reviews

Clifton Steamboat Museum

Reviewed By 261maudeh

. It is quite a complex. There is a real tugboat in the yard, a lot of statues, and there is a a dining room for private parties. The museum is two full stories high. It is very modern inside with an elevator. It has many displays of naudical items, full sized boats , various war displays, a large Boy Scout display with a canoe ,and a twelve glass case changing display featuring local talent. They have various events there, so check it out before you go. It really appeals to the guys, but I found it interesting too.

3. Mesquite Arts Center

1527 N Galloway Ave, Mesquite, TX 75149-2327 +1 972-216-6444 [email protected] http://www.mesquiteartscenter.org
Excellent
80%
Good
20%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 10 reviews

Mesquite Arts Center

The Mission of the Mesquite Arts Center is to make visual and performing arts available to all the communities of North Texas; to become a creative force and an educational resource for our regional residents; and to deliver the economic vitality of the arts to our public.

Reviewed By VisitMesquiteTX - Mesquite, United States

The Mesquite Arts Center is a great place to visit with the family for a concert or art exhibition. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 all events have been cancelled for the rest of the year. However, they are doing lots of virtual events. For more information visit mesquiteartscenter.org

4. Ballroom Marfa

108 E San Antonio Street, Marfa, TX 79843 +1 432-729-3600 http://www.ballroommarfa.org/
Excellent
86%
Good
14%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 7 reviews

Ballroom Marfa

5. Rainbow Vomit

3609 Parry Ave, Dallas, TX 75226-2053 +1 469-248-0953 [email protected] http://rainbowvomit.com
Excellent
92%
Good
3%
Satisfactory
1%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 117 reviews

Rainbow Vomit

Escape to the Sanctuary and enjoy a fun and relaxing experience with your close friends or family at Dallas' #1 rated immersive art exhibit! Rainbow Vomit is now open for both public and private tours for an immersive experience unlike any before. Ranked one of the top fun things to do in Dallas, the beautiful photographic installations include over 9000 LEDs, 5000 balloons, 250 pounds of cotton, 4 miles of ribbon and a unicorn! Our new setup has been designed with your safety and comfort in mind. We are limiting groups to 15 or less per reservation, including multiple hand-washing and sanitizer stations, making tweaks to the exhibit for fewer points of guest contact, providing gloves upon requests, and sanitizer in between groups. Advance reservations are required to guarantee entry, please visit our website to book both public and private tours or to learn more about our health and safety policies.

Reviewed By Oshung3 - El Paso, United States

I went with my siblings and knew there was a lot of interesting places in here to take cool pictures. I thought it would be bigger but it wasn’t bad! All the rooms were so unique. I loved the little hidden-under-staircase area (not sure what to call it) I LOVED the secret room. I felt like I could stay there forever. The music, colors, everything was so soothing in there. I want to go back to see how they updated the room -OG

6. The Menil Collection

1533 Sul Ross St, Houston, TX 77006-4729 +1 713-525-9400 [email protected] http://www.menil.org/
Excellent
68%
Good
24%
Satisfactory
6%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 936 reviews

The Menil Collection

A legacy of the philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, the Menil Collection opened in 1987. The museum presents regular rotations of artworks from its growing permanent collection, organizes special exhibitions and programs throughout the year, publishes scholarly books, and conducts research. The Menil Collection’s main museum building anchors a parklike 30-acre campus, which also includes the Cy Twombly Gallery, a site-specific Dan Flavin installation, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel—now a venue for long-term installations by contemporary artists—and outdoor sculpture.

Reviewed By FoodieinNOHO - California, United States

The eclectic collection of art is AMAZING!! Including early to mid-twentieth century works of Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, among others. I DIDN'T make it to the other side of the museum. My main interest was the Aboriginal Art exhibit Also included in the museum's permanent collection are antiquities and works of Byzantine, Medieval and tribal art. I really enjoyed the space of the tribal collection. It is a must to see the art aspect of Houston....I took my adult daughter here for the first time and it did not disappoint. The art, paintings, and sculptures were very interesting. There is also a nice little park across from the gallery. Parking is FREE!!!! French expat Dominique de Menil, heiress to the Schlumberger fortune, came to Houston after World War II and began amassing an impressive mid-century art collection. Dominique befriended and collected many of the biggies: Ernst, Magrite, Johns, Rauschenberg, Warhol, and others. This intimate museum within a quaint residential section of Montrose/Museum District showcases. A museum in the middle of a residential neighborhood is a surprising delight. The René Magritte, "The Meaning of Night" is so thought provoking. His unique surrealist work moved me in such an surprising way!!

7. San Antonio Museum of Art

200 W Jones Ave, San Antonio, TX 78215-1402 +1 210-978-8100 [email protected] http://www.samuseum.org/
Excellent
59%
Good
33%
Satisfactory
6%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 787 reviews

San Antonio Museum of Art

The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in a historic brewery along the banks of the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk. The Museum offers important permanent collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art, contemporary art and American paintings. The museum offers a variety of programs. Visit our website for admission pricing and more information. Bexar County residents enjoy free general admission every Tuesday 4–7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Reviewed By kzsull01 - Windsor, United States

My husband and I visited the San Antonio Museum of Art in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, November 8, 2018 and Friday morning, November 9th. The museum had a very impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, and many other types of artifacts all well curated and documented and housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery. The former Lone Star Brewery building had unique architecture and was very nicely retrofitted to accommodate the artwork of the museum. The museum had much to offer and our visit was quite educational and an excellent lesson in art, history, and culture. Our visit at the museum lasted about five hours in total, due to the amount of time that we had available to us, but it could have easily taken more time to be able to absorb and appreciate all the artwork on display. An added bonus to our visit was there was plenty of free parking conveniently located across the street from the museum. We recommend a visit to this museum if you are in San Antonio, and hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy it as much as we did!! We started our visit on the first floor with the Egyptian, Ancient Mediterranean, Greek and Roman Art. The Egyptian artwork included a comprehensive display of many types of interesting artifacts and objects, including figurines, papyrus, pottery, vessels, statuette funerary, mummy masks, a mummy coffin, ancient glass and even a falcon. Artifacts illustrating Religion in Ancient Egypt included jars, knives, bowls, necklaces, beakers and other offering objects were all beautifully displayed. We then toured the Greek World Gallery. This included information about the natural world and ideal forms and proportions. Greece in the Bronze Ages was depicted. Jugs, jars, flasks, bowls, urns, Greek Coinage, jewelry, gems, and funerary sculptures were included among the many items nicely on display. We then viewed the Roman World. Multiple aspects of this art was depicted, including Roman Funerary Sculptures, Art in the Roman Provinces, Roman Coinage, portraits and a depiction of Roman mythology as well as much more, all quite interesting. We then went to the second floor which had Asian Art, including Japanese, Southeast Asian, Korean, Himalayan and Indian artwork. A variety of artifacts were on display, among them were Scenes of the Life of Buddha, including a Crowned Buddha, as well as objects related to Brahma, the Dance of Divine Love on Pigments of Cotton, Yogini, Plaques with the Mother Goddess, the Wedding of Krishna, Radha - Object of Krishna’s Desire, and a Surya Shrine. Many bottles, bowls and jars were also on display, all worth seeing. The Japanese art illustrated the Magic of Clay and Fire through Contemporary Ceramics, including vessels, jars, vases. A suit of parade armor was also on display as well a shrine and multiple folding silk screen panels, including ‘the Hawk on a Branch with Chattering Monkeys’ in addition to vases bottles, dishes and pitchers, all quite nice. The third floor had a very comprehensive and quite impressive collection of Chinese artwork, including ceramics, imperial China artifacts and early China artifacts. Art from multiple Chinese Dynasties were on display, including Qing, Ming, Song, Northern Song, Tang, Sui, Northern Qi, , Northern Wei, Han, Eastern Han, Western Han, Western Jin and Eastern Jin and many more. The artwork included vases, bowls, dishes, cups, canisters, figurines, flasks, jars, wine pots, bottles, urns, robes, furniture, horses, soldiers, a money tree, earthenware, stoneware, pieces of bronze and much more. We completed our visit at the museum on November 8th very impressed with what we saw, but still had more galleries in the museum to explore on November 9th. We began our visit to the museum on November 9th on the fourth floor with the Art of Oceania. This was a very interesting gallery depicting ceremonial ancestor figures, a basketry figure of a wild pig from New Guinea, a basketry yam mask, and information on the Yam Festivals of the Abelam people of New Guinea as well as well as the Malanggan Festivals of New Ireland. The Oceanic gallery illustrated an interesting history of cultural exchange in the South Pacific. . We then crossed over the Sky Bridge and went through an interesting and unique exhibit by Marilyn Lafear on ‘From Sewing to Soldering’. We went to the Texas Gallery and enjoyed the Texas Furniture and Texas Art with Blue Bonnets, Landscape Paintings and Marble Bronze Sculptures as well as other pieces of contemporary artwork in the next galleries. We walked through multiple galleries with interesting artwork including sculptures, jewelry and more by modern designer Harry Bertoia. We then spent time viewing the Spanish and Colonial Art as well as the very impressive Latin American Art Galleries, including modern, contemporary and folk art. We really enjoyed viewing the various vases, jars, crowns, chalices as well as beautiful religious paintings. We then spent some time viewing the American Art, including Haystack Mountain in Vermont and paintings along Pennsylvania Avenue. In addition, we enjoyed viewing the pieces of European Art that were on display. . . We finally visited the special exhibit ‘Becoming John Marin, Modernist at Work’. We enjoyed his drawings, watercolors, etchings and oil paintings, including early landscapes and architecture. We liked his artwork in Venice, Paris, and in Manhattan, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Telephone Building, the Woolworth Building and his depiction of a city in motion. We also liked his art regarding ‘Exploring America’, ‘Faces and Fantasies’, including portraiture, as well his artwork regarding the circus and his ‘Summers in Maine’. This was definitely a very comprehensive and interesting special exhibit nicely laid out with write-ups having good background information, all illustrating a unique perception of art. It was definitely worth seeing. . As you can tell, this museum has quite a bit to offer, much more than what is mentioned here. Again, we recommend a visit to this museum if you are in San Antonio and hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!!

8. Sid Richardson Museum

309 Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76102-4006 +1 817-332-6554 [email protected] http://www.sidrichardsonmuseum.org/
Excellent
69%
Good
25%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
0%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 261 reviews

Sid Richardson Museum

One of the finest and most focused collections of Western Art in America, this Fort Worth museum features paintings of the 19th Century American West by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and other artists, which were collected by oilman and philanthropist Sid Richardson.

Reviewed By Paul_D_Hill - Shepperton, United Kingdom

This is a very small and free museum with some very impressive pieces of art. Very friendly and welcoming staff.

9. McNay Art Museum

6000 N New Braunfels Ave, San Antonio, TX 78209-4618 +1 210-824-5368 [email protected] http://www.mcnayart.org/
Excellent
73%
Good
22%
Satisfactory
4%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 888 reviews

McNay Art Museum

The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’s first modern art museum when it opened in 1954. Today, 200,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Willie Cole, Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Alejandro Martín, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Tom Wesselmann, and more.

Reviewed By pdashnaw - Georgetown, United States

This was our second visit to the McNay, and we were not disappointed. There is a tastefully curated mix of Impressionism, the Dutch Masters, Cubism, modernism and pop art among their Permanent collection, and lots of floor & wall space is allocated to traveling/special exhibits. One big innovation that has been added since our previous visit, is the ability to use your Smart Phone to listen to the audio commentary that used to require a separate device either rented, or checked out from the counter. Parking is easy and adequate, and the museum is in a delightfully urban area of the city away from the downtown. They have discounted rates for seniors and active duty military while teens and children are free. Check in advance before you head out though, the day we visited, there was another collection on display - big yellow things called school buses in the parking lot which means....

10. Dallas Museum of Art

1717 N Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201-2398 +1 214-922-1200 http://www.dma.org/visit
Excellent
63%
Good
29%
Satisfactory
6%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 2,025 reviews

Dallas Museum of Art

Established in 1903, this prestigious art venue features a wide selection of art exhibits, from Ancient Mediterranean to Contemporary Art and Design.

Reviewed By vanessaindallas - Dallas, United States

My husband and I recently attended the Dior Late Night event which was from 7pm-9(ish). It was our first time attending one of their Late Night showings. They have these often when great exhibitions are displayed. It was such a great Date Night, roaming the museum after hours. Before the museum we listened to jazz music in the lobby and sipped on some wine. You can definitely make an evening here at the museum with your loved one (or group of friends). Dress code for Late Night is up to you! I went semi-dressed while there was a mix of casual and dressed.

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