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10 Art Museums in Houston That You Shouldn't Miss
Houston hums with an energy and independent spirit all its own. A leading cultural and culinary destination in the South, the city is home to over 11,000 restaurants featuring cuisine from more than 70 countries. The thriving arts scene includes resident opera, ballet, symphony and theater companies. The Museum District houses 19 museums, all within walking distance. Be sure to visit Space Center Houston, where you can visit NASA’s Historic Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.
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1. Seismique
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
Seismique is a mind-bending, interactive art museum filled with immersive exhibits and stunning displays designed to both entertain and inspire our guests. Visitors will explore over 40,000 square feet of the most creative, inventive and enjoyable art ever collected in one location.
2. Byzantine Fresco Chapel
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reopened in 2015, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel has been repurposed to house an experimental series of year-long, site-specific contemporary art installations. Originally opened in 1997, the BFC was designed by architect Francois de Menil to house an installation of two 13th-century Christian frescoes from Cyprus that were on long-term loan.
3. The Menil Collection
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 936 reviews
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!!
4. Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 447 reviews
Bayou Bend is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's house museum for American decorative arts and paintings. Displayed in the former home of Houston civic leader and philanthropist Ima Hogg (1882-1975), the collection is one of the finest showcases of American furnishings, silver, ceramics, and paintings in the world. The house is situated on 14 acres of organically maintained gardens in Houston's historic River Oaks neighborhood.
Reviewed By larryd1941
Comparing the Bayou Bend American furniture rooms to DuPont's Winterthur Museum is unfair, as they both have excellent collections of American furnihings but Bayou Bend has a less comprehensive view of 18th and 19th century furnishings than Winterthur. It is still high on my list of National "must see" Museums. Its grounds are enchanting and the Museum feels more like a visit to a wealthy friend's home (a la Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillwood in Washington, DC) than to a major Museum of American furniture (Winterthur in Delaware)
5. Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 95 reviews
Reviewed By beachboywantabe - Corpus Christi, United States
Cloud Column (sculpture by Anish Kapoor of Chicago’s Cloud Gate fame) is not really part of the Cullen Sculpture Garden, but since it adjoins the Garden, for practical purposes it is. The Sculpture Garden has been a favorite Arts District stop of mine for years, and the only place other than France or The Rodin Museum In Philly where 3 Rodin Sculptures can be seen at one location! Cloud Column by itself is worthy of a visit. I love the MFAH description of the sculpture that mentions some people refer to it as “El Frijole”: “The play between the convex and concave surfaces establishes a dual reality, as the elongated core of the sculpture presents the world upside down, bringing the heavens down to earth.”
6. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,700 reviews
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is the largest cultural institution in the southwest region of the United States. The Museum’s encyclopedic collections of nearly 70,000 objects cover world cultures dating from antiquity to the present and include in-depth holdings of American art, European paintings, Pre-Columbian and African gold, decorative arts and design, photography, prints and drawings, 20th- and 21st-century painting and sculpture, and Latin American art.
Reviewed By bornthatway_traveler - Bloomington, United States
I extremely recommend the MOFAH to all visitors to Houston; you won’t be disappointed! The diversity and educational value of the hundreds and hundreds of works here is admirable and among the best in the US. Portraits and paintings fill dozens of gallery rooms on the second floor, many of them huge and immersive, like the art swallows you and invites you into their scene. Being a personal fan of Impressionism, I enjoyed the vast collection of this genre in the museum. Works of all types represent nearly all world regions and timelines in history (e.g. Egyptian carvings and tombs and Asian sculptures). Everyone of all interests is bound to discover something fascinating here. When you visit, be sure to pass through the underground light tunnel to access the museum’s second facility across the street, in which you’ll find intricate Italian glass carvings, Spanish and colonial-era art artifacts, and a substantial exhibition celebrating Black culture. I particularly enjoyed the Black culture exhibition, curated magnificently with several eye-opening portraits and culturally-rich lifestyle scenes. In the Spanish/colonial-era space, I loved viewing the ancient maps explorers used to navigate the oceans in the early history of “modern” America. I could go on and on praising the Museum of Fine Arts—I really loved my time here. I’ll devote the conclusion of my review to important informational pointers: - Admission is a reasonable $19 per adult, available on-site. I’m forgetting children’s admission prices and others. - In order to safely remain open in light of COVID-19, all visitors will have their temperature checked prior to entering the museum. Face masks and social distancing are required. The temperature screening process is very straightforward and quick, and I found myself within the gallery areas in no time. - Wheelchair accessibility is clearly up to ADA regulations, with elevators giving access to every part of the facility. - The on-site cafe remains closed due to COVID-19, as of June 2020. Just take note of this and make sure you satisfy your appetite before your visit! - I applaud the museum for providing many Spanish-language translations/subtitles alongside English captions of artworks. Very cool. I’ll be returning next visit to Houston! Thanks for the world-class experience!
7. Blaffer Gallery
8. Fine Arts Museum, Houston Baptist University
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
9. Art Car Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 195 reviews
The Art Car Museum is a private institution dedicated to contemporary art. It is an exhibition forum for local, national, and international artists with an emphasis on art cars, other fine arts and artists that are rarely, if ever, acknowledged by other cultural institutions. The museum's goal is to encourage the public's awareness of the cultural, political, economic and personal dimensions of art.
Reviewed By DeeBTX - Houston, United States
This free museum is a worthy stop when in the downtown area. There is a rotating group of cars on display, all uniquely and outlandishly decorated. The creativity and detail is truly special and you can get up close to see the cars, which gives you a much different experience than if you only see the cars passing in the annual Art Car Parade. It’s not usually crowded and is suitable for all ages. Its a small space and not a large time commitment either. A great place to stop if you’re looking for something different.
10. Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 89 reviews
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a non-collecting institution dedicated to presenting the best and most exciting international, national, and regional art. Through dynamic exhibitions accompanied by scholarly publications and accessible educational programs, the Museum reaches out to local, regional, national, and international audiences of various ages. CAMH is always fresh, always free.
Reviewed By arsimes - Austin, United States
Always free and well done. Small and intimate with great exhibits. This is truely my favorite museum in Houston. Easy to access and with a great gift shop.. make the time to see the work, usually two exhibits on two floors.
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