Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

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Houston's Museum of Fine Arts is really two museums in one as it is housed in two separate buildings, each with its own character. They are the Caroline Wiess Law Building at 1001 Bissonnet Street and the Audrey Jones Beck Building at 5601 Main Street. It's not too inconvenient though as the buildings are opposite each other. The Caroline Wiess building houses permanent exhibitions of 20th and 21st century art as well as collections of Oceanic art, Asian art, Indonesian gold artifacts, and Pre-Columbian and sub-Saharan African art, including the biggest collection of African Gold in the world. The Beck Building houses permanent collections of Antiquities and European art. It is also used for temporary exhibitions.

As well as the permanent exhibtions there are some major temporary exhibitions, which cost extra. When I was there, I saw the big Pompeii exhibition and it was superb.

Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thursday 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Friday, Saturday 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Closed Monday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day

Admission: Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun $7 (+ $10 for the temporary Pompeii Exhibition). Thurs: FREE

Xul Solar: Visions and Revelations Exhibit was great, This exhibition is devoted solely to the work of Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solar (1887-1963), who was Argentina´s most important proponent of modernism and the avant-garde. ... Anyways, this was the first time visiting the Fine Arts Museum and this was an Interesting Exhibit to Me! ... And It was FREE on Thursdays!

Located within the Houston Museum District, the Museum of Fine Arts is one of the most frequented museums in all of Houston, and has one of the finest collections of art in the United States. Well over 50,000 pieces of art are on display here, both permanent as well as special & on-loan collections. Both the Law and the newer Beck buildings have works from all over the world, including everything from Ancient Egyptian & African tribal pieces, to Renaissance & Baroque period pieces from Europe. There are large collections of paintings and sculptures from as far away as Asia and the South Pacific Islands, and pieces from places much closer, with an extensive display of Native American and Latin American works. For many of the collections, the museum has audio palyers with headphones to guide you through each piece and give you some extra insight on them. Much of the museum structure itself is a work of art; the Beck building, opened in 2000, has many interesting works built right into it. And be sure to walk through the underground tunnel that connects the two buildings. If you work up an appetite looking at everything, there is a Cafe Express in the Beck building with a full menu of food and refreshments. Cameras are allowed for the permanent exhibits, but many of the special & on-loan collections are not allowed to be photographed. And if you have the time, there are also two other smaller branches of the museum: Bayou Bend & Rienzi. They are not however located in the Museum District, so you will need transport getting to them if you would like to visit them. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, Mondays it is closed. General admission for adults is $7, but on Thursdays it is free! This is an excellent art museum with some wonderful pieces of art, not to be missed!

The Houston Museum of Art is a good way to kill a few hours and ther sculpture garden is fun they have art pieces you can 'interact' with for great pictures if the guards aren't looking. All of Houston art Museums are guarded closer than any other museums Ive ever been to. They also have excellent pop art ,a few Wharhols and Basquiats to highlight a few, at the museum on the University of Houston's campus.

I've been there 3 times, once to see the exhibtion,"The Heroic Century: The Museum of Modern Art Masterpieces, 200 Paintings and Sculptures" and the next to watch it again, and the last one was to visit the Catlin exhibition, and the Cartier exhibtion. The only misgiving i have is that the volunteers are rather inconsistent with their information but are quick to acknowlege it so... but otherwise, they do have good exhibitions, and sometime's offer recorded audios at a price. And bewarn: Don't go at the end of the exhibitions because that's when the crowd appears. Permanent collections include modernist Andy Warhol's "Self-Potrait", Italian Baroque painter Carlo Dolci's "Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" and so forth. Their collections also include African Art, American Painting and Sculpture, and so forth.

If you have time when you visit Houston, go see this nice art museum. No, it does not rival with Le Louvre, the British Museum, the Smithsonian and all these famous museums, but it has interesting pieces of art. What I like about that museum too is that it is generally quite empty of people, even for the best temporary exhibitions, making it a relaxing and pleasant experience.

Definitely check what they are having for temporary exhibitions (website below), they have really good ones, this time definitely rivaling any major art museum.

Permanent collections include:
African Art (2,500 Years of African Art; The Glassell Collection of African Gold)
American Painting and Sculpture (An American Perspective; Masterworks by Frederic Remington)
Antiquities (Art of the Ancient World)
Asian Art (A Window on Asia; The Glassell Collection of Indonesian Gold)
Bayou Bend Collection (A Unique Gathering of Americana)
Decorative Arts
European Painting and Sculpture
Impressionism / Post-Impressionism
Latin American Art
Modern and Contemporary Art ( Modern Masterpieces; The Art of Texas)
Native American Art
Oceanic Art
Photography
Pre-Columbian Art (Art of the Ancient Americas; The Glassell Collection of Pre-Columbian Gold)
Prints and Drawings
Rienzi Collection (European Decorative Arts)
Textiles and Costume

The museum is free on Thursday.
2 free Parkings on Main street at the corner of Oakdale and of Bissonet, just a block away from the museum. There is also a covered parking garage at the museum itself on Binz street but it costs $3.

A beautiful peace heaven in the museum district is the sculpture garden of the Fine Arts Museum. It contains about 30 big sculptures of artists such as Giacometti, Moore, Rodin, aso... Very well lanscaped, it is extremely pleasant to stroll.
Officially it is called the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden.

If you're an artsy type of person, like me, then you'll appreciate visiting the Museum of Fine Arts.
They have unique art from all over the world displayed there and many times they have special events going on year round.