The 10 Best Art Museums in Arizona, United States

--Winner of the Arizona Tourism Award!-- The Copper Art Museum is one of the most interesting in the USA, purposely located in the former copper town of Clarkdale - a USA City Beautiful Movement town founded in 1912. Clarkdale was built by Senator W. A. Clark "America's Copper King." The collection on display is massive with over 5000 artifacts and hundreds dating to the 1500-1800's, Galleries; Special Historical Information, Military Art, Art and Architecture, Kitchen Collection, Drinking Collection and Winery and Distillery Collection. You will be amazed by this museum!

Maynard Dixon is considered by many art collectors of the West to be their premier artist. His ability to capture the West and its inhabitants, in a nonjudgmental and honest way, has left an indelible legacy. The Maynard Dixon Museum, while not in New Mexico, is a little less than an hour flight from Albuquerque to Tucson Arizona. " The hundred dollar Southwest flight is well worth it," says Dr. Mark Sublette who is the Museum's founder and Maynard Dixon expert. Sublette goes on to say "The Museum has tried to capture the essence of Dixon, the artist as well as the individual, through not only his artwork but through his letters and poetry." Sublette's Maynard Dixon Museum, the only museum dedicated to the lifework of Maynard Dixon, has succeeded in that goal. Over a hundred pieces of artwork including paintings, drawings, and original Maynard Dixon ephemera can be seen at the Museum. The Maynard Dixon Museum, located within Medicine Man Gallery on Tanque Verde Road in Tucson, is a treasure trove for those who love Dixon. Dixon's original easel resides in the museum. Many artists have made the pilgrimage just to see his easel with its copious drips of blue paint. Dixon's easel, with its Pollock like surface, succinctly captures a fifty-year time frame of Dixon's innate color sensibilities. Numerous original vintage photos by Dixon's second wife Dorthea Lange can also be found in the Museum, along with a lovely vintage photograph of Dixon taken in 1944 by Ansel Adams. Ansel gave the photograph to the Dixon family, and it now resides permanently in the Museum. Edith Hamlin, a well-known artist in her own right and Dixon's last wife, is also represented in the Dixon Museum collection. For the bibliophiles, nearly one hundred original books, magazines, and sunset magazine covers are on display.

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for more than 60 years and is the largest art museum in the Southwestern United States. In addition to an annual calendar of exhibitions, Phoenix Art Museum’s permanent collection galleries are drawn from more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. Visitors also enjoy photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. The Museum presents a variety of public programs year-round, including tours, lectures, films, special events, and more designed to enlighten, entertain and stimulate visitors of all ages. Voluntary-donation times every Wednesday from 3 to 7 pm and the first Friday of every month from 3 to 7 pm.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this legendary landmark of Southwestern art and architecture was designed and built by acclaimed Arizona artist Ted DeGrazia. The 10-acre foothills site includes the adobe gallery with permanent and rotating exhibits, mission with interior murals, gift shop, cactus courtyard, the artist’s home, and his grave. Open daily 10-4, closed on these days: New Year’s, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plenty of parking and handicap accessible. Admission Fees – $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for ages 12-18, under 12 are free. An annual individual membership is $25.00, with two buddy passes or an annual family membership is $55.00, with four buddy passes.

The Tucson Museum of Art was founded 1924. It is Southern Arizona's premier presenter of fine art and art education programs. The Museum features permanent and traveling exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary, Native American, American West, Latin American, and Asian art. The main Museum, a contemporary architectural gem, has nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Museum's Historic Block of 19th and 20th C. adobe and Mission Revival-style buildings, encompassing an entire four-acre city block, includes the John K. Goodman Pavilion of Western Art, displaying the Museum's notable art of the American West collection, the national award-winning Museum restaurant Café a la C'Art, and additional exhibition spaces.

The foremost showcase of Native American art and culture in the U.S., the Heard Museum reveals the cultures of tribes in the region through exhibits, demonstrations and live performances and displays the work of contemporary Native American artists. Artists demonstrate their work during the week and musicians perform on most weekends.

A Phoenix Point of Pride, this museum is a cultural locus, featuring local artisans and offering its own arts and crafts workshops.

Fine arts museum that features exhibits and educational programs related to the American West.