Top 10 Art Museums in Oklahoma, United States

This vast art museum, housed in an Italian style villa, has numerous exhibits from European, American, Asian, Native American and African artists and is surrounded by acres of lush gardens.

The world's largest collection of art from the American West is housed at this museum, which is also well stocked with Native American artifacts and artwork. Thematic gardens reflect the gardening styles of different time periods.

The mission of the SMMJA is to preserve and promote Jewish heritage, culture, history and community through art and education.Through exhibitions and educational programs focusing on Jewish culture, history, religion, and art, the Museum hopes people will come to understand and identify with the Jewish experience. The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art (SMMJA) and its collections have been a part of Tulsa for decades. It began in 1965 when a local synagogue brought a traveling exhibit, “Traditional Ceremonial Art,” from the Jewish Museum in New York to the Tulsa community. It generated great interest in Jewish culture and art, and the following year, the Gershon and Rebecca Fenster Gallery of Jewish Art opened to the public. Sherwin Miller, the first Curator of the Gallery, began collecting Jewish art and artifacts in earnest. In 2000, the Museum was renamed the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art to recognize the achievements and contributions of its first curator.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum, located in Oklahoma City, collects, preserves, and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. More than 10 million visitors from around the world have sought out this unique museum to gain better understanding of the West: a region and a history that permeates our national culture. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum features a superb collection of classic and contemporary Western art, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as sculptor James Earle Fraser’s magnificent work, The End of the Trail. The exhibition wing houses a turn-of-the-century town and interactive history galleries that focus on the American cowboy, rodeo and Native American culture.

OKCMOA is one of the leading arts institutions in the region. The Museum presents a dynamic range of exhibitions organized from prestigious museums and collections throughout the world. The Museum’s own diverse collection features highlights from North America, Europe, and Asia, with particular strengths in American art and postwar abstraction. The permanent collection also boasts one of the world’s largest public collections of Dale Chihuly glass, a major collection of photography by Brett Weston, and the definitive museum collection of works by the Washington Color painter Paul Reed. The Museum’s renowned Samuel Roberts Noble Theater screens the finest international, independent, documentary, and classic films. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. The Museum serves over 125,000 visitors annually from all fifty states and thirty foreign countries.

The only museum in the State of Oklahoma that has a mummy (Tutu)! This place is fantastic and deserves a listing based on my recent trip.