Museums open in Los AngelesAquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, Bowsers Museum, Huntington Library, Art Museum %26 Botanical Gardens, Japanese American National Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, Museum of Illusions, Petersen Automotive Museum, L, A. We discover the best of the city and put it all in an email for you. By entering your email address, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and agree to receive emails from Time Out about partner news, events, offers and promotions. Don't leave L, A.
whether you're a resident or a tourist without visiting these must-see museums An email you'll really love What is now called the Getty Villa (a coastal mansion full of antiques that's also worth visiting) served as the home for decades for the J. Paul Getty Trust's extensive art collection. But in 1997, the Getty Center opened. The end result is a remarkable complex of pavilions clad in travertine and white metal that houses ornate French furniture, recognizable impressionist pieces and rotating exhibitions.
Its relative inaccessibility is more than offset by free admission and panoramic views, from the hills and ocean in the west to the city center in the east. It's closed on Mondays, but you won't regret visiting this huge collection of works any day. No tickets required to see outdoor sculptures Urban light and levitated mass. Urban Light by Chris Burden, a piece composed of 202 cast iron street lights gathered from around L, A.
And restored to work, it has quickly become one of the city's indelible landmarks. But it would fall short if it didn't venture beyond the photo-friendly installation; LACMA collections feature modernist masterpieces, large-scale contemporary works (including Richard Serra's massive spiral sculpture and Burden's hypnotic Metropolis II), traditional Japanese screens and by far L, A. Scheduled reservations required on weekends, weekdays recommended. Free time tickets required, even for Yayoi Kusama's Infinite Mirror Room Souls Millions of Light-Years Away.
Industrialist Armand Hammer founded this museum in 1990, mainly to house his own collection, and it opened just three weeks before his death. Now, UCLA's free partner institution hosts fascinating contemporary art, photography and design shows, often with an emphasis on local artists (most notably with its “Made in LA, LA. biennial). The shows are complemented by a small permanent collection and Hammer's public events calendar (arguably one of the best in town), packed with free lectures and screenings.
Advance tickets recommended; free for county residents from 3 to 5 p.m. Paul Getty opened a museum of his possessions in a fake villa. Eventually, decorative arts and paintings moved to the Getty Center, but the villa remains home to Getty's Mediterranean antique collection. Today, there are approximately 1200 artifacts on display at any given time, dated between 6500 BC and 500 AD.
Even if you're not interested in art, the palatial courtyards and manicured gardens are worth a visit. The Norton Simon makeover in the late 1990s raised the profile of the museum, but it also helped expand the range of the museum's collection, giving it more space and creating a quiet and simple environment. The museum is still known for its impressive collection of old masters, in particular pieces by 17th century Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Brueghel and Frans Hals. The French Impressionists are represented, among others, by Monet, Manet and Renoir.
After watching the temporary shows, head to the excellent sculpture garden. The Griffith Observatory museum is currently open from Thursday to Sunday. The surrounding grounds are open every day. The view from this hilltop landmark is impressive, especially at night when Los Angeles twinkles below.
Inside you'll find plenty of exhibits, including a Foucault pendulum (directly below the famous Hugo Ballin mural in the central roundabout), a Tesla coil, and a planetarium show. Take enough time before the close of 10 pm to look through the 12-inch refractor telescope on the roof; otherwise, you can look through the modern, much less crowded reflector telescope on the front lawn. The permanent exhibition galleries in this children's Exhibition Park museum explore life sciences, human innovation and motorized flight (all with a resolutely 90s design style). But the real attraction here is the space shuttle Endeavour, which paraded very publicly in Los Angeles.
To reach his temporary home in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion, work is underway on a permanent structure intended to show the ship in an upright position. Even if you're not interested in the rest of the museum, it's worth a visit to come face to face with one of this country's most iconic engineering wonders. One of three institutions clustered close to each other in the Exposition Park, this beautiful museum documents the historical achievements of African Americans. Although his collection includes some pieces from the African diaspora, his main focus, particularly his temporary exhibitions, focuses on black artists from California and the western United States.
Based on the name, you'd expect this Griffith Park museum to be a cheesy exploration of the life and works of famed cowboy singer Gene Autry. Instead, it's a very engaging exploration of all the peoples of the West (with a sizeable collection of Native American art), describing their history and detailing the myths that surrounded it (although yes, there are often some kind of memories of Autry on display in the lobby). Open-air wells are free to visit. Advance tickets for the indoor museum are recommended.
Located on land that once housed a productive silent film studio, everything in this museum is a forward-thinking company, from its modern and contemporary collection to its building. The core of the permanent collection is located in the Long Gallery, with works by an artist from each Latin American country. Stop by on Sundays for free admission. Book a private tour of the museum.
This museum tells the story of Japanese immigration to the U.S. UU. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum presents an attractive list of documentary and art exhibitions, including a heartbreaking but beautiful display of images and artifacts from the above-mentioned internment camps. Recent exhibitions have ranged from an impressive sampling of Japanese tattoo traditions to a Hello Kitty retrospective.
This campus on the slope of 405 aims to seek connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage and communities within L, A. Judaica's permanent exhibits are beautiful and enriching, while temporary exhibitions often delve deeper into pop culture territory. Little ones will love Noah's Ark, a wonderful child-oriented, playground-like display that explores cultural differences through a retelling of the old story of two by two animals. Although technically a gallery, Hauser %26 Wirth basically feels like a museum.
Much of that is due to the enormous footprint of the international gallery owner, a former 116,000 square foot flour mill. The restored complex hosts up to three exhibitions at once, with a mix of contemporary post-war icons and current artists. One of Pasadena's cultural gems, the Norton Simon Museum houses one of the world's most notable private collections. Explore more than 12,000 art treasures, with European art from the Renaissance, India and Southeast Asia spanning 2000 years, along with contemporary pieces from America and Europe.
You'll also have an impressive array of architecture to enjoy, including touches from artists like Frank Gehry. Book tickets and get more here. Getty Center, located in Brentwood, showcases European art amid modern architecture and panoramic views of Los Angeles. .
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