Location: San Antonio
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The 8 Best Art Museums in San Antonio, Texas (TX)
Step to the beat of wafting flamenco music as you wander the downtown River Walk before sampling as much chili (San Antonio’s signature dish) as your taste buds will allow. A visit to the Alamo is an absolute must, as is taking in a show at the ornate Majestic Theatre. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is dotted with 18th-century buildings and features, making for an enriching excursion.
Restaurants in San Antonio
1. Hopscotch
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 6 reviews
Hopscotch San Antonio is a uniquely curated permanent 20,000 sq ft gallery which features 14 distinctive immersive and interactive installations from over 40 local, national and international artists. Our aim is to elicit a sense of joy and wonder in the spaces we curate, where our guests may participate in a playful manner and explore beyond their day to day reality.
Reviewed By nataliapL973YJ - San Antonio, United States
Love this place! Fun, interactive, great place to see some contemporary and interactive art then hop over to the bar after for a cocktail + enjoy the outdoor food truck.
2. San Antonio Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 787 reviews
The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in a historic brewery along the banks of the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk. The Museum offers important permanent collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art, contemporary art and American paintings. The museum offers a variety of programs. Visit our website for admission pricing and more information. Bexar County residents enjoy free general admission every Tuesday 4–7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Reviewed By kzsull01 - Windsor, United States
My husband and I visited the San Antonio Museum of Art in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, November 8, 2018 and Friday morning, November 9th. The museum had a very impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, and many other types of artifacts all well curated and documented and housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery. The former Lone Star Brewery building had unique architecture and was very nicely retrofitted to accommodate the artwork of the museum. The museum had much to offer and our visit was quite educational and an excellent lesson in art, history, and culture. Our visit at the museum lasted about five hours in total, due to the amount of time that we had available to us, but it could have easily taken more time to be able to absorb and appreciate all the artwork on display. An added bonus to our visit was there was plenty of free parking conveniently located across the street from the museum. We recommend a visit to this museum if you are in San Antonio, and hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy it as much as we did!! We started our visit on the first floor with the Egyptian, Ancient Mediterranean, Greek and Roman Art. The Egyptian artwork included a comprehensive display of many types of interesting artifacts and objects, including figurines, papyrus, pottery, vessels, statuette funerary, mummy masks, a mummy coffin, ancient glass and even a falcon. Artifacts illustrating Religion in Ancient Egypt included jars, knives, bowls, necklaces, beakers and other offering objects were all beautifully displayed. We then toured the Greek World Gallery. This included information about the natural world and ideal forms and proportions. Greece in the Bronze Ages was depicted. Jugs, jars, flasks, bowls, urns, Greek Coinage, jewelry, gems, and funerary sculptures were included among the many items nicely on display. We then viewed the Roman World. Multiple aspects of this art was depicted, including Roman Funerary Sculptures, Art in the Roman Provinces, Roman Coinage, portraits and a depiction of Roman mythology as well as much more, all quite interesting. We then went to the second floor which had Asian Art, including Japanese, Southeast Asian, Korean, Himalayan and Indian artwork. A variety of artifacts were on display, among them were Scenes of the Life of Buddha, including a Crowned Buddha, as well as objects related to Brahma, the Dance of Divine Love on Pigments of Cotton, Yogini, Plaques with the Mother Goddess, the Wedding of Krishna, Radha - Object of Krishna’s Desire, and a Surya Shrine. Many bottles, bowls and jars were also on display, all worth seeing. The Japanese art illustrated the Magic of Clay and Fire through Contemporary Ceramics, including vessels, jars, vases. A suit of parade armor was also on display as well a shrine and multiple folding silk screen panels, including ‘the Hawk on a Branch with Chattering Monkeys’ in addition to vases bottles, dishes and pitchers, all quite nice. The third floor had a very comprehensive and quite impressive collection of Chinese artwork, including ceramics, imperial China artifacts and early China artifacts. Art from multiple Chinese Dynasties were on display, including Qing, Ming, Song, Northern Song, Tang, Sui, Northern Qi, , Northern Wei, Han, Eastern Han, Western Han, Western Jin and Eastern Jin and many more. The artwork included vases, bowls, dishes, cups, canisters, figurines, flasks, jars, wine pots, bottles, urns, robes, furniture, horses, soldiers, a money tree, earthenware, stoneware, pieces of bronze and much more. We completed our visit at the museum on November 8th very impressed with what we saw, but still had more galleries in the museum to explore on November 9th. We began our visit to the museum on November 9th on the fourth floor with the Art of Oceania. This was a very interesting gallery depicting ceremonial ancestor figures, a basketry figure of a wild pig from New Guinea, a basketry yam mask, and information on the Yam Festivals of the Abelam people of New Guinea as well as well as the Malanggan Festivals of New Ireland. The Oceanic gallery illustrated an interesting history of cultural exchange in the South Pacific. . We then crossed over the Sky Bridge and went through an interesting and unique exhibit by Marilyn Lafear on ‘From Sewing to Soldering’. We went to the Texas Gallery and enjoyed the Texas Furniture and Texas Art with Blue Bonnets, Landscape Paintings and Marble Bronze Sculptures as well as other pieces of contemporary artwork in the next galleries. We walked through multiple galleries with interesting artwork including sculptures, jewelry and more by modern designer Harry Bertoia. We then spent time viewing the Spanish and Colonial Art as well as the very impressive Latin American Art Galleries, including modern, contemporary and folk art. We really enjoyed viewing the various vases, jars, crowns, chalices as well as beautiful religious paintings. We then spent some time viewing the American Art, including Haystack Mountain in Vermont and paintings along Pennsylvania Avenue. In addition, we enjoyed viewing the pieces of European Art that were on display. . . We finally visited the special exhibit ‘Becoming John Marin, Modernist at Work’. We enjoyed his drawings, watercolors, etchings and oil paintings, including early landscapes and architecture. We liked his artwork in Venice, Paris, and in Manhattan, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Telephone Building, the Woolworth Building and his depiction of a city in motion. We also liked his art regarding ‘Exploring America’, ‘Faces and Fantasies’, including portraiture, as well his artwork regarding the circus and his ‘Summers in Maine’. This was definitely a very comprehensive and interesting special exhibit nicely laid out with write-ups having good background information, all illustrating a unique perception of art. It was definitely worth seeing. . As you can tell, this museum has quite a bit to offer, much more than what is mentioned here. Again, we recommend a visit to this museum if you are in San Antonio and hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!!
3. McNay Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 888 reviews
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’s first modern art museum when it opened in 1954. Today, 200,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Willie Cole, Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Alejandro Martín, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Tom Wesselmann, and more.
Reviewed By pdashnaw - Georgetown, United States
This was our second visit to the McNay, and we were not disappointed. There is a tastefully curated mix of Impressionism, the Dutch Masters, Cubism, modernism and pop art among their Permanent collection, and lots of floor & wall space is allocated to traveling/special exhibits. One big innovation that has been added since our previous visit, is the ability to use your Smart Phone to listen to the audio commentary that used to require a separate device either rented, or checked out from the counter. Parking is easy and adequate, and the museum is in a delightfully urban area of the city away from the downtown. They have discounted rates for seniors and active duty military while teens and children are free. Check in advance before you head out though, the day we visited, there was another collection on display - big yellow things called school buses in the parking lot which means....
4. The San Antonio Art Institute
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
Opened in 1925, this art institute offered a wide range of classes until the early 1990s when it was forced to shut down.
Reviewed By 210jodih - San Antonio, United States
We loved the museum. We went to the Asian, Middle East, and Oceana art exhibits first. I took my 7 yr old son. He was fascinated. We didn't do the other half due to his attention span but you can very well your the museum in one day. I though parking was ample and we got in for free because we are a military family. Also, the gift shop was very good. I definitely recommend it.
5. Briscoe Western Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 831 reviews
The Briscoe Western Art Museum, located on the banks of the historic San Antonio River Walk, brings to life the vibrant culture and heritage of the Western United States. The Museum offers a permanent collection of Western art and artifacts, providing visitors from San Antonio and beyond the opportunity to experience artifacts and artwork depicting the American cowboy, American Indian, the Vaquero and the many diverse cultures that forged the American West.
Reviewed By dpm3356 - Fairfield, United States
A phenomenal collection of art and artifacts of the old west with an accent on the history of Texas located along the banks of the River Walk. You can see a sculpture of long horns as you drift by on a river boat. The diorama of the Battle if the Alamo is truly amazing and is a must see before going to the Alamo itself. Luminaries such as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis are spot lighted so you can see where they fell and better visualize the conflict. See Santa Anna’s sword, Poncho Villa’s saddle. Wagons of the old west. There are many paintings illustrating the life of indigenous Americans. As the museum is walking distance from most downtown hotels, I can’t say whether parking is available or not. In my opinion, this is not a place to bring young children.
6. San Antonio Art League Gallery and Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By RockyMtn11 - Boulder, United States
The art gallery is located in an old house. There are 2 floors of artwork, with one room set aside on the top floor for artwork from patrons of the gallery. When we were there, they were showing pieces from Carmen Cartiness Johnson - Urban and Fun, and Yvette Shadrock - bordering on fantasy, very detailed artwork. I wish I remembered the name of the lady who greeted us, she was great. Very helpful not just with the gallery but also in talking about the history of the house and the neighborhood. It's free to look around, and takes maybe a 1/2 hour to an hour. I recommend walking around the King Williams District, look at the old homes and tour this museum.
