Museums play a crucial role in preserving local culture. They also have the power to support artists not just by giving them exhibitions, but also by acquiring their work. Museums can create a more equitable public understanding of art and artists. And if it is done right, museums can help guard against the case of under-recognized artists who do not get their due as a result of their gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. 

Art Museums in California

California is one of the foremost destinations for arts and culture in the world. Art lovers often visit this Golden State as it has unmatched diversity, a famously entrepreneurial spirit, rich history, and a sunny climate ideal for year-round events. There are several reasons that explain why people visit museums. Some people want to learn about the past, while others are curious about the country they are visiting. There are also others who just want to enjoy art and culture. 

With California, no matter where you travel within the state, you can experience a unique and vibrant cultural scene before and after the world war, and find museums with fine art collections and an online presence. 

Best Art Museums in California

California has more than 1,000 museums. You can learn about the state’s fascinating Gold Rush past in Sacramento where you will find the impressive State Capitol Museum. You can also find the preserved correspondence from 1850s miners at the Sacramento History Museum and a riverfront historic area still paved with cobblestones.

Are you looking for the most concentrated hubs of theater, music, museums, street art, and dance in California? You should head to the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. You can explore 1,000 acres of green space dotted with institutions. You can even see the great artworks of Roy Lichtenstein, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, and Ansel Adams in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Their art is included these Northern California Art Museums: 

• Asian Art Museum
• California Historical Society 
• Cartoon Art Museum 
• The Contemporary Jewish Museum
• de Young Museum
• International Art Museum of America 
• Legion of Honor
• Museum of African Diaspora
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)

Other best art museums in Northern California include: 

• Berkeley Art Museum in Berkeley
• Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa
• Crocker Art Museum  in Sacramento
• Fresno Art Museum in Fresno
• Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey
• New Museum Los Gatos in Los Gatos
• Oakland Museum of California in Oakland
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
  Sonoma Valley Museum of Art in Sonoma
• Cantor Arts Center – Stanford University Museum of Art in Palo Alto
• Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara
• San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose

Southern California boasts expansive offerings in art and culture. You can learn about the history of moviemaking in Los Angeles at the new Academy of Motion Pictures Museum. It has an art museum for contemporary artists founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. This art museum is The Broad. This museum is designed by Diller Scofidio. You can see the masterpieces of Andy Warhol in this museum. 

While you can enjoy the general admission, you can also avail the free admission on the first Tuesday of every month except July and August. Some museums have free days on other days like Friday or Saturday. However, keep in mind that some art museums close during Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

California Art museums in Los Angeles include: 

#1 Getty Center and Getty Villa

You can find European paintings, drawings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs in the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center

The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa in Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, on the other hand, houses approximately 44,000 works of art from the museum’s extensive collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. Over 1,200 are on view. 

#2 Hammer Museum 

This free museum is a vibrant intellectual and creative nexus. The Hammer Museum is composed of exhibitions and programs, including lectures, symposia, film series, readings, and musical performances. These things spark meaningful encounters with art and ideas. 

#3 Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

This art museum is devoted to collecting works of art, including the La Brea tar pits, that span both history, and geography. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the western United States and it represents Los Angeles’ uniquely diverse population. The museum’s collection includes over 120,000 objects dating from ancient civilizations to the present South Americas civilization. 

#4 Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)

It is the only museum of California art in Los Angeles that is devoted exclusively to the masterpieces of contemporary artists. This art museum is committed to the collection, presentation, and interpretation of work produced since 1940 in all media. All the works of art in this museum are preserved for future generations. 

#5 Norton Simon Museum

This art museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. The Norton Simon Museum has an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. It also has a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years.

#6 Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA)

This art museum is the premier visual arts organization in Orange County, California. It has acclaimed exhibitions such as Birth of the Cool: Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury, Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone, Picasso to Pollock: Modern Masterpieces from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series. These draw more than 40,000 visitors annually. 

#7 Other art museums in Los Angeles include: 

• California African American Museum
• Fowler Art Museum 
• Japanese American National Museum 
• MOCA The Geffen Contemporary
• MOCA Grand Avenue 
• Museum of Neon Art
• Pavilion for Japanese Art

San Diego Art Museums

In San Diego, you could spend weeks exploring the 17 museums and cultural institutions in Balboa Park. You will also find Broadway-bound new works and time-honored classics at the La Jolla Playhouse and The Old Globe. 

#1 Mingei International Museum

The Mingei International Museum preserves and exhibits folk art, craft, and design from all eras and cultures of world art. At present, the museum’s collection comprises more than 26,000 objects of folk art, craft, and design from 141 countries. 

#2 Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD)

This museum is the region’s foremost forum devoted to the exploration and presentation of the art of our time. It also presents works across all media created since 1950. 

This art museum is located in the heart of downtown San Diego and in the coastal community of La Jolla. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego provides an unprecedented variety of exhibition spaces and experiences for the community. This museum also showcases an internationally recognized collection and a dynamic schedule of exhibitions and public programs. 

#3 Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego

This museum aims to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film, and video. It also has educational programs for visitors to learn about photography, film, and video.

#4 San Diego Museum of Art

This is the region’s oldest and largest museum and the most visited art museum as well. It provides a richly diverse cultural experience for almost 250,000 visitors annually. 

This art museum is located in the heart of beautiful Balboa Park. The San Diego Museum of Art has a nationally renowned museum’s permanent collection that includes Spanish and Italian old masters. It also has South Asian paintings and 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. 

#5 Other Southern California Art Museum include:

• American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona
• Autry National Center
• Bakersfield Museum of Art in Bakersfield
• Bowers Museum in Santa Ana
• California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica
• California Museum of Photography in Riverside
• Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard
• The Huntington Library, Art Collection & Botanical Gardens in San Marino
• The Irvine Museum in Irvine
• Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach
• Latino Art Museum in Pomona
• Long Beach Museum of Art in Long Beach
• Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach
• Muzeo in Anaheim
• Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena
• Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena
• Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs
• Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach
• Riverside Art Museum in Riverside
• The Riverside Municipal Museum in Riverside
• San Luis Obispo Museum of Art in San Luis Obispo
• Santa Barbara Museum of Art in Santa Barbara
• Torrance Art Museum in Torrance

University Art Museums and Art Galleries in California

The following is the list of the university art museums and art galleries in California:

• Beall Center for Art + Technology in U of California Irvine
• California State University, Long Beach – University Art Museum
• Fisher Gallery in University of Southern California, Los Angeles
• Fowler Art Museum in UCLA, Los Angeles
• Grand Central Art Center in California State University Fullerton
• Hammer Museum in UCLA, Los Angeles
• The Luckman in California State University, Los Angeles
• Pasadena City College Art Gallery in Pasadena
• Pomona College Museum of Art in Claremont
• Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery in Scripts College, Claremont
• San Francisco State University – Fine Arts Gallery
• Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto
• University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
• University of California, Northridge, Art Galleries in Northridge
• University of California, Riverside, California Museum of Photography
• Art, Design & Architecture Museum in UC Santa Barbara

Southern California Art Centers

Here is the list of art centers you can find in Southern California:

• 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica
• Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles
• Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena
• Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro
• Art Glass Association of Southern California in San Diego
• Barnsdale Park Municipal Art Gallery in Los Angeles
• Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente
• The Corita Art Center in Los Angeles
• The dA Center for the Arts in Pomona
• ECF Art Centers in Los Angeles
• First Street Gallery Art Center in Claremont
• Irvine Fine Arts Center in Irvine
• LA Artcore in Union Center for Fine Arts, Los Angeles
• La Jolla Art Association
• Los Angeles Center for Digital Art in Los Angeles
• Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton
• Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana
• Palos Verdes Art Center in Rancho Palos Verdes
• Side Street Projects in Los Angeles
• Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles
• South Bay Contemporary in South LA
• Watts Towers Arts Center in Los Angeles