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These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch

Experience the best museums — from London to Seoul — from the comfort of your own home.

While there's nothing like setting foot inside an iconic museum and laying eyes on a world-famous sculpture created by a renowned artist centuries ago, it's not always possible to hop on a plane to New York City , Paris, or Florence to tour the gallery halls in person.

But there is a way to get a little culture and education while you're at home, gaining inspiration and intel for future trips as well. Google Arts & Culture has teamed up with more than 1,200 museums and galleries around the world to bring anyone and everyone virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.

You get to "go to the museum" and never have to leave your couch.

Google Arts & Culture's collection includes The British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally hundreds more places where you can gain knowledge about art, history, and science.

Take a look at just some of Google's top museums that are offering online tours and exhibits. And if you're seeking more thoughtful inspiration from the comfort of your own home, museums around the world are sharing their most zen art on social media . Or, for a dose of nature, you can go "outside" with incredible virtual tours of some of America's best national parks .

The British Museum, London

This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artifacts on The Museum of the World interactive website, a collaboration between The British Museum and Google Cultural Institute.

Guggenheim, New York

Google's Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim's famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the impressionist, post-impressionist, modern, and contemporary eras.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914. Get a peek at artworks from Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin, among others.

Don Eim/Travel + Leisure

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

One of Korea's popular museums can be accessed from anywhere around the world. Google's virtual tour takes you through six floors of contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

As one of Germany's largest museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer — even if you can't physically be there . This historical museum is home to plenty of ancient artifacts including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, of course, the Pergamon Altar.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt. Google offers a Street View tour of this iconic museum, so you can feel as if you're actually wandering its halls.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who's a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close ) by virtually visiting this museum, home to the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 750 personal letters.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the eighth century can be found in this California art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

This less well-known gallery houses the art collection of one of Florence's most famous families, the de' Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de' Medici, but anyone can wander its halls from anywhere in the world .

MASP, São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a nonprofit and Brazil's first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear, raised frames make it seem like they're hovering in midair. Take a virtual tour to experience the wondrous display for yourself.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

Built in 1964, this museum is dedicated to the archaeology and history of Mexico's pre-Hispanic heritage. There are 22 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artifacts, including some from the Maya civilization.

Not all popular art museums and galleries are included in Google Arts & Culture's collection, but some have taken it upon themselves to offer online visits. For example, the Louvre offers virtual tours on its website .

To see more of Google Arts & Culture's collection of museums, visit its website . There are thousands of museum Street Views on Google as well. Google Arts & Culture also has an online experience for exploring famous historic and cultural heritage sites .

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Museum professionals are encouraged to sign up for our regularly circulating email newsletter. Be the first to know about what exhibitions are available for booking and learn more about ways to bring SAAM artworks to your institution.

Ready to bring a SAAM exhibition to your institution? For more information about booking traveling exhibitions, pricing, checklists, and spacing requirements please contact Jennifer Lee, senior assistant registrar at [email protected] , or call (202) 633-8478.  

General Requirements for Exhibitors

• The exhibitor must be a nonprofit institution, essentially educational and aesthetic in purpose, that collects works of art and exhibits them to the public.  
• The exhibitor must have available professional staff trained in handling artwork. 
• The exhibitor must meet climate and security requirements and must submit an American Association of Museums’ standard facilities report. 

Scheduling and Participation Fees

• Exhibitions are usually scheduled for twelve-week periods, allowing a few weeks between venues for packing and shipping.  
• Participation fees vary from exhibition to exhibition and include costs of preparing the works for travel, packing, crating, transportation (including couriers if necessary), and insurance under the museum's policy.
• For information about current fees, please contact Jennifer Lee, Senior Assistant Registrar at [email protected] or call (202) 633-8478.  

Available Exhibition Materials and Services

• Published catalogues, brochures, and additional materials may be available.  
• Three working copies of the catalogue will be provided free of charge, with additional copies available to be ordered at a discount. 
• Posters, notecards, and other items may be available at a discount for resale in the exhibitor’s shop. Visit our online shop for examples of our products. 
• A sample press release may be sent to each exhibitor, along with images that can be used for publicity.  
• Exhibition labels and intro panel text are provided electronically in Microsoft Word format. 
• Standards-based educational resources for grades K-12 may be available online and adaptable to traveling exhibitions and with support from the Education Department. Including artist interviews, lesson plans, and interactive online activities. Ask about real-time videoconference programs for schools and adults. Curators may be available to lecture on request. 

Exhibitions Available to Book Now

Alma Thomas is a singular figure in the story of twentieth-century American art. Her vibrant, rhythmic art transcended established genres, incorporating elements of gestural abstraction and color field painting. This exhibition provides an intimate view of Alma Thomas’ evolving artistic practices during her most prolific period from 1959 to her death in 1978. Recent research reveals how she was continually innovative, adapting to personal health challenges later in her life.   

This exhibition features 19 paintings, most of which were gifts of the artist to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 

Learn more about this exhibition and featured artist

Current Tour Schedule 

• Smithsonian American Art Museum: October 6, 2023 – April 4, 2024 
• On Hold: Summer 2024 
• On Hold: Fall 2024 
• Available: Winter 2025 
• Available: Spring 2025
• Available: Summer 2025
• Available: Fall 2025

William H. Johnson painted his Fighters for Freedom series in the mid-1940s as a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers as well as international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. In Fighters for Freedom, Johnson reminds us that individual achievement and commitment to social justice are at the heart of of the American story.

Learn more about this exhibition and featured artist  

• Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina: January 21, 2022 – August 7, 2022
• Albany Museum of Art in Albany, Georgia: September 1, 2022 – December 10, 2022
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: February 8, 2023 – May 14, 2023
• The Rockwell Museum in Corning, New York: June 2, 2023 – September 5, 2023
• Wichita Art Museum in Wichita, Kansas: October 7, 2023 – January 14, 2024
• Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC: March 8, 2024 – September 8, 2024
• Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum in Miami, Florida: September 28, 2024 – January 25, 2025  

Ginny Ruffner is an artist best known for her elegant sculptures and mastery of glass techniques. Some of her most recent work combines traditional glass sculpture with Augmented Reality (AR) technology to create an interactive viewer experience. Visitors to the exhibition are encouraged to use a downloadable app that superimposes digital information over seemingly barren sculptures, creating two distinct realities to explore. 

This installation consists of six island bases, each featuring colorless glass sculptures of tree stumps with painted rings that trigger AR renderings of flora and fauna. 

• Kalamazoo Institute of Arts: September 18, 2021 – December 5, 2021 
• On Hold: Spring 2023 
• On Hold: Spring 2024
• Available for several additional venues 

Musical Thinking explores the powerful resonances between recent video art and the popular art of music. The exhibition focuses on video art that employs the strategies of musical creation—like scores, improvisation and interpretation—as well as its styles, structures, and lyrics to speak to the personal, as well as shared, aspects of American life.

Learn more about this exhibition and featured artists

Since the 1960s, Chicanx artists have used the graphic medium to disseminate declarations of political advocacy, cross-cultural solidarity, and historical reflections to rethink the past. Radical Histories concentrates on Chicanx artists’ efforts to contest and dismantle American history, creating graphic counter-histories from ancient to contemporary. There is a persistent unlearning that the featured works request, openly defying notions of American exceptionalism, heteronormativity, whiteness, and borders.

10 Art Museums You Can Visit Virtually

Visiting incredible art at museums around the world is one of the best parts of traveling. But sometimes travel is not possible for various reasons. Thankfully, we live in a modern world with virtual capabilities, and many art museums offer virtual tours, live streams, and other ways to access their collections without having to open your door, let alone hop on a plane. While some museums have their own online offerings, the Google Arts & Culture page has links to more than 2,500 museums that show parts or all of their collections and offer tours through Google’s street view. From the Louvre in Paris to the Met and Guggenheim in New York, all you have to do is go online to see incredible art and fulfill your wanderlust. Here are 10 museums you can virtually visit from the comfort of your couch.

The Louvre (Paris)

 kwanchai_k photograph/Getty Images

One of the most famous and largest museums in the world, the Louvre offers a selection of online tours of its exhibition rooms, galleries, and even its incredible glass pyramid and stone façade. For example, explore the Egyptian Antiquities Room and the recently restored Galerie d’Apollon, which has a painted ceiling that features an a homage to the Sun King, Louis XIV, with a central panel depicting Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python. Access the virtual Louvre by going directly to the museum’s website for online tours .

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

 Mario Tama/Getty Images

New York’s largest museum, the Met has a collection that represents more than 5,000 years of art from around the world. From paintings and sculptures by masters like Paul Cezanne, Joan Miro, Auguste Rodin, and Alexander Calder to artifacts from Egypt, Ghana, and beyond, it’s impossible to see everything on one visit. Online, the museum has six videos that explore different parts of the museums through their Met 360° Project , slideshows of special collections under MetCollects . Find specially curated video tours with curator comments on Viewpoints (the current one focuses on the sculpted body) and video interviews with 120 artists at the Artist Project . The app and website 82nd and Fifth has its own collection of short curator-led videos each focused on specific pieces in the collection, while MetKids features online art-related activities for little ones like a virtual time machine, an interactive museum map, and multiple videos.

The Guggenheim (New York City and Bilbao, Spain)

 Raymond Boyd/ Getty Images

While you may not be able to see the famous circular building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in person, you can view more than 1,700 pieces of art by 625 artists from the museum’s multiple locations via the Guggenheim’s online collection on your computer. The pieces are searchable by artist, medium, time period, movement, special collection, and venue. Additionally, the New York museum is on the Google Arts & Culture Page, with online exhibitions and a virtual tour available.

The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)

The major works of great Dutch master painters, from Johannes Vermeer to Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, are on display in the Netherlands ' largest museum, the Rijksmuseum . A must visit on any trip to Amsterdam, you can still see the museum’s highlights virtually. The museum’s website hosts Rijks Studio , a collection of 675,970 of its paintings that are put in different collections, or studios. You can even create your own studio by theme or artist. You can also walk through the museum virtually, thanks to Google’s street view .

Uffizi Gallery (Florence)

Florence ’s beautiful Uffizi Gallery, Pitti Palace, and Boboli Gardens are some of the city’s highlights, but there are digital versions of all the artwork (and in the case of the gardens, images of the landscape and flora in addition to sculptures and architecture) on the museum’s website, as well as curated and themed online exhibitions with commentary on their HyperVisions page. The website’s digital archives feature photography archives, an art catalogue, and a drawing database. The Uffizi is also on Google Arts & Culture with four online exhibits and a virtual tour of the museum .

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

 Sean Gallup/ Getty Images 

The nation’s capital is home to the amazing National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian museum has its entire collection online, which is searchable , or you can just scroll through the highlights , which include Edward Hopper’s Haskell’s House and Vincent van Gogh’s "Self-Portrait." NGA Online Editions features the museum’s most current information with various videos, images, and detailed text from curators. NGA Kids has various interactive activities and there’s an iPad app as well. The NGA is also featured on Google Arts & Culture .

Frida Kahlo Museum (Mexico City)

  Andrew Hasson/Getty Images

Casa Azul , Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s former home-turned- museum in Mexico City , is on many art lovers’ bucket lists. While an actual visit may not be possible, the museum has a virtual tour through the home and gardens, images and text from current and past exhibitions , a visual database of her artwork that’s in Casa Azul and other museums, and several videos and photos of her. Bonus: there are even two recipes of Mexican classics that you can make at home: Mole Poblano and Chiles en Nogada .

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul)

 Woohae Cho/Getty Images

Established in Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1969, the MMCA immediately started collecting 20th-century art. It moved to its own building in Gwacheon just outside Seoul in 1986, and today it has three locations, including in Seoul. In October 2019, the museum launched MMCA TV, with curators hosting a tour of the museum on You Tube . In addition, the entire collection can be explored on their website and on Google Arts & Culture there are four exhibitions and six tours.

São Paolo Museum of Art (São Paolo)

Brazil’s first modern museum was founded in 1947 by Brazilian businessman Assis Chateaubriand and today it remains private and not-for-profit. It has more than 10,000 works housed in São Paolo and has the most important collection of European art in the Southern Hemisphere as well as artworks from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. At MASP there is a vast open space that is filled with a transparent, suspended exhibition design making for a unique experience. Explore it on Google Arts & Culture , as well as six exhibits and over 1,000 works, and you can search their collection on their own website as well.

Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (Tokyo)

 Courtesy of Tokyo Fuji Art Museum

With more than 30,000 Japanese, Eastern, and Western works in multiple mediums, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum was opened in 1983 in Tokyo. Its website hosts various slideshows of images from their collection and a searchable database of all works. Additionally, the museum can be found on Google Arts & Culture for virtual tours and three online exhibits.

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The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World [Art, History, Science, and Technology]

Jarrod West

Senior Content Contributor

446 Published Articles 1 Edited Article

Countries Visited: 21 U.S. States Visited: 24

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

36 Published Articles 3307 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 47 U.S. States Visited: 28

Table of Contents

Google arts and culture, 50 art museums with virtual tours, 5 natural history museums with virtual tours, 10 science and technology museums with virtual tours, 10 history museums with virtual tours, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our  Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

You can now access collections from many of the world’s top museums without ever leaving home! We’ve put together an ultimate list of 75 world-class museums that offer virtual tours you can visit from the comfort of your couch.

Many of the virtual tours include exhibit walk-throughs and the ability to examine some of the world’s best paintings, sculptures, and other pieces up close and personal. These virtual tours are jam-packed with enough details to make you feel like you’re really visiting the museum. The experiences are sure to entertain the whole family, an art or history buff, or even those who want to imagine the joys of travel!

We’ve broken our list into 4 easy-to-review sections, including art, natural history, science and technology, and history museums. So whether you prefer to take in a painting at the Van Gogh Museum, check out an SR-71 Blackbird at the Museum of Flight, or gaze upon the Rosetta Stone, this list has it all!

Many of the virtual exhibits in this article are offered through a collaboration with Google Arts and Culture. If you’re not familiar, Google Arts and Culture is an online platform that showcases high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from more than 2,000 museums throughout the world. You can zoom in and out of images in great detail and view some of the best pieces of artwork ever created without leaving your couch.

The platform is available in 18 languages and has been praised internationally for increasing access to art to those who may have not had the opportunity otherwise. It’s available for web , iOS , and Android .

1. The Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria)

Year Opened:  1805

The Albertina Museum features one of the most important European collections of international modern art and houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and 1 million old master prints. Hundreds of the works housed in the museum, like “Study for the Last Supper” by Da Vinci and “The Water Lily Pond” by Monet, can be viewed online thanks to a partnership with Google Arts and Culture.

To view the online exhibits, click here .

2. Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

Year Opened: 1879

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the U.S., hosting approximately 1.5 million people annually. Its collection features more than 5,000 years of human expression from cultures around the world and contains more than 300,000 works of art in 11 curatorial departments.

The online tour allows you to view major pieces from the museum’s collection, such as “American Gothic,” “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,” and “Nighthawks.” The site also offers projects to get creative at home, educator resources, and JourneyMaker, a digital tool that allows visitors to create unique, personalized tours of the museum.

To view the online tour, click here .

3. Benaki Museum (Athens, Greece)

Year Opened: 1930

Established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, the Benaki Museum houses Greek works of art from prehistoric to modern times and an extensive collection of Asian art. It also hosts periodic exhibitions and maintains a state-of-the-art restoration and conservation workshop.

The entire museum can be viewed virtually in great detail.

To view the online virtual tour, click here .

4. The Broad (Los Angeles, California)

Year Opened: 2015

The Broad is a contemporary art museum named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. The Broad houses a nearly 2,000-piece collection of contemporary art, featuring 200 artists including works by Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. Notable installations include Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room” (pictured above) and Ragnar Kjartansson’s expansive 9-screen video “The Visitors.”

The Broad has put together a series of YouTube videos to give you a first-hand look at the museum.

5. Centre Pompidou (Paris, France)

Year Opened : 1977

The Centre Pompidou, named after the president of France from 1969 to 1974, is the largest museum for modern and contemporary art in Europe and the second-largest in the world. The museum has more than 12,000 pieces of artwork on display, including works by Kandinsky, Dalí, and Valadon.

The Centre has dozens of videos available on its YouTube channel that provide walk-throughs of the museum and explanations of its most important works.

To view the video tours, click here .

6. The Dalí Theatre-Museum (Figueres, Spain)

Year Opened : 1974

Dedicated to the life and work of the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, the Dalí Theatre-Museum displays the single largest and most diverse collection of works by the artist. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, and other curiosities from Dalí’s imagination. Through the website, guests can take a virtual tour in 360-degree of the entire museum.

To view the virtual tour, click here .

7. Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan)

Year Opened: 1885

With more than 100 galleries covering over 658,000 square feet, the Detroit Institute of Arts has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the U.S. Its collection features works spanning from ancient Egypt and Europe all the way to modern contemporary art.

The museum has put together “ At Home With DIA ” to offer school field trips from home, weekly film screenings, senior resources, and home projects. DIA also has a partnership with Google Arts and Culture to provide online exhibits including:

• Frida Kahlo in Detroit
• Ordinary People by Extraordinary Artists
• Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry
• Self Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States

8. Frick Collection (New York City, New York)

Year Opened: 1935

Located in the Henry Clay Frick House, the Frick Collection houses the art collection of industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection features some of the best-known paintings by major European artists, including Bellini, Rembrandt, and Vermeer, as well as numerous works of sculpture and porcelain.

The entire museum can be viewed virtually.

9. Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence, Italy)

Year Opened : 1784

The Galleria dell’Accademia, while small compared to other museums featured, is still the second most visited museum in Italy. Its command of visitors is in large part due to its display of perhaps the most famous sculpture in history — Michaelangelo’s statue of David.

You can view a short, video-guided tour of the museum, which includes 360-degree viewing, allowing you to get a close look at the museum’s offerings.

To view the video tour, click here .

10. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (Sante Fe, New Mexico)

Year Opened: 1997

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe and her contributions to American Modernism. The museum’s collection includes many of O’Keeffe’s key works, ranging from her innovative abstractions to her iconic large-format flower, skull, and landscape paintings, to paintings of architectural forms, rocks, shells, and trees. Initially, the collection was made of 140 O’Keeffe paintings, watercolors, pastels, and sculptures, but now includes nearly 1,200 objects.

The museum website offers creative activities, stories, and education about Georgia O’Keeffe’s life, along with several virtual exhibits available through Google Arts and Culture, including:

• Georgia O’Keeffe
• American Modernism
• United States

11. Grand Palais (Paris, France)

Year Opened : 1900

The Grand Palais is a large historic site, exhibition hall, and museum dedicated to the organization of exhibitions, publishing books, art workshops, photographic agency, and hosting major fairs and events. The museum receives 2.5 million visitors each year. The partnership with Google Arts and Culture brings extensive online exhibits to life, from the construction of the building to the masterpieces that lie within it.

12. Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

Year Opened : 1764

The Hermitage Museum is the second-largest and eighth-most visited art museum in the world. The Hermitage has more than 60,000 pieces of artwork on display, including the “Peacock Clock” by James Cox, “Madonna Litta” by Leonardo Da Vinci, and works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Antonio Canova.

The online tour is extremely comprehensive and allows you to virtually walk through all 6 buildings in the main complex, treasure gallery, and several exhibition projects.

13. High Museum of Art (Atlanta, Georgia)

Year Opened : 1905

The High Museum of Art offers over 15,000 works of art in its collection and is the leading art museum in the southeastern U.S. The museum focuses on 19th- and 20th-century American art, historic and contemporary decorative arts and design, European paintings, modern and contemporary art, photography, folk and self-taught art, and African art.

The museum’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture also offers online exhibits for viewing including:

• Bill Traylor’s Drawings of People, Animals, and Events
• How Iris van Herpen Transformed Fashion
• Incredible, Innovative, and Unexpected Contemporary Furniture Designs
• Photos From the Civil Rights Movement

14. The J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, California)

Year Opened: 1953

The J. Paul Getty Museum is made up of 2 campuses — the Getty Center and Getty Villa — that receive more than 2 million visitors per year. The Getty Center features pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts and photographs from the 1830s through present-day from all over the world. The Getty Villa displays art from Ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.

The museum has put together online resources like art books, online exhibitions, podcasts, and videos, all viewable on its website .

It has also partnered with Google Arts and Culture to showcase online exhibits including:

• 18th Century Pastel Portraits
• The Art of Three Faiths: Torah, Bible, Qur’an
• Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
• Getty Museum Acquisitions 2019
• Heaven, Hell, and Dying Well

To view the online galleries, click here .

15. Kunsthaus Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland)

Year Opened : 1910

The Kunsthaus Zürich features one of Switzerland’s most important art collections from the 13th century to the present day. While the museum places an emphasis on Swiss artists, including Alberto Giacometti, you’ll also find work from the likes of Monet, Picasso, and Warhol.

The museum’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture has digitized several of the museum’s best collections for viewing.

16. La Galleria Nazionale (Rome, Italy)

Year Opened: 1883

La Galleria Nazionale displays about 1,100 paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries — the largest collection in Italy. It features work from famous Italian artists including Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Alberto Burri, and foreign artists including Cézanne, Monet, Pollock, Rodin, and Van Gogh.

It has teamed up with Google to offer 16 virtual exhibits for online viewing.

17. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (Los Angeles, California)

Year Opened: 1910

LACMA is the largest art museum in the western U.S., attracts nearly a million visitors annually, and holds more than 150,000 works spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present.

The website (click LACMA @ Home ) includes exhibition walkthroughs, soundtracks and live recordings, online teaching resources, and courses.

To view the LACMA’s online virtual tour from Google Arts & Culture, click here .

18. Mauritshuis (The Hague, Netherlands)

Year Opened : 1822

The Mauritshuis is home to some of the best Dutch paintings from the Golden Age of Art. The museum consists of 854 works by artists like Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt Van Rijn, and Jan Steen. Famous works include “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (pictured above) and “View of Delft” by Vermeer, and “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” by Rembrandt.

The museum has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring several of its best works to life for virtual viewing.

To view the Mauritshuis’ online exhibits, click here .

19. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, New York)

Year Opened: 1870

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, also known as “The Met,” is the largest art museum in the U.S. and the fourth most visited museum in the world with more than 6 million visitors each year. The permanent collection contains more than 2 million works from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from nearly all of the European masters (including Monet’s Water Lillies), and an extensive collection of American and modern art. It also has extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art.

The museum has extensive different online exhibits available for viewing through Google and its own Art at Home website .

20. Musée du Louvre (Paris, France)

Year Opened:  1793

The Louvre Palace, which houses the museum, began as a fortress under Philip II in the 12th century to protect the city from English soldiers that were in Normandy. It wasn’t repurposed as a museum until 1793. Now, the Louvre is easily one of the most historic art museums in the world. Not only is the Louvre the largest art museum in the world at 782,910 square feet (72,735 square meters), but it also had 9.6 million visitors in 2019, making it the most visited museum in the world as well. Featured masterpieces include “Mona Lisa,” “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” “Venus de Milo,” and “Hammurabi’s Code.”

The Louvre has several virtual galleries on display, including:

• The Advent of the Artist, including works from Delacroix, Rembrandt, and Tintoretto
• Egyptian Antiquities, featuring collections from the Pharaonic period
• Remains of the Louvre’s Moat — visitors can walk around the original perimeter moat and view the piers that supported the drawbridge dating back to 1190
• Galerie d’Apollon, destroyed by fire in 1661 and recently rebuilt for viewing

To view the Louvre’s virtual tour page, click here .

21. Musée d’Orsay (Paris, France)

Year Opened: 1986

The Musée d’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe and had more than 3.6 million visitors in 2019. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, including works by Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Sisley, and Van Gogh.

The museum allows you to virtually walk through one of its popular galleries, featuring hundreds of paintings from French artists.

To view the Musée d’Orsay online gallery, click here .

22. Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid, Spain)

Year Opened : 1819

The Museo Nacional del Prado is considered to have one of the greatest collections of European art in the world and offers guests the single largest collection of Spanish art. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures. Well-known works include “Las Meninas” by Diego Velázquez, “The Third of May 1808” by Francisco De Goya, and “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch.

The museum’s online gallery allows you to get a close look at over 10,000 different pieces of art. The Prado also offers a 1-hour live show on Instagram every morning at 4 a.m. EST.

To view the online gallery, click here .

23. Museo Frida Kahlo (Mexico City, Mexico)

Year Opened: 1958

The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as the Blue House due to its blue walls, is a historic museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The building was Kahlo’s birthplace, the home where she grew up, lived with her husband Diego Rivera for many years, and where she later died in a room on the upper floor. The museum contains a collection of artwork by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and other artists, along with the couple’s Mexican folk art, pre-Hispanic artifacts, photographs, memorabilia, personal items, and more. Find out more in our guide to the best museums in Mexico City .

24. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain)

Year Opened: 1990

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, also called the Museo Reina Sofía, is one of the most popular art museums in the world. The museum includes large collections of Spain’s 2 most popular artists, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Famous works on display include “Guernica” and “Woman in Blue” by Picasso and “Cubist Self Portrait” by Dalí.

You can view collections of artwork at the Reina Sofía through its partnership with Google Arts and Culture.

25. Museu de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil)

Year Opened: 1947

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is Brazil’s first modern art museum. The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, as it’s considered the finest museum in Latin America and all of the Southern Hemisphere. The museum primarily features Brazilian art, prints, and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also has one of the largest art libraries in the country.

You can now take a virtual tour of online galleries the museum has to offer, including:

• Art from Brazil until 1900
• Art from Italy: Rafael to Titian
• Art from France: from Delacroix to Cézanne
• Art in Fashion
• Histories of Madness: The Drawings of Juquery
• Picture Gallery in Transformation

26. Museum of Broken Relationships (Los Angeles, California and Zagreb, Croatia)

Year Opened: 2010

The Museum of Broken Relationships is dedicated to failed love relationships. Its exhibits include personal objects left over from former lovers, accompanied by brief descriptions. The museum was founded by 2 Zagreb-based artists, film producer Olinka Vištica and sculptor Dražen Grubišić, after their 4-year relationship came to an end.

The virtual tour includes a close-up collection of dozens of the museum’s most interesting pieces.

27. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, Massachusetts)

The 17th largest art museum in the world, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) hosts one of the most extensive art collections in the U.S. It houses over 8,000 paintings, surpassed only by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and exceeds 1 million visitors each year. Pieces by world-renowned artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Monet are featured alongside sculptures, mummies, ceramics, and other artifacts from ancient civilizations.

There are currently 16 online exhibits available for viewing.

28. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, Texas)

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is one of the largest museums in the U.S., and its collection features over 64,000 works from 6 continents. The collection places emphasis on pre-Columbian and African gold, Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture, 19th- and 20th-century art, photography, and Latin American art. Read our guide to the best museums in Houston for more information.

The museum has 14 online exhibits available for viewing in collaboration with Google Arts and Culture.

29. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (New York City, New York)

Year Opened: 1929

Regarded as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world, MoMA’s art collection features an overview of modern and contemporary art, including works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books, and artist’s books, film, and electronic media. MoMA’s holdings include more than 150,000 individual pieces including Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” in addition to approximately 22,000 films and 4 million film stills.

MoMA’s website offers 86,000 works of art that can be viewed online, along with a partnership with Google Arts and Culture to create a virtual display of its Sophie Taeber-Arp exhibit.

To view the website’s collection, click here . To view the Google exhibit, click here .

30. National Gallery (London, England)

Year Opened : 1824

The National Gallery features more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900, including works such as “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh, “The Virgin on the Rocks” by Da Vinci, and “The Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan Van Eyck.

Its website offers a few virtual tours, showcasing many rooms in the museum, the Sainsbury Wing, and a Google Virtual tour.

31. National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Year Opened: 1937

The National Gallery of Art and its attached Sculpture Garden are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and are open to the public free of charge. The museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress.

The National Gallery is widely considered to be one of the greatest museums in the U.S. It ranks second in total visitors of all American museums, 10th in the world, and features incredible pieces including Jackson Pollock’s “Number 1,” Leonardo da Vinci’s “Ginevra de’ Benci,” and Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged 14.”

The museum has put together a collection of educational resources on its website for teachers, families, and children. It also features online exhibits through Google Arts and Culture including:

• American Fashion — highlights from 1740 to 1895
• Johannes Vermeer — Dutch Baroque painter

To view the National Gallery of Art online collection page, click here .

32. National Gallery of Victoria (Victoria, Melbourne, Australia)

Year Opened: 1861

The National Gallery of Victoria is Australia’s oldest, largest, and most visited art museum. The museum offers a wide variety of international and Australian art in its collection, including paintings, drawings, photography, and sculptures.

The online tour includes walk-throughs of exhibits, including highlights from the NGV Triennial 2020 and Chinese Collection, as well as exhibits featuring Goya and KAWS.

33. National Museum of China (Beijing, China)

Year Opened : 2003

The National Museum of China covers Chinese history from 1.7 million years ago to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Notable works include the “Houmuwu” Rectangle Ding, a rectangular bronze sacrificial vessel made in the late Shang Dynasty, the heaviest piece of ancient bronze ware in the world, and a Han Dynasty jade burial suit laced with gold thread. It is one of the largest museums in the world, and the second most visited art museum in the world, just after the Louvre.

The museum has virtual exhibits available for 360-degree viewing including:

• Resplendence of the Tang Dynasty
• Sunken Silver

34. National Museum of Korea (Seoul, South Korea)

Year Opened : 1909

The National Museum of Korea is the top museum of Korean history and art and has been committed to various studies and research activities in the fields of archaeology, history, and art, continuously developing a variety of exhibitions and education programs.

The museum’s virtual tour provides a 3D walk-through of exhibits, including 1,000 years of Korean design and 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty.

35. National Museum, New Delhi (New Delhi, India)

Year Opened: 1949

The National Museum, New Delhi is one of the largest museums in India. The museum has around 200,000 works of art, both of Indian and foreign origin, including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, ancient texts, armor, and decorative arts ranging from the pre-historic era to modern works — covering over 5,000 years.

The museum has partnered with Google to bring its online exhibits to life, including:

• Art of Caligraphy
• Cadence and Counterpoint
• Indian Bronzes
• Nauras: The Many Arts of the Deccan
• Pottery from Ancient Peru
• Treasures of National Museum, India
• Radha and Krishna in the Boat of Love

36. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul, South Korea)

Year Opened: 1969

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was first established in 1969 as the only national art museum in South Korea, accommodating modern and contemporary art of Korea and international art of different time periods. The museum features over 7,000 pieces of artwork, including works of contemporary Korean artists such as Go Hui-dong, Ku Bon-ung, Park Su-geun, and Kim Whan-ki.

Google’s virtual tour takes you through 6 floors of contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

37. National Palace Museum (Taipei, Taiwan)

Year Opened : 1965

The National Palace Museum has a collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. The collection encompasses 8,000 years of history of Chinese art, including jade, paintings, bronzes, and porcelain that were formerly held in the Forbidden City of Peking.

The museum offers 360-degree virtual tours of many different exhibits.

To view the virtual tours, click here .

38. National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D.C.)

Year Opened : 1962

The National Portrait Gallery has a collection of over 21,000 works of art. The collection focuses on images of famous Americans and how they’ve shaped U.S. culture. A major attraction of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection is the Hall of Presidents, which contains portraits of nearly all American presidents. It is the largest and most complete collection in the world, except for the White House collection itself.

The museum has several collections featured on Google Arts and Culture, but also offers digital workshops, and distance learning resources for children and teachers.

To view the online resources, click here .

39. Pergamonmuseum (Berlin, Germany)

The Pergamonmuseum houses monumental buildings, such as the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, and the Market Gate of Miletus reconstructed from the ruins found in Anatolia, as well as the Mshatta Facade. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art. It is visited by over 1 million people every year.

The museum has dozens of structures and other artifacts that can be viewed online.

40. Picasso Museum (Barcelona, Spain)

Year Opened: 1963

The Picasso Museum, located in the heart of Barcelona’s Latin Quarter, is visited by millions every year. They come to marvel at the best works of Picasso, perhaps the most famous painter of all, but stay to marvel at the best-preserved medieval architecture in Barcelona. With 4,251 works by the painter exhibited, the museum has one of the most complete permanent collections of his works.

The online tour offers a large selection of Picasso’s finest works, as well as virtual tours of the museum’s beautiful courtyards.

41. Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Year Opened: 1798

The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in 1798 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1885. The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history from the years 1200 to 2000, and a total collection of 1 million objects. The museum features masterpieces including Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” and “The Jewish Bride,” plus works by Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer, who are known to have been major contributors to the Golden Age of Dutch art.

Google offers a street view tour of some excellent art pieces located in the museum, and the museum has put together an entire virtual tour of all of the museum’s masterpieces viewable on its website.

To view the Google street view tour, click here . You can also view the museum’s From Home microsite and masterpieces tour .

42. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, California)

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is composed of over 33,000 works of art spread throughout 7 gallery floors and 45,000 square feet of space. Following a 3-year closure for expansion, the museum reopened in 2016 and is now one of San Francisco’s must-see destinations.

SFMOMA’s website is updated regularly with videos and articles regarding current exhibits, projects, and artist showcases and provides behind-the-scenes looks of the museum. 

To view the museum’s multimedia features, click here .

Read our guide to the best museums in San Francisco to find out more.

43. Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Museums (Vatican City)

Year Opened: 1483

The Sistine Chapel, located inside of the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the pope in Vatican City), is easily the most popular chapel in the world. The chapel is famous for its magnificent ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, and is considered to be one of the best artworks to come out of the Italian Renaissance. The primary panels of the ceiling showcase 9 scenes from the Book of Genesis, of which “The Creation of Adam” (pictured above) is the best known and most recognized.

Its website offers a virtual tour of the chapel’s most stunning sites, including the ability to marvel at Michelangelo’s ceiling from the comfort of your couch.

44. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York City, New York)

Year Opened: 1939

The Guggenheim Museum was established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939. It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year.

Google’s  Street View feature lets you tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase and some of its art pieces. It also offers a handful of online collections on its website .

45. Tate Modern (London, England)

Year Opened: 2000

Tate Modern is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world, consisting of art dating from 1900 until today. The gallery receives over 5 million visitors a year, making it the sixth most visited art museum in the world and the most visited in the U.K.

The Tate Modern has published dozens of videos on its YouTube channel that give you an in-depth look at many of its exhibits, including the Andy Warhol exhibit and the Aubrey Beardsley exhibit.

To view the Tate Modern’s YouTube channel, click here .

46. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid, Spain)

Year Opened: 1992

Located in Madrid, the Thyssen has over 1,600 paintings inside its walls and was once the second-largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection. It includes works from the Italian primitives, the English, Dutch, and German schools, Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the 20th century. It also features pieces from the continent’s most celebrated artists including Rembrandt and Dalí.

The virtual tour includes a detailed look at the permanent collection, along with exhibits including the Rembrandt and Impressionist galleries.

47. Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo, Japan)

Year Opened : 1872

The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest art museum in Japan, and one of the largest art museums in the world. At the museum, you’ll find a collection of artwork and cultural objects from Asia, ancient and medieval Japanese art, and Asian art along the Silk Road.

The museum has teamed up with Google’s Arts and Culture to provide an inside look at what the museum has to offer.

48. Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)

Year Opened: 1581

The Uffizi was designed by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de’ Medici, whose family members were by far the largest patrons of art in Renaissance Italy. The museum now spans over 139,000 square feet with 101 different rooms that house its art pieces, including famous pieces such as “The Birth of Venus.” Over 2 million people visit the Uffizi each year, making it the most viewed art museum in Italy.

The museum has teamed up with Google to showcase online galleries including:

• Piero di Cosimo, Perseus Freeing Andromeda
• The Santa Trinita Maestà, Cimabue
• The Creative Process Behind Federico Barocci’s Drawings
• Drawings by Amico Aspertini and other Bolognese artists

49. Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Year Opened: 1973

The Van Gogh Museum is dedicated to perhaps one of the most famous artists of all time — Vincent Van Gogh. The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters. The museum has over 2 million visitors each year and is the 23rd most visited art museum in the world. Find out more in our review to the best museums in Amsterdam .

The museum has teamed up with Google to create online exhibits on Vincent Van Gogh’s love life and the books he loved to read. You can also visit the museum’s website for a selection of things to do for young children, including school lessons and coloring pages.

50. Victoria and Albert Museum (London, England)

Year Opened : 1852

The Victoria and Albert Museum collection spans 5,000 years of art from Europe, North America, Asia, and North Africa. The collection of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewelry, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings, and photographs is among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.

The virtual tour, in partnership with Google Arts and Culture, offers several online exhibits ranging from fashion to surrealism.

1. American Museum of Natural History (New York City, New York)

Year Opened : 1869

One of the largest natural history museums in the world, the American Museum of Natural History contains 34 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts.

The museum’s 360-degree virtual tours offer an up-close look at permanent exhibits, current exhibits, past exhibits, and research stations.

2. The British Museum (London, England)

Year Opened: 1759

The British Museum is one of the largest in the world and houses over 8 million works within its walls. Established in 1759, it was the first public national museum in the world. Visitors can tour the great court and view some of the most famous objects in history, like the Elgin Marbles of Greece and the Rosetta Stone of Egypt.

The Museum is the world’s largest indoor space on Google Street View and you can go on a virtual visit to more than 60 galleries.

The British Museum also has virtual galleries on display, including:

• Prints and Drawings

To visit the British Museum’s virtual tour page, click here .

3. National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City, Mexico)

Year Opened: 1964

The National Museum of Anthropology is the largest and most visited museum in all of Mexico. The museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexico’s pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

The museum has made more than 100 items available for Google visitors to explore from home.

To view the museum’s online collection, click here .

4. National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.)

Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is the 11th most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural history museum in the world. With over 325,000 square feet of exhibition space, the museum’s collections contain over 145 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts — the largest natural history collection in the world. Highlights of the collection include the Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia Sapphire.

You can view all of these specimens from the comfort of your home as the museum has dozens of different online exhibits that can all be accessed on its website.

To view the museum’s virtual tour, click here .

5. Natural History Museum (London, England)

Year Opened: 1881

Undoubtably one of the best Museums in London , the Natural History Museum in London showcases 80 million life and earth science specimens of great historical and scientific value, even housing pieces collected by Charles Darwin. There are 5 categories within the museum: botany , entomology , mineralogy , paleontology , and zoology . Over 5 million people visit this museum each year, making it the most visited natural history museum in Europe.

One of the museum’s most prominent displays is the skeleton of an 82-foot long blue whale named Hope, which you can learn more about through a self-guided virtual tour, along with several other galleries. 

1. London Science Museum (London, England)

Year Opened : 1857

The London Science Museum holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including famous items such as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, and documentation of the first typewriter.

Thanks to Google Street View, guests can take a virtual tour of the entire museum, or watch curator gallery guides on the museum’s YouTube channel.

To view the virtual tour or videos, click here .

2. Museo Galileo (Florence, Italy)

Dedicated to the scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilei, the Museo Galilei is housed in an 11th-century palace known as the Palazzo Castellini. The museum has a collection of over 5,000 ancient scientific instruments dating back to the 13th century, and among its most notable items is the telescope Galileo used to discover the satellites of Jupiter.

Visitors from around the world have the opportunity to explore the inside of the museum and can access more than 1,000 permanent exhibition objects through the online catalog.

3. The Museum of Flight (Seattle, Washington)

Year Opened: 1965

The Museum of Flight is the largest private air and space museum in the world and attracts over 500,000 visitors every year. The museum has more than 150 aircraft in its collection, including the Lockheed Model 10-E Electra (the aircraft Amelia Earhart was piloting when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean), Boeing 747s, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (pictured above).

The museum offers 360-degree tours that let you step inside dozens of these iconic aircraft.

4. The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (Brussels, Belgium)

Year Opened: 1846

The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium is dedicated to natural history and is part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The dinosaur hall of the museum is the world’s largest museum hall completely dedicated to dinosaurs, and its most important pieces are 30 fossilized Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart.

It has partnered with Google to set up virtual exhibits for viewing, including:

• 360-degree guided tour
• The Bernissart Iguanodons
• From Salehanthropus to Homo Sapiens
• Over 250 Years of Natural Sciences
• Past, Present, Future: The Marvels of Evolution

To view the museum’s online exhibits, click here .

5. Museum of Science, Boston (Boston, Massachusetts)

Year Opened: 1830

The Museum of Science, Boston, receiving over 1.5 million visitors annually, is a museum and indoor zoo with more than 700 interactive exhibits and over 100 animals, many of which have been rescued and rehabilitated.

The museum offers a phenomenal virtual tour full of digital exhibits, videos, and audio presentations.

6. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Washington, D.C.)

NASA, founded in 1958, was created by the federal government to develop the civilian space program, as well as to conduct aeronautics, space, and astrophysics research. Since its inception, NASA has been responsible for historic space missions including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the space shuttle.

NASA has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring many online exhibits to life to showcase the beauty of space exploration.

7. National Air and Space Museum (Washington, D.C.)

Year Opened : 1946

The National Air and Space Museum is a center for the history and science of aviation, spaceflight, planetary science, terrestrial geology, and geophysics. It is the fifth most visited museum in the world (the second most visited in the U.S.), and contains the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, the Friendship 7 capsule, the Wright brothers’ Wright Flyer airplane, and Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis.

The virtual tour offers a 360-degree walk-through of the entire museum.

8. National Museum of Computing (Bletchley Park, England)

Year Opened: 2007

The National Museum of Computing is dedicated to collecting and restoring historic computer systems. The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of working historic computers dating back to the 1940s, including a rebuilt Mark 2 Colossus computer, alongside an exhibition of the most complex code-cracking activities performed at the Park.

In the 3D virtual tour, viewers can move around the galleries looking at the machines and their descriptions with the added bonus of hyperlinks to video and text explanations providing further detail and history of the exhibits.

9. National Museum of the United States Air Force (Riverside, Ohio)

Year Opened: 1923

Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Riverside, Ohio, the National Museum of the United States Air Force is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display.

The virtual tour allows visitors to take a virtual, 360-degree, self-guided tour of the entire museum by navigating from gallery to gallery.

10. Oxford University’s History of Science Museum (Oxford, England)

Year Opened: 1683

Oxford’s History of Science Museum holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

The museum, ever ahead of the times, has offered virtual tours since 1995. You’ll get to explore the fantastic exhibits and artifacts of some of the most important scientific discoveries in science history.

1. Acropolis Museum (Athens, Greece)

Year Opened : 2009

The Acropolis Museum is centered around the archaeological findings at the site of Athens’ most important structure — the Acropolis. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.

The museum has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring the museum to life virtually. Now you can view rock, marble, and sculptures certificates, all of which are thousands of years old, all from the comfort of your couch!

2. American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours

The American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours offers the incredible opportunity to experience 360-degree virtual tours of more than 20 American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. You can explore Gettysburg, with 15 different stops, each of which features icons that discuss in great detail the history and significance of the battle.

3. Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Year Opened: 1957

What was once the house where Anne Frank went into hiding during WWII is now a museum dedicated to increasing awareness of Anne’s story and life in the attic. The Anne Frank House was established in cooperation with Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, and now welcomes over 1 million visitors from around the world each year.

The museum’s website offers a virtual reality tour of the annex, along with other educational resources about Anne’s life.

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum (Hyde Park, New York)

Year Opened: 1941

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum holds the records of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. president (1933 to 1945). The museum showcases the history behind FDR’s story, his presidency, New Deal policies, assassination attempt, and wartime decisions.

The 360-degree online tour gives you a close look at original documents, artifacts, and videos from FDR’s life.

5. National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, D.C.)

Year Opened: 2003

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African-Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts.

The museum website offers more than 15 different online exhibits covering African American history and culture.

Check out its online virtual tour  and digital resources guide .

6. National Museum of American History (Washington, D.C.)

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has more than 1.8 million objects that highlight the history of the U.S — including the original Star-Spangled Banner, Julia Child’s kitchen, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, Indiana Jones’ fedora and whip, and more!

The museum offers about 100 online exhibits from its encyclopedic collections, each with a mix of photos, video, graphics, and text on topics ranging through the nation’s entire history.

7. National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Year Opened : 1866

The National Museum of Scotland is dedicated to Scottish antiquities, culture, and history. The museum contains artifacts from around the world, encompassing geology, archaeology, natural history, science, technology, art, and world cultures. Popular items from the collections include Dolly the Sheep, the Arthur’s Seat coffins, and the Cramond Lioness sculpture.

The Museum’s galleries have been captured digitally in partnership with Google Arts & Culture, along with a virtual walk-through thanks to Google Street View.

8. National Women’s History Museum (Alexandria, Virginia)

Year Opened: 1996

Founded in 1996 by Karen Staser, the National Women’s History Museum researches, collects, and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic, and political life of our nation in the context of world history.

Its website currently features 29 different online exhibits!

9. Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an at Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum (Xi’an, China)

Year Opened: 1974 (created third century B.C.)

The Terracotta Army at Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210 to 209 B.C. to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The sculptures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the 3 pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits near Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum.

The online experience allows you to get up close and personal with the sculptures in a full 360-degree experience!

To view the online virtual experience, click here .

10. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, D.C.)

Year Opened: 1980

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is the country’s official memorial to the Holocaust. It is located on the National Mall alongside other monuments dedicated to freedom. Each year, the museum encourages its 1.6 million visitors to promote human dignity, confront hatred, prevent genocide, and strengthen democratic values. The museum’s collection includes millions of archival documents, artifacts, photographs, footage, and a list of over 200,000 registered survivors and their families, among other historical items.

Its website offers a wide selection of educational resources, including a virtual tour, and is available in 16 languages.

There you have it — 75 amazing #MuseumsAtHome options filled with one-of-a-kind artifacts covering art, science, history, and natural history, all of which can be “visited” virtually while you lounge in your pajamas! So whether you’re a massive fan of art, looking for an educational experience for your children, or simply need a way to keep yourself entertained, you can’t go wrong with a virtual tour of any of these world-class museums.

Frequently Asked Questions

What museums have virtual tours.

There are dozens of museums worldwide offering virtual tours — we have 75 on this list alone! But some of our favorites are the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Museum!

How much do virtual tours cost?

Every single virtual tour included on our list is completely free of charge!

What is a virtual museum tour?

A virtual museum tour is, in essence, a simulation of what you might experience when visiting the museum in person. Virtual tours are usually comprised of a collection of videos, still images, 3D walkthroughs, and narration that help you feel as though you’re visiting the museum — without actually doing so!

How do you do a virtual tour?

Doing a virtual tour is easy! Often, the museum will have a dedicated website page allowing you to view all of their virtual resources on 1 page.

In the case of museums that have a 3D walkthrough, you can “walk” yourself through the museum by clicking from artwork to artwork, and exhibit to exhibit, as if you were actually visiting the museum in person!

Are virtual tours worth it?

Absolutely! If you’re currently not able to visit a museum in person, but want to experience all it has to offer, a virtual tour allows you to do just that — all from the comforts of your home!

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Virtual tours

Wherever you are in the world, take a tour of the National Gallery.

Our virtual tours allow you to step inside the Gallery and explore one of the greatest collections of paintings, from the comfort of your home.

Experience the Gallery in virtual reality through your desktop, phone or VR headset.

The Director's Choice virtual exhibition

Visit a virtual space showing a selection of paintings chosen and narrated by our Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi.

Take the Director's tour

Fit for a Queen virtual exhibition

Visit our virtual gallery of 28 paintings which celebrates Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Find out more about 'Fit for a Queen'

Fruits of the Spirit virtual exhibition

Visit our virtual exhibition that juxtaposes nine works of art from the National Gallery’s collection with nine works of art from partner institutions across the UK.

Find out more about 'Fruits of the Spirit'

'Sensing the Unseen: Step into Gossaert’s ‘Adoration’, mobile edition'

Immerse yourself in the world of Gossaert’s masterpiece and its awe-inspiring intricate detail.

Step into Gossaert's 'Adoration'

Google virtual tour

Take a tour of some of our Renaissance masterpieces with Google

Take the tour

International Luxury Lifestyle Magazine

The 18 Best Virtual Art Museum Tours You Can Enjoy Online

The world’s art museums are full of treasures. Thanks to advances in technology we can view them from the comfort of our armchairs. Virtual art museum tours are a great way to see incredible artworks without travelling. Whether you’re into contemporary painting or traditional artworks, you’re sure to enjoy these virtual museum tours.

Best Virtual Art Museum Tours

While it would be fun to visit all the best museums in the world, that’s not easy to do. However, with these art museum virtual tours, you can explore them from your own home.

More and more museums are making their collections accessible to all online. Quite a few of the famous museums featured here have special kid friendly online museum tours too.

Google Arts & Culture have also partnered with hundreds of museums and art galleries worldwide to create virtual tours of art museums. These include The Guggenheim and MoMA in New York and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea.

18. Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Let’s start with a museum that is as beautiful inside as outside. Belvedere Museum, or The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere to give its full name, is located within the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria .

The former Summer residence of Prince Eugene, it’s now as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.

After Prince Eugene’s death, it became an art gallery. Among the permanent collection highlights are works by Egon Schiele and Hans Makart.

The Upper Belvedere houses the largest collection of Gustav Klimt artworks in the world. This includes the famous painting, The Kiss, which shimmers thanks to the use of gold leaf.

The Belvedere has several online digital guided tours on their website and social media channels. They have also made available 360° museum views of the Upper and Lower Belvedere galleries, and a Smartify app offering free audio tours. In Wintertime, The Belvedere hosts one of the best Viennese Christmas markets in its grounds.

17. Art Institute of Chicago

One of the most impressive museums in the United States, the Art Institute of Chicago boasts a variety of interactive online resources. You can search the permanent collection, take part in virtual events or watch recordings of previous virtual events.

16. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Housed in an extraordinary building inspired by Venetian palaces, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum showcases over 2000 objects from around the world. Isabella Stewart Gardner was an art collector who sadly lost her only child to pneumonia.

Travelling around the world with her husband gave Isabella a renewed purpose in life. She built this three floor museum to house her collection of artifacts, including sculptures, paintings, photographs and textiles.

In 1990, two men committed the world’s largest unsolved art theft, stealing thirteen artworks. A virtual museum tour shows you where these masterpieces originally hung. A $5 million reward is offered for their safe return.

15. British Museum, London

This famous London museum is actually the largest indoor space in the world on Google Street View. There are 60 galleries to explore, with historical artefacts like the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery .

The British Museum also has two virtual galleries on their own website : Oceania and Prints and Drawings. Another good way to view the museum’s online exhibits is on their Google Arts & Culture pages. There are over 50 to choose from including Guatemalan Masks and Buddhist Art in Myanmar.

14. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Known as The Met for short, this is the largest art museum in the USA. After opening in 1870 at 681 Fifth Avenue, New York City , the main museum moved to its current location in 1880.

The spectacular Beaux-Arts facade was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. There are also two other branches of The Metropolitan Museum: The Met Breuer on Madison Avenue and The Met Cloisters in Northern Manhattan.

The Met is one of the best virtual museum tours for kids, thanks to its #MetKids map , created by children. They can explore the online collection map or hop in the Time Machine.

The Met 360° Project is a series of six award-winning videos created with 360° technology. They enable viewers to discover the museum’s key spaces with a virtual visit including The Great Hall and The Temple of Dendur.

13. Musée d’Orsay, Paris

One of the things that make this famous Parisian museum so special is the building it’s located in. A former railway station, it was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900.

Designated a historical monument, the Musee d’Orsay was designed by Victor Laloux. These days, it features a fine collection of Impressionist works and Post-Impressionist paintings.

Take a virtual art museum tour of the Musée d’Orsay building. You can admire works by some of the most famous artists in the world including Degas, Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh.

12. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Getty Museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture for a new exhibition in Pocket Gallery. This immersive exhibition feature creates a life sized virtual space using augmented reality.

Choose from several virtual rooms and explore the artworks by moving your phone. There are four virtual rooms, on the themes A Breath of Fresh Air , City Life , Music and Merriment and Around the Table . The app is available for iOS and Android phones.

11. National Gallery of the Cayman Islands

Discover artworks from the Caribbean in the online exhibitions of Grand Cayman’s National Gallery. Founded in 1996, the  National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) is the leading arts museum and education centre in the country.

They curate up to 6 exhibitions each year in Grand Cayman and also host over 25 education and outreach programs monthly for all age groups.  There are currently four colorful exhibitions available as virtual tours.

These include an online tour of the National Art Collection ; Cross Currents – Cayman Islands Biennial , showcasing 42 local artists; Bendel Hydes – A Retrospective , a retrospective of the artist’s 50 year career and Tidal Shift, featuring 26 artists. The current NGCI exhibition Island of Women – Life at Home During Our Maritime Years will also be available soon.

Access all the tours here:  https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/see/virtual-tours/ .

10. National Palace Museum, Taipei City

With almost 700,000 objects, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan is the largest collection of ancient Chinese artifacts in the world. Featuring rare items from the Neolithic period to the present day, the museum was founded in 1965.

There’s a fantastic range of guided virtual tours online, including the exterior as well as the interior of the building. Admire Zhishan Garden, the Pavilions and the Cage Changing Goose sculptue before heading indoors to explore the rest of the collection.

You can take one of  four featured routes  or simply click around the galleries depending on your interests. Handy floor plans will prevent you from getting lost! There’s also a fun time lapse of the museum.

9. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Spread over 80 galleries and showcasing 8,000 objects,  The Rijksmuseum  is one of the best art museums with virtual tours. Focusing primarily on Dutch art and history, it is housed in a magnificent Renaissance-Gothic style building designed by Pierre Cuypers.

Highlights of the museum’s collection include the Delft pottery collection, the 17th century dolls’ houses and the  Night Watch  by Rembrandt.  The Milkmaid , by Dutch painter Vermeer is another subtly brilliant artwork.

8. Tate Britain, London

Featuring the finest British art, Tate Britain is located in a magnificent building on Millbank that dates from 1897. Kids will enjoy author Jacqueline Wilson’s Magical Tour of Tate Britain .

You can also take a  Google  virtual tour of the Pre-Raphaelite galleries. Works such as Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent and Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais have an ethereal charm.

7. The Louvre, Paris

Famous for its incomparable collections, The Louvre is also the largest art museum in the world. The building itself is a historical monument, with the main section dating from the 12th century.

The glass pyramid by I. M. Pei was added in 1989. The Louvre is known for works of art such as the  Mona Lisa  by Leonardo da Vinci and  The Venus de Milo  by Alexandros of Antioch.

It also has an extensive collection of French crown jewels and Egyptian antiquities. The Great Sphinx of Tanis and the ancient mummy are particularly impressive.

There are several Louvre online tours including The Advent of The Artist exhibition in the Petite Galerie with works by Rembrandt and Tintoretto. Don’t miss the virtual exhibits in the recently restored Galerie d’Apollon, with its central panel by Delacroix.

6. The National Gallery, London

With over 2,300 paintings, The National Gallery has an impressive collection of artworks from 1260 to 1900. One of the most visited museums in the world, it has an enviable location on Trafalgar Square.

The main building was designed by William Wilkins and opened in 1838. The Sainsbury Wing extension opened in 1991.

There are several virtual tours of the National Gallery, including a VR tour of the Sainsbury Wing, created in collaboration with Oculus. Using Matterport 3D technology, it showcases over 270 Early Renaissance paintings .

You can either enjoy the virtual 360° tour or experience it in virtual reality if you happen to have a VR headset. There’s also a Google virtual tour of 7 rooms and the Central Hall, which showcases works by Holbein, Titian and Veronese.

5. The Smithsonian, Washington D.C.

One of the best virtual art museums, The Smithsonian Institution is also the largest museum, research and education complex in the world. Several of the 19 galleries and museums have virtual tours available.

These include The National Museum of Natural History , the National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of Asian Art . There are also lots of online resources for educators available here . Kids will love the wide range of activities including how to make an Art Bot and Color Our Collections .

4. The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

One of the largest museums in the world, The Hermitage has over 3 million exhibits! Founded in 1764, the incredible collection spans 5,000 years.

The most popular visitor attraction in St Petersburg, it wows not only with its artworks but also with its architecture. Designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 1750s, The State Hermitage Museum was founded by Catherine the Great.

There are over 17,000 paintings including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens and Picasso. The Knight’s Hall examines the history of armoury in the 15th to 17th centuries.

Check out the Google virtual museum for other highlights including the Kolyvan Vase. It weights over 19 tonnes and is the largest single piece of jasper in the world.

3. The Vatican, Rome

If you want to have The Sistine Chapel to yourself, then don’t miss The Vatican virtual tours. Pope Julius II founded The Vatican Museums in the 16th century.

There are 7 Vatican City virtual online tours including Raphael’s Rooms, the Chiaramonti Museum and the Niccoline Chapel. The latter is known for its fresco paintings by Fra Angelico.

2. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has a fun Unravel Van Gogh app . One of the best virtual art museum tours, it allows you to discover how Vincent Van Gogh worked.

Peel back layers of paint and comparing his paintings with postcards of the time. There are also quite a few resources in the Google Arts & Culture app, including virtual room tours of the museum.

1. Uffizi Gallery, Florence

One of the best art museums in the world, the Uffizi Gallery has an incredible collection of works from the Italian Renaissance period. Located in the centre of Florence , the Uffizi complex has been open to visitors since the 16th century.

Designed in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari, it features a top floor gallery that was intended to display the artworks of the Medici family. Over the years, it grew into the world famous collection that we know today.

You can admire several online exhibits in their virtual art gallery such as The Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano, La Primavera by Botticelli and Medusa by Caravaggio. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli has a timeless appeal.

Here’s a recap of these virtual art museum tours:

• Uffizi Gallery, Florence
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• The Vatican, Rome
• The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
• The Smithsonian, Washington D.C.
• The National Gallery, London
• The Louvre, Paris
• Tate Britain, London
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• National Palace Museum, Taipei City
• National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
• J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
• Musée d’Orsay, Paris
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• British Museum, London
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
• Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Final Thoughts on the Best Virtual Art Tours

There you have it, the best virtual art tours to take from the comfort of your home. While nothing can replace an in-person viewing experience, these virtual art tours provide the next best thing.

From world-renowned museums like The Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art to smaller, lesser known institutions, there is something for everyone on this list. So whether you’re missing your local museum or looking to explore somewhere new, be sure to check out one (or all) of these amazing virtual art tours.

And if you’re interested in learning more about the art world, be sure to check out our other articles on everything from up-and-coming artists to must-see exhibitions.

Which of these virtual art tours do you like best? Are there any others that you would recommend?

You might also enjoy:

• Best Museums in Brussels
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• Best Sculpture Gardens in the World
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Suze and Paul are the founders of LuxuryColumnist, one of the leading luxury online magazines worldwide.

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Utagawa Hiroshige. Plum Garden, Kamata (Kamata no umezono), no. 27 from 100 Famous Views of Edo , 2nd month of 1857. Woodblock print. Brooklyn Museum; Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.27. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Scent Tours: Hiroshige’s Seasons

Thursday, August 1, 2024

6:30–8 pm

Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor

Immerse yourself in a multisensory tour of Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami) led by Jessica Murphy, a fragrance historian and Manager of Group Experiences at the Brooklyn Museum. The Museum’s complete set of Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo , a meticulously executed and beautifully preserved series of prints, is one of our greatest treasures. The series’ vivid colors, innovative compositions, and rich detail evoke daily life in mid-19th-century Edo (modern-day Tokyo), with an emphasis on locations where people gathered to observe the changing seasons. 

In this guided tour, we’ll enhance the viewing experience by pairing selected prints with scents specially created by Brooklyn-based Joya Studio . Using our senses, we’ll reflect on the tension between natural and human-made elements in Hiroshige’s vistas of a rapidly changing city.

Tickets are $35 and include a one-time 10% discount in the Museum Shop. Tickets also include admission to Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami) . Member tickets are $30. Not a Member? Join today!

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Art in Moscow: Museums, Galleries and Museum-Reserves

There is no strict dress code in Moscow museums. However, if you are going to explore ancient churches and holy places we recommend more conservative outwear. Women should have their heads covered.

All state museums and galleries are free every third Sunday of the month. Some of the Moscow museums are free on holidays, and during the «Museum days» and «Museum Night».

If you’re looking for great cultural tours around art points of Moscow, we have a great MOSCOW ART & DESIGN TOUR , available for you everyday except Mondays.

Moscow Museums

The Moscow Kremlin

Don’t miss a chance to see the very heart of Moscow, the Kremlin, the symbol of the Russian State, one of the greatest architectural ensembles in the world, a treasury of unusual relics and monuments of art. It is situated on a high Borovitskiy hill above the Moskva River, so you’ll be able to see a spectacular view of the city center. The famous Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund are real treasure-houses, where you can see ancient Russian regalia, ceremonial tsar’s dress, church hierarchs’ vestments, arms, gold and silverware by Russian, European and Eastern masters. The Kremlin is the official President’s residence and remains a gorgeous political landmark. The UNESCO has included the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin in the World Heritage List.

Site: http://www.kreml.ru/

The State Historical Museum

Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov, and several other Slavophiles founded the State Historical Museum in 1872 to promote Russian history and national self-awareness. During its century-long history, the museum has collected more than 4.5 million of valuable items and over 12 million pages of documental archives. Its exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived in the territory of present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The museum’s historical building which was reconstructed and equipped to meet all the visitors requirements is on the Red Square.

Site: http://www.shm.ru/

The State Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery takes a special place among the national art museums of the world. Established with the efforts of one person, the dedicated collector Pavel Tretyakov, it possesses a unique collection of Russian art, more than 150000 masterpieces, created by famous Russian artists throughout the centuries. The historic building of the State Tretyakov Gallery at Lavrushinski Lane presents Russian art from the 11th through the early 20th century. The state Tretyakov Gallery at Krymsky Val has an excellent collection of Russian art of the 20th century, modern art and holds temporary exhibitions.

Site: http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is one the largest European museums of fine art. It has one of the most remarkable collections of fine arts in Russia that consists of artworks from ancient times to the present day. Visitors can see great paintings by world famous artists: Rembrandt, Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo, along with the remarkable collections of Impressionists, Post-impressionists, modernists: Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and others. Moreover, the museum holds the private collectors’ galleries, many of were inaccessible to public for many years.

Site: http://www.arts-museum.ru/

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Moscow Museum of Modern Art specializes in the modern art of 20th and 21st centuries. The famous Russian artist and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has founded it. The museum is located in four historic buildings in Petrovka Street, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Ermolaevsky lane and Tverskoy Boulevard. The museum’s collection depicts the development of avant-garde. The largest part of the collection consists of masterpieces of Russian artists, but you can also find works by Anri Russo, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and many others.

Site: http://www.mmoma.ru/

The Moscow Planetarium

The Planetarium in Moscow first opened its doors in 1929. After a global reconstruction, it was reopened in 2011. Now it is a multifunctional complex that combines scientific and educational resources: the interactive museum «Lunarium», the Museum of Urania, the Big Star Hall and the Sky Park, family recreation center, that focuses on different age groups. The Moscow Planetarium is one of the biggest planetariums in the world.

Site: http://www.planetarium-moscow.ru/

Moscow Galleries

Garage museum of contemporary art.

Exhibit on display during the opening of «Art Experiment»

The museum is a kind of independent platform aimed to disclose and reveal a new way of thinking. The Garage Center currently reflects the contemporary innovations of national and world’s culture. It invites you to the beautiful world of modern art, showing its best pieces. This center offers a great number of various exhibitions, educational projects for kids and adults, and publishing. The Garage Center is also called The Museum of Everything. It provides ways and reasons for public dialogue and the creation of progressive ideas.

Site: http://garageccc.com/

The Multimedia Art Museum

Fifty Years of Bond Style Exhibition

The Multimedia Art Museum opened in October 2010 at the base of the Moscow House of Photography. One of the main principles of MAMM s work is complete openness to the new forms of visual expression and for the fresh, innovative trends in the Russian and foreign media art and photography. There are seven floors of spacious exhibition halls and minimalist architecture that is a great font for modern art. The exhibition history of MAMM and Moscow House of Photography counts more than 1300 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Moreover, Multimedia Art Museum has different educational programs and holds famous Moscow art festivals: Photobiennale, «Fashion and Style in Photography» and others.

Site: http://www.mamm-mdf.ru/

Lumiere Brothers Photography Center

This modern photo gallery is located in the very heart of Moscow, next to the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, big art galleries, design studios famous clubs and restaurants. The photography Center houses in an old and huge mansion at the Moskva River Embankment. Lumiere Brothers Photography Center has three huge exhibition rooms, lecture hall, library with an immense collection of rare books in photography and an independent bookshop. The Center is conducting research work, organizing educational projects, providing a base for the future Russian Museum of Photography.

Site: http://www.lumiere.ru/

Winzavod (Wine Factory) is the first and the biggest Center of Contemporary Art in our country. It unites all the areas of modern culture: exhibitions, festivals, lecture programs, cinema, concerts, theater premieres. You will find here a big amount of art galleries, artists’ workshops, designers and photographers studios, art cafes, fashion showrooms, a bookshop, children’s studio and many other things. The purpose of Winzavod is to support and to develop Russian contemporary art, art initiatives and help talented young people. Visiting Winzavod you will see the art that defines not only today’s but also tomorrow’s life.

Site: http://www.winzavod.ru/

The Manezh was built in 1817 in honor of the 5th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the 1812 war. Then it was called «Exerzierhaus», building, intended for military drills. The building has the unique construction – wooden structure trusses overlap the space of 44.86 square meters without any intermediate supports. After 1917, Manezh served as a garage for government vehicles. And since 1957 it has been continuously used for exhibitions and public events. In 2004, the building was severely damaged by fire. Renovated in 2005 the Manezh doubled its area. Nowadays it is one of the leading Moscow exhibition halls. There are two exhibition spaces, a conference room and a cafe on the third-floor observation deck. The Manezh hosts numerous fairs, festivals, and exhibitions.

Site: http://moscowmanege.ru/

Flacon Design Factory

Flacon Design Factory, located in the territory of a former glass factory, has become a pioneer in the revitalization of industrial zone outside the historic center of Moscow. Flacon has become a powerful launch pad for multiple cool projects, self-expression of creative individuals and carrying-out of sociocultural initiatives. No wonder that the atmosphere at Flacon entirely coincides with its motto: «Create as you please!» The Factory includes offices, co-working zone, shops, workshops, exhibition and creative projects spaces. Lectures, film screenings, fairs, design festivals, innovative exhibitions, presentations, concerts, limited actions and design community work days pass here weekly.

Site: http://flacon.ru/

Artplay is near Winzavod in the former industrial space in the area Kurskaya metro station and occupies an area of 75,000 square meters. Artplay, providing a new life to carefully reconstructed factory buildings, has become an important part of the contemporary cultural landscape of the city. Artplay unites designers, architects, furniture, lighting, ceramics, decorative materials shops, involving them in cooperation with each other. Young Moscow galleries, artists’ studios, cafes, bars, bookstores, music club, school of design, theater, children’s art studio are also situated here. Three exhibition halls regularly host contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, video art, alternative music concerts, performances, film screenings, lectures and master classes.

Site: http://www.artplay.ru/

CCI Fabrika

The Center For Creative Industries «Fabrika» is an art space for non-commercial creative projects. Today it is the example of peaceful coexistence of art business, operating enterprise, production, and workplaces for talented people in Moscow. CCI Fabrika is a member of the international network of non-profit cultural centers – Trans Europe Halls. This project is a typical umbrella-center. It is developing in both ways: creating and exhibiting its cultural projects and offering workspaces for other creative groups. Here you can find art studios and workshops of design, architecture, cinema, theater, cartoon animation and contemporary music studios.

Site: http://www.proektfabrika.ru/

Moscow Museum-Reserves

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve is one of the largest historical, cultural, recreation and touristic complexes. Its total area is more than 700 hectares. It is an excellent combination of nature – marvelous rivers, ponds, streams, forests – and scientifically restored and renovated architectural and landscape monuments. The museum’s collection of historical items, exhibitions, and educational programs will be attractive for both national visitors and foreign tourists.

Site: http://www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru/

Arkhangelskoye Country Estate

Russian cultural monument is a good sublimation of the stunning beauty of a green space and luxurious collection of paintings, sculptures, unique books and pieces arts and crafts. During its long history, the estate was used as a recreation place for emperors, politicians, famous writers and poets. Today it is the finest place to have an enjoyable walk and to see the richest collection Russian art.

Site: http://www.arhangelskoe.su/

Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve

A unique historic place – Kolomenskoe – is situated in the picturesque surrounding over the Moscow River banks. A magnificent country estate has appeared at the lands full of legends. Archeological discoveries state that the first settlements appeared here in the VIII century. It is an ancient and uniquely formed place. Today this is a unique complex of cultural monuments of high historical value.

Site: http://mgomz.ru/kolomenskoe

Sergiev-Posad City

Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve

Museum of Sergiev-Posad is a historical and art reserve. It is located within the unique wall of the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. This ancient monastery gathered its treasures during centuries from the tsars, princes and boyars donations. Moreover, many art and craft items were made at Lavra’s workshops. Now, the collections of Sergiev-Posad Museum-Reserve include rare, ancient icons, Cyrillic alphabet books, medieval manuscripts, visual art items, gold and silver showpieces.

Site: http://www.stsl.ru/

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These are the 6 Kansas City art exhibits you need to explore this summer

If you're looking to escape the brutal Kansas City summer heat, there's no better escape than these innovative and exciting exhibitions spanning the local art scene.

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.

Kansas City knows how to have fun in the well-cooled indoors, from our growing distillery scene to the metro’s forever-intriguing vintage and thrift stores .

Kansas City’s independent galleries have their own surprises for you this season. Whether you’re looking to escape this year’s bitter summer heat in a meaningful way, or trying to find that perfect date idea, add these six summer art exhibits in the list to your itinerary.

"Squint" by Wolfe Brack

This June, art lovers can enjoy an intimate art experience at Wolfe Brack’s solo exhibition, “ Squint ,” on display now at the Smalter Gallery on W. 39th Street.

A work called “Quirks” consists of numerous rectangular pieces of paper with a miniature head and a hand-written description, along with a pair of adjustable magnifying glasses. Kansas City-based Brack ignores the conventional belief that art should be admired from afar and never touched, and instead invites the audience to get up and personal with these pieces.

Each piece of the collection represents “the thoughts, experiences, habits and things overheard that make up our everyday realities, personalities and personal idiosyncrasies,” the piece description says. Here, you’ll find private rants and quips, small glimpses of individual lives.

For example, one piece says, “Jarius is an open book, but the writing is illegible.” Another says, “Celia’s feeling spicy today and is just looking for a reason to reinforce some stereotypes.” Maybe, if you look closely, you’ll find a quirk that reminds you of your neighbor, your friend, your coworker – or yourself.

• When : Now through July 13, 2024
• Where : 1802 W 39th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

Ophtograph Gallery Inaugural Annual Art Exhibition

Ophtograph Gallery is a newly established artist-run space inside The Hobbs Building in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. Its inaugural exhibition captures the very fabric of Kansas City’s community — its people — through intimate portraits, thought-provoking landscapes, and candid snapshots.

In “Childhood,” taken by gallery director and Kansas City street photographer Robert Reed, a white elderly woman takes center stage, smiling at someone outside the camera’s framing. The bubbles in the picture suggests the potential presence of a child off-screen, making the viewer consider the meaning of the title.

In another one of Reed’s pieces, “7 Days,” we see someone standing in front of a large white banner with red text reading “STOP GENOCIDE.” The individual wears a bright orange beanie, holographic sunglasses, and a red bandana as a mask, while the bold text in the background casts a painful shade over the colorful composition.

• When : Now through Aug. 15, 2024
• Where : 1427 W 9th Street, Suite 502, Kansas City, MO 64101

“Passing Moments” at Belger Crane Yard Studios

Once a year, Belger Crane Yard Studios in the 18th & Vine District showcases works created by its current residents. Titled “Passing Moments,” their 11th such exhibition includes work by Joel Pisowicz, Gina Pisto, and Logan Reynolds.

The pieces on display reflect each artist’s experience and growth over their residency, while serving as vessels for nostalgia and memorials.

For instance, Gina Pisto’s “memory portal II” resembles the literal circular shape of a portal with a smooth, glimmering center. The center is surrounded by various blooming florals with a matte finish, making its glaze an irrefutable temptation, hypnotizing the audience and drawing them closer.

As you stare into the center, ask yourself: Are you the type who’d peek into the dark well in the middle of the woods? And, if the answer is yes, what do you see?

• When : Now through Sept. 7, 2024
• Where : 2011 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64108

“Butter and Oil” by Mary Clara Hutchison

“Butter and Oil,” a solo exhibition by Kansas City-based Mary Clara Hutchison, is dedicated to giving the mundane a new meaning. Now on view at Vulpes Bastille in the Crossroads, the exhibition repurposes household objects like clothes, old furniture, and even slices of toast as sculptures and installations.

By doing so, Hutchison emphasizes the repetition within our daily routines and explores the intimate relationship fostered between ourselves and our environment.

In one of the installations, Hutchison hung fabrics and textiles resembling outfits, linens, towels, and blankets on a metal grid to create an abstract mix of textures.

In another, a matrix of toast slices is hidden behind two large curtain panels, inviting the viewers to step closer and peek through the cover. Both works quantify ordinary things to make the viewer curious about what the simple actions of making ourselves breakfast or washing our clothes mean on the larger scale of feeling a sense of stability and comfort.

• When : Now through June 27, 2024
• Where : 1737 Locust Street, Kansas City, MO 64108

“Fictions” by Andrea Burgay

In a bookish mood? Stop by the Kansas City Public Library’s Central Library Branch this summer to see vintage paperbacks repurposed into mixed-media sculptures, in Brooklyn-based Andrea Burgay’s solo exhibition, “ Fictions .”

Burgay’s process is the literal presentation of “digesting a book.” She begins with layering texts she’d sourced from thrift stores or used book sales with collage elements like paint splashes, paper scraps, and fabric. Then, Burgay takes the books apart and reassembles them repeatedly, meshing stories across different genres: sci-fi, romance, action, nonfiction, etc.

These books ended their previous life and regenerated new tales and identities, morphing out of their original content: a cunning comparison to how human beings can part ways from our previous forms to grow anew from our experiences.

The only pity, perhaps, is that you cannot hold the books and flip through them. Nonetheless, you can see the recomposed stories bursting through the covers: some are ravaged scraps with illegible texts, and others are audacious colors demanding attention.

• When:  Now through Aug. 17, 2024
• Where : 14 W 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105

“COGITATUM” by PHYBR

If you love the bold colors and expressions of street art, stop by the Upper Level Gallery in the Crossroads and explore the world of Kansas City street artist PHYBR. In his solo exhibition, “ COGITATUM ,” PHYBR created a distorted dreamscape with acrylic paintings capturing the movement and reflectiveness of metal shimmers.

A large portion of the exhibit is dedicated to abstract works highlighting how light interacts with a metallic, fluid material while referring back to the human anatomy. “Vita Post Mortem” takes the contour of a pregnant woman and turns her into a golden honey river flowing within her shape. At one angle, it looked like a gold skull resided in her body. At another, you may see a vague ghostly face where the fetus should be.

PHYBR’s portraits are equally impressive, using the same high-contrast palette to create a futuristic and surreal ambiance for his characters. In “Key to the Universe,” PHYBR illustrates a Black woman shimmering with glitter and bright pools of colors on her cheek, chin, and neck. Her eyes gaze into the sky with confidence.

• When:  Now through June 29, 2024
• Where : 504 E 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108

Explore the ideas, artifacts, people, and places that have shaped our history for nearly 400 years.

Harvard Yard is no longer restricted access to HUID holders only. Enhanced security measures will remain in place for the foreseeable future. The safety and security of the Harvard community is a top priority, and we will continue to evaluate the overall situation and adjust our measures accordingly.

Harvard Visitor Center tours

All tours are 45 to 60 minutes long. Registration is required in advance for both in-person and virtual tours. Weekly tour registration will be available every Friday. You can download the Visit Harvard mobile app on iOS and Android devices. During business hours you may purchase a Self-Guided Tour Map for $3 available in multiple languages.

For information about Harvard College Admissions tours for prospective students, visit their website .

Official Historical Tour of Harvard

The free, student-led public walking tour through Harvard Yard provides a history of the University, general information, and a unique view on the students’ individual experience. 

Register for the in-person tour

Visit Harvard mobile app

Explore Harvard with our free mobile app, featuring a collection of self-guided walking tours. Whichever tour you decide to embark on, you’ll be sure to learn something new.

Download the app on  iOS  and  Android devices.

Historical Tour of Harvard

Learn the history behind well-known spots across Harvard’s campus! Each stop highlights iconic buildings, traditions, alumni, and much more.

Harvard Public Art & Culture Tour: Allston

Explore vibrant public art in Allston! You’ll encounter can’t-miss installations along Western Avenue and learn the stories behind them and their artists.

Harvard Public Art & Culture Tour: Cambridge

Discover a new side to our campus through an art-filled adventure! Explore outdoor art, famous architecture, renowned cultural institutions, and more.

Discover more Harvard tours

From nature walks to art galleries, these tour offerings include virtual options, in-person experiences, student and staff-led excursions, and more.

Tour spotlight

Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery

The Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Walking Tour Experience explores Harvard University’s entanglements with the institution of slavery through a 10-stop tour around Harvard’s campus.

Learn more about the tour

Prospective students

Harvard College In-Person Campus Visit Options: in-person, student-led

Harvard College Virtual Tour Options: virtual

SEAS Tours Options: in-person, student-led

Harvard Business School Options: in-person, virtual, student-led, mobile

Harvard Law School Virtual Tour Video Options: virtual

Arts and culture

Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Options: mobile

Harvard Art Museums: Student Guided Tours Options: in-person, student-led

Harvard Art Museums: Gallery Tours Options: in-person, self-guided, staff-led

Harvard Forest Field Trips & Tours Options: virtual, in-person, staff-led, self-guided

Arnold Arboretum: All Tours Options: in-person, virtual, staff-led, self-guided

Museums and libraries

Peabody Museum: All Tours Options: in-person, virtual, self-guided, staff-led

Houghton & Widener In-Person Tours Options: in-person, staff-led

Widener 360-Degree Virtual Tour Options: virtual, self-guided

Houghton Library Virtual Tour Options: virtual

Harvard Museums of Science & Culture: Virtual Tours Options: virtual, self-guided

Frequently asked questions

General tour information.

The Harvard University Visitor Center offers several different types of tours. For our in person tour offerings on campus, we provide the Official Historical Tour of Harvard. All tours are provided to the public for free and to private groups for a fee. Our tours typically run 45-60 minutes.

To view the schedule and register for our free public tours (virtual and in person), please visit our Eventbrite page . To request a virtual or in person private tour, visit this link .

We also offer a free self-guided historical tour through the Visit Harvard mobile app, which you can download on iOS and Android devices. You can take this self-guided tour on campus or from the comfort of your own home.

Information about free in-person tours

The in person Historical Tour of Harvard explores Harvard Yard. Tours depart from the Visitor Center which is located at the front desk in the Smith Campus Center. Our address is 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Registration for our in person tours must be made in advance. Registration is made available starting the Friday before your tour week. Parties of up to 14 persons can register for a free in person tour. Parties of 15-60 are encouraged to submit a request for a private tour .

Registered tour goers should arrive at the Visitor Center at least 15 minutes before your tour to check-in. Tours depart from the Smith Campus Center and end in Harvard Yard.

Information about the Visit Harvard mobile app

Visit Harvard is a free mobile app by the Harvard Visitor Center that features a collection of self-guided tours centered around the Harvard University experience. The Visit Harvard mobile app can be downloaded by anyone with a smartphone, tablet, or desktop, to be enjoyed from wherever you might be visiting, whether it’s in-person at Harvard or from the comfort of your own home.

What tours are being offered in the mobile app? Currently on the app, visitors can take a mobile version of our popular in-person and virtual tour, the Historical Tour of Harvard.

How long is the mobile tour? This self-guided tour takes place across 14 mapped stops through Harvard’s campus. At a standard walking pace, it will take between 45-60 minutes to complete the 1 mile long tour.

Can I take the mobile tour in-person or virtually? The mobile tour is designed to be accessed in-person on Harvard University’s campus, starting at the Harvard Visitor Center, located at the Smith Campus Center in Harvard Square (1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA). It can also be viewed from the comfort of your own home. Simply download Visit Harvard in the app store, select the Historical Tour of Harvard, and begin your journey!

Where can I download the Visit Harvard mobile app? You can download the Visit Harvard mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play . There is also a desktop version of the app you can access here .

Learn more about the Harvard College admissions process

For more information about Harvard College Admissions, please visit their official website . Their contact information can be found here .

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

You must join the virtual exhibition queue when you arrive. If capacity has been reached for the day, the queue will close early.

Perspectives Art and Literature

Exhibition tour—collecting inspiration: edward c. moore at tiffany & co..

Join exhibition curator Medill Higgins Harvey, special guests, curators Deniz Beyazit and Monika Bincsik, on a tour of the exhibition Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. Edward C. Moore (1827–1891)—the creative force who led Tiffany & Co. to unparalleled originality and success during the second half of the 19th century—amassed a vast collection of decorative arts of exceptional quality and in various media, from Greek and Roman glass and Japanese baskets to metalwork from the Islamic world. These objects were a source of inspiration for Moore, a noted silversmith in his own right, and the designers he supervised. The exhibition Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. will feature more than 180 extraordinary examples from Moore's personal collection, which was donated to the Museum, alongside 70 magnificent silver objects designed and created at Tiffany & Co. under his direction. On view through October 20, 2024 Learn more about the exhibition: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/collecting-inspiration-edward-c-moore-at-tiffany-and-co Watch videos demonstrating the metalworking processes at Tiffany & Co. https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/series/materials-and-techniques/metalworking The exhibition is made possible by Tiffany & Co. The catalogue is made possible by the William Cullen Bryant Fellows of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Video produced by SandenWolff and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Managing Producers: Kate Farrell, Kate Dobie Senior Producer: Melissa Bell Production Coordinator: Lela Jenkins Director: Jonathan Sanden Interviewer/Story Editor: Rachel Wolff Camera: Jonathan Sanden, Nate Reininga, Austin Poplin Editor Hannah Kaylor Music: Courtesy of Jamendo Special thanks to: Deniz Beyazit Monika Bincsik Medill Higgins Harvey Tiffany Kim Jonathan Lee Padget Sutherland Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art Read more Read less

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Spend time with old favorites and find new surprises in the collection through a variety of search options, themed highlights tours, or interactive features.

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“Giants: Art From The Dean Collection Of Swizz Beatz And Alicia Keys” On Global Tour

Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys  is the first major exhibition of the world-class art collection owned by musical and cultural icons Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys. Today, in honor of Juneteenth and the celebration of Black art, the Deans announced that the groundbreaking and history-making exhibition first shown at New York’s Brooklyn Museum will commence a world tour starting with a presentation at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. Further dates and details to be announced soon.  

“Our mission has always been about making art accessible to everyone and showcasing these GIANT  artists. We realized quickly that meant this collection had to travel to communities across the country and the world. We are so pleased that Atlanta and the High Museum of Art is the first stop on the GIANT tour, ” said the Deans. “ATL is an important part of my story since I went to Stone Mountain High, Redan High and Open Campus. I started DJing parties as a kid at Atrium and Club Flavors too! So, bringing Giants to the High is an Art homecoming  for me!” said Mr. Dean. 

Organized by the Brooklyn Museum, where it debuted in February, “Giants” will feature a focused selection from the couple’s holdings, spotlighting works by multigenerational Black diasporic artists, from 20th century legends such as Nick Cave, Lorna Simpson and Barkley L. Hendricks, to artists of a younger generation including Kehinde Wiley, Deana Lawson, Amy Sherald and Ebony G. Patterson, who are expanding the legacies of those who came before them. 

“Giants” stands as a testament to the Deans’ ethos of “collecting and preserving the culture of ourselves for ourselves, now and into the future.” Through approximately 115 objects, including 98 major artworks, the exhibition will trace the evolution of an audacious and ambitious collection and explore the ways in which the featured artists and their work have grappled with societal issues, embraced monumentality and made a palpable impact on the art canon. In addition to paintings, photographs and sculptures, the galleries will include noteworthy examples of the Deans’ early non-art collecting interests, including albums, musical equipment and BMX bikes, along with related ephemera. 

Born and raised New Yorkers, the couple have been making music for decades and have cultivated diverse passions across music, art and culture. Swizz began his career working first as a DJ and later as a performer and producer for his family’s record label, Ruff Ryders, at the age of 17. Keys, a 16-time Grammy Award-winning artist, learned to play the piano as a child, releasing her hit debut album when she was 20 years old. 

Paying homage to legendary elder artists, the section “On the Shoulders of Giants” features work by artists who have left an indelible mark on the world. In her large, colorful abstract paintings, Esther Mahlangu reimagines the long-standing tradition of South African Ndebele house painting. The legacy of portrait and street photography are exemplified in the works of Kwame Brathwaite, Malick Sidibé and Parks, the last of which the Deans hold the largest private collection. These internationally renowned photographers documented moments of self-presentation and pride, as well as everyday life and sociopolitical milestones. They, along with artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Ernie Barnes and Hendricks, not only captured the moment in which they lived but also laid the foundation for current and future generations of artists. 

The “Giant Conversations” section explores how artists have always critiqued and commented on the world around them. The artists on view address a range of issues Black people have faced throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Simpson’s “Tense” (1991) considers Black women’s self-representation within an environment where others often define that representation. Cave’s textured sculptures examine how Black people, particularly men, must assume costumes to conceal and protect themselves against violence. Other artists such as Jerome Lagarrigue and Henry Taylor present issues of protest and lack of visibility due to homelessness. 

Works on view also celebrate Blackness and champion the beauty, resilience, distinctiveness, connection and joyousness within communities across the globe. Over a dozen photographs by Jamel Shabazz honor the everyday people walking the streets of New York from the 1980s to the present. Defying stereotypical depictions of his country by the West, Hassan Hajjaj captures Morocco’s female henna artists in one photograph on view. Sherald’s large-scale diptych portrays Baltimore, Maryland, dirt bike culture and the joyful freedom that comes with riding—a passion Swizz shares. 

The “Giant Presence” section of the exhibition offers an impressive finale of monumental artworks. Nina Chanel Abney’s “Catfish” (2017) is a visual provocation about sexual and financial exchange between individuals in a colorful, almost cartoonish, setting. With his nearly 8-foot-tall “Big Wheel I” (2018), Arthur Jafa draws from Mississippi’s monster truck culture and histories of anti-Black violence, underscoring the coexistence of Black Americans’ joys and traumas. Paintings by Titus Kaphar and Meleko Mokgosi also use scale to emphasize powerful themes that resonate across history. 

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