The 30 most-visited & beloved art museums/galleries in the u.s.

(ranked with heavy bias toward popularity, collections, and cultural impact; includes modern, abstract, contemporary & mixed collections)

1) the museum of modern art (moma) — new york, ny

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  focus: modern & contemporary art (20th–21st c.)
  
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  highlights: van gogh starry night, matisse, picasso, warhol, judd
  
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  interesting: moma pioneered the “modern” museum model in the u.s.
  
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  address/phone: 11 w 53rd st, ny, ny 10019 • (212) 708-9400
  

2) the metropolitan museum of art — new york, ny

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  focus: 5,000 years of art; encyclopedic
  
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  highlights: egyptian temple of dendur, rembrandt, vermeer, armor
  
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  interesting: largest u.s. art museum by floor area; the met gala funds the costume institute
  
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  address/phone: 1000 5th ave, ny, ny 10028 • (212) 535-7710
  

3) the art institute of chicago — chicago, il

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  focus: global collection; impressionism through contemporary
  
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  highlights: seurat a sunday on la grande jatte, hopper nighthawks
  
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  interesting: its lions out front are changed with wreaths/scarves for events
  
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  address/phone: 111 s michigan ave, chicago, il 60603 • (312) 443-3600
  

4) solomon r. guggenheim museum — new york, ny

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  focus: modern & contemporary; spiral frank lloyd wright icon
  
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  highlights: kandinsky, mondrian, brancusi
  
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  interesting: the building is a unesco world heritage site
  
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  address/phone: 1071 5th ave, ny, ny 10128 • (212) 423-3500
  

5) whitney museum of american art — new york, ny

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  focus: 20th–21st c. american art
  
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  highlights: edward hopper, georgia o’keeffe, calder; the whitney biennial
  
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  interesting: founded by sculptor gertrude vanderbilt whitney in 1930
  
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  address/phone: 99 gansevoort st, ny, ny 10014 • (212) 570-3600
  

6) sfmoma — san francisco, ca

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  focus: modern & contemporary; photography & media strongholds
  
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  highlights: rothko, diego rivera mural, kiefers, new media
  
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  interesting: one of the largest museums in the u.s. devoted to modern art
  
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  address/phone: 151 3rd st, san francisco, ca 94103 • (415) 357-4000
  

7) los angeles county museum of art (lacma) — los angeles, ca

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  focus: encyclopedic + contemporary; film & design
  
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  highlights: urban light (chr. burden), latin american holdings
  
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  interesting: in the middle of a dramatic campus rebuild opening in phases
  
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  address/phone: 5905 wilshire blvd, la, ca 90036 • (323) 857-6000
  

8) the broad — los angeles, ca

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  focus: post-war & contemporary (koons, basquiat, kusama)
  
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  highlights: yayoi kusama infinity mirror rooms
  
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  interesting: free general admission; endowment from philanthropists eli & edythe broad
  
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  address/phone: 221 s grand ave, la, ca 90012 • (213) 232-6200
  

9) the j. paul getty center — los angeles, ca

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  focus: european art to 1900 + photography; stunning hilltop campus
  
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  highlights: turner, rubens, van gogh; gardens & views
  
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  interesting: admission free; two campuses (getty center & getty villa)
  
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  address/phone: 1200 getty center dr, la, ca 90049 • (310) 440-7300
  

10) national gallery of art — washington, d.c.

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  focus: european & american masterpieces + modern in east building
  
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  highlights: da vinci, cezanne, rothko, calder
  
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  interesting: federally funded—free to all
  
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  address/phone: constitution ave nw, washington, dc 20565 • (202) 737-4215
  

11) hirshhorn museum & sculpture garden — washington, d.c.

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  focus: contemporary & sculpture
  
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  highlights: kusama, giacometti; iconic donut-shaped building
  
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  interesting: outdoor sculpture garden is a local favorite
  
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  address/phone: independence ave & 7th st sw, dc 20560 • (202) 633-1000
  

12) brooklyn museum — brooklyn, ny

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  focus: ancient to contemporary; strong egyptian & feminist art holdings
  
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  highlights: judy chicago the dinner party, rodin
  
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  interesting: home to many major fashion exhibitions in recent years
  
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  address/phone: 200 eastern pkwy, bk, ny 11238 • (718) 638-5000
  

13) the frick collection — new york, ny

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  focus: old masters & decorative arts; intimate mansion setting
  
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  highlights: fragonard room, titian, holbein
  
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  interesting: famed for its domestic scale and pristine galleries
  
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  address/phone: 1 e 70th st, ny, ny 10021 • (212) 288-0700
  

14) museum of fine arts, boston — boston, ma

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  focus: encyclopedic; american, asian, impressionism
  
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  highlights: monet’s water lilies, hokusai prints
  
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  interesting: houses a world-class japanese collection
  
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  address/phone: 465 huntington ave, boston, ma 02115 • (617) 267-9300
  

15) institute of contemporary art (ica) boston — boston, ma

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  focus: contemporary art & performance; waterfront building
  
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  highlights: barry mcgee, nari ward shows; performative programs
  
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  interesting: dramatic cantilevered architecture by diller scofidio + renfro
  
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  address/phone: 25 harbor shore dr, boston, ma 02210 • (617) 478-3100
  

16) dia beacon — beacon, ny

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  focus: large-scale minimal & conceptual installations
  
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  highlights: walter de maria, dan flavin, richard serra
  
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  interesting: housed in a former nabisco box-printing factory
  
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  address/phone: 3 beekman st, beacon, ny 12508 • (845) 440-0100
  

17) mass moca — north adams, ma

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  focus: gigantic contemporary installations & time-based work
  
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  highlights: james turrell, laurie anderson, nick cave
  
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  interesting: one of the largest contemporary art centers in the world
  
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  address/phone: 1040 mass moca way, north adams, ma 01247 • (413) 662-2111
  

18) the phillips collection — washington, d.c.

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  focus: modern art in a house-museum setting
  
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  highlights: renoir luncheon of the boating party
  
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  interesting: america’s first museum of modern art (1921)
  
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  address/phone: 1600 21st st nw, dc 20009 • (202) 387-2151
  

19) cleveland museum of art — cleveland, oh

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  focus: encyclopedic; especially strong in asian & medieval art
  
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  highlights: armor court, van gogh, chinese bronzes
  
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  interesting: free general admission; renowned conservation labs
  
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  address/phone: 11150 east blvd, cleveland, oh 44106 • (216) 421-7350
  

20) nelson-atkins museum of art — kansas city, mo

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  focus: global collection; photography & asian art
  
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  highlights: shuttlecocks sculptures on the lawn (olde nenburg/van bruggen)
  
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  interesting: famous for its night-lit lawn installations
  
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  address/phone: 4525 oak st, kansas city, mo 64111 • (816) 751-1278
  

21) crystal bridges museum of american art — bentonville, ar

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  focus: american art from colonial to contemporary
  
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  highlights: rockwell, pollock, kara walker
  
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  interesting: founded by alice walton; free general admission
  
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  address/phone: 600 museum way, bentonville, ar 72712 • (479) 418-5700
  

22) carnegie museum of art — pittsburgh, pa

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  focus: “museum of modern art” since 1896; photo & design strengths
  
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  highlights: carnegie international exhibitions
  
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  interesting: among the first museums with a sustained contemporary focus
  
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  address/phone: 4400 forbes ave, pittsburgh, pa 15213 • (412) 622-3131
  

23) dallas museum of art — dallas, tx

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  focus: encyclopedic + contemporary; design/art of the americas
  
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  highlights: keifer, pollock; strong exhibitions program
  
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  interesting: free general admission
  
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  address/phone: 1717 n harwood st, dallas, tx 75201 • (214) 922-1200
  

24) museum of fine arts, houston — houston, tx

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  focus: encyclopedic; photography & latin american holdings
  
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  highlights: new kinder building for modern/contemporary
  
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  interesting: campus expansion has doubled gallery space
  
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  address/phone: 1001 bissonnet st, houston, tx 77005 • (713) 639-7300
  

25) high museum of art — atlanta, ga

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  focus: modern & contemporary; design and photography
  
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  highlights: richard meier building; african art
  
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  interesting: major collaborations with the louvre & moma
  
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  address/phone: 1280 peachtree st ne, atlanta, ga 30309 • (404) 733-4400
  

26) new orleans museum of art — new orleans, la

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  focus: global collection; sculpture garden is a must
  
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  highlights: degas connections, latin american modernists
  
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  interesting: free-to-visit sydney and walda besthoff sculpture garden
  
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  address/phone: 1 collins diboll circle, new orleans, la 70124 • (504) 658-4100
  

27) seattle art museum — seattle, wa

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  focus: global; notable native american & asian art
  
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  highlights: olympic sculpture park affiliate
  
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  interesting: operates three sites (sam downtown, asian art museum, sculpture park)
  
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  address/phone: 1300 1st ave, seattle, wa 98101 • (206) 654-3100
  

28) portland art museum — portland, or

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  focus: northwest + global art; film & new media ties
  
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  highlights: rothko connection (grew up in portland)
  
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  interesting: among the oldest museums in the west (1892)
  
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  address/phone: 1219 sw park ave, portland, or 97205 • (503) 226-2811
  

29) the moca (museum of contemporary art) — los angeles, ca

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  focus: contemporary art (1940s–present)
  
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  highlights: de kooning, ruscha, barbara kruger
  
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  interesting: founded by artists/collectors; across from the broad
  
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  address/phone: 250 s grand ave, la, ca 90012 • (213) 626-6222
  

30) walker art center — minneapolis, mn

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  focus: contemporary art, performance, design
  
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  highlights: minneapolis sculpture garden (home of spoonbridge and cherry)
  
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  interesting: one of the first u.s. museums to embrace design as a core program
  
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  address/phone: 725 vineland place, minneapolis, mn 55403 • (612) 375-7600
  

tip: many museums don’t publish direct curator emails; use the museum’s “staff” or “departments” directory or the general info@ / contact form to route inquiries to the right curator.

10 world-famous artists (and the work most people recognize)

1. 
   vincent van gogh — the starry night
   
2. 
   pablo picasso — guernica
   
3. 
   claude monet — water lilies series
   
4. 
   andy warhol — campbell’s soup cans
   
5. 
   leonardo da vinci — mona lisa
   
6. 
   michelangelo — the creation of adam (sistine chapel)
   
7. 
   rembrandt van rijn — the night watch
   
8. 
   jackson pollock — number 1a, 1948 (or autumn rhythm)
   
9. 
   salvador dalí — the persistence of memory
   
10. 
    frida kahlo — the two fridas (often self-portrait with thorn necklace)
    

10 viral / landmark nft projects (with a fun fact)

1. 
   bored ape yacht club (bayc) — holders receive full ip rights; celeb collectors boosted mainstream fame.
   
2. 
   cryptopunks — 2017 larva labs project; considered the “og” 10k pfp collection.
   
3. 
   art blocks (chromie squiggles) — on-chain generative art platform; snowfro’s squiggles became a movement.
   
4. 
   azuki — anime-inspired brand with strong streetwear/irl culture.
   
5. 
   doodles — pastel pfp brand; brought in pharrell williams as chief brand officer.
   
6. 
   pudgy penguins — comeback story turned retail success; toys launched in walmart/amazon.
   
7. 
   clone x (rtfkt x takashi murakami) — fashion + 3d avatars; nike acquired rtfkt.
   
8. 
   moonbirds — proof collective’s pfp; emphasized on-chain media + nesting mechanics.
   
9. 
   cool cats — family-friendly blue-cat pfps; early brand deals & games.
   
10. 
    world of women — championed inclusion; focused on women artists & collectors.