Baltimore Museum of Art

A free (!!) art museum stocked with a variety of quality art. Besides being free, it was nice to be in and out in about an hour and a half. I think visiting the Louvre has the capability to burn anyone out on overly large museums for quite some time! Next time I will try the self guided tour. We saw a few folks with headsets strolling along the exhibits.
The modern art section is beautiful and there weren’t too many, «This is art???» moments. We personally adored the Warhol section. What’s not to love? Also, the metal flower structure in the room next to Warhol added a touch of psychedelic to the gallery. It very much had a Burning Man vibe.
They encourage *flash-​free* photography here and even selfies (though I did not participate in that). It’s really nice to not feel that stiff vibe most museums carry.

A small museum compared to many major city art museums but beautifully curated collection. What well designed spaces too! Each wing felt unique and concise. I loved the central axis that leads you through Matisse’s works in the Cone wing down to this massive concrete rotunda of he contemporary wing! The transition is so abrupt it’s a nice surprise for visitors.
From Picasso to O’Keefe and even designs from Saarinen to the artists of the Black Lives Matter movement there is a solid variety of art for museum goers’ taste. Also what makes this museum special is how you’re encourage to touch, sit or walk on some of the contemporary pieces.

This museum has some newly renovated/​added wings and is truly awesome. My children and I enjoy perusing the art indoors, the incredible museum store, and the sculpture garden outside. We love the family program on Sunday at 2pm where we get a brief art lecture, then create well considered relevant art – several of the pieces we still have, including a clay piece, quilted pillow, masks, and a banner. Better still, the museum is FREE. We’ve not tried the restaurant and it’s on our to do list.

Wonderful selection and location. Parking was very easy and affordable. When we walked in the person at the desk greeted us with enthusiasm and a map! She directed us to the new exhibits and the wonderful Matisse collection. I loved all of the information on the pieces. I can’t wait to visit again and see more!

This is a lovely escape right on Johns Hopkins campus.
Thanks to a grant, the museum is free to all! This is perfect for anyone who studies or works on the Homewood campus. You can stop in for a bit and check out just one gallery at a time without any commitment. It is a great way to clear your head.
They have special exhibitions, so there is always something new.
It is also worth a visit to the neighborhood just for the museum! They have an impressive collection.
They also have activities for children (that looked like fun for adults too!).

These folks are just getting it done. Every time I go back to the BMA, it’s better than the previous time — the exhibits are beautifully curated, the vibe is inclusive and diverse, the staff is genuinely friendly and excited to interact with visitors, and the collection is stunning. We used to go to see the Cone Collection but now we go as much to see the amazing African and Asian art galleries, and the contemporary wing.

Nice collection with some interesting and very unique pieces. Definitely worth it for the price (free).
However, I found the museum security to be extremely distracting. There weren’t a lot of visitors at the time, so the security staff kept gathering in various display rooms and conversing loudly. Their radios were also constantly turned up, beeping and crackling. In the museums I’ve been in (MOMA, MMoA, Louvre, etc), I never noticed security as obtrusive as this. I ended up hurrying through certain exhibits to find quieter displays.

I don’t know how anyone can give the BMA anything less than five stars. Finding a free museum is pretty much unheard of in most places, let alone a museum of this size with really quality works. We spent 4 hours here and still didn’t make it through all of the exhibits. It’s definitely a place you should take a few days to explore because the wall texts included with the works have some really interesting back stories, some are even scandalous! We enjoyed all of the museum that we were able to see in that short amount of time, but I think an all-​time favorite with the group was the large gathering of Matisse paintings in the Cone Collection (we especially liked the his paintings from Nice). Definitely plan to stop here if you’re in the city!

I love the BMA! First thing first, admission is free which is pretty amazing, especially considering the enormity of the collection (about 90,000 pieces according to their website) and the extensive (and beautiful) renovations they recently underwent.
Thanks to the Cone sisters and Gertrude Stein’s lifelong bouts with poverty, their collection of 19^th-​century, modern, and contemporary art is astounding and includes the largest collection of Matisse in the world.
The European art on the first floor is impressive, but as most of my generation feels, a bit stuffy and uninteresting aside from the historical value. The magic is all happening upstairs. While you’re up there, be sure to check out the textile gallery. It’s pretty amazing and easy to overlook.
The minimalist sculpture garden is well-​curated and I can’t wait to visit once spring finally get underway.
My only complaint is that the gallery is a little confusing to navigate. But it’s also one of my favorite things. Give yourself up to an afternoon of exploring, that’s really the only way to do it. You won’t be disappointed.

The Sculpture Garden is the answer on any afternoon! Loved it! So much to enjoy and I can’t wait to return when more of the flowers are in bloom.

Wow… just wow. A lot o the museum is even closed for renovation… and its STILL worth it. Amazing. The Cone collection is unreal. So many Matisse. And the Degas statue of the little dancer is breathtaking… I dont even love sculpture that much and I circled her. Don’t miss the contemporary collection either. So many modern artists. Warhols, Motherwell, Pollock, De Kooning. A really cool room on ideas too.
But the Cone Collection… seriously worth every minute.

As a local I’ve been to the BMA many times over the years but I’ve recently become a member and have quickly fallen in love with the museum all over again.
I joined the museum after attending the Party of the Century back in Nov. 2014.
Since then I’ve been to the museum at the very least once a month for various events or just to stroll through her galleries. I’m totally new to the art world and it will be probably many more years before I learn just a smidge of what the BMA has to offer.
Every time I walk through I’ve found someone new and interesting. The staff and employees are so welcoming that as a newbie it helps to make visiting the museum not intimidating.

Most in the region are aware of the vast art treasures here in Washington, DC. So what about Baltimore? There is of course Ft. McHenry but the Baltimore Museum of Art should go on anyone’s list of things to see.
I admit I was surprised the extent of the collection. There are pieces by Rodin, Matisse, Picasso, and lovely sculptures. If you are a horse lover you don’t want to miss the English riding salon. Inside is a triple crown trophy as well as a couple of Kentucky Derby cups. Never thought I’d get to see that. Impressive though.
Glad I ventured out of the way to come here. Don’t be shy, you’ll have a great time.

Okay, so first of all, this is a FREE MUSEUM. FREE! How can you possibly complain about free?!? It’s literally impossible to lose here.
Now, free isn’t a reason to give a place 5 stars of course… but this is also a beautiful and well-​kept art museum. I’ve been several times and it really is the perfect spot to spend a rainy day (or a too hot summer day for that matter!). It has been under construction for a while, but they recently re-​opened a bunch of exhibits. My personal favorites include the Cone Collection (an exhibit of the artwork collected by a pair of Baltimore sisters), the section on modern art and installation pieces, and the outdoor sculpture garden. You could easily spend a couple hours exploring the whole place or come back multiple times and continue to discover new things!
The only suggestion I would make is having a few more in depth descriptions of certain works or exhibits, but I believe you could take a tour or ask a staff member for more information if you really wanted!

Just like the phoenix, some things are reborn from the ashes.
After the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, there was a sudden urgency to rebuild the city. This time, however, it was going to be bigger and better! One of the proposed necessities for «new» Baltimore was the inclusion of an art museum. Thus, the Baltimore Museum of Art was born.
Some of the notable collections include an assortment of Antoine-​Louis Barye bronze statues and an extensive selection of African art.
Of course, I have to mention the numerous featured works by Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol!
There is also a room dedicated to Preakness Stakes’ history that houses paintings of famed Triple Crown horses. As an added bonus, some of their ACTUAL trophies are featured here as well!
My only gripe about this museum is that it seems to be perpetually in reconstruction mode. There were entire floors and wings that simply couldn’t be accessed because of the forever ongoing renovations.

This museum is free! Like so many things in life, this makes it even better. The Cone collection is a private collection that now belongs to the museum. Many Degas and other impressionists. Beautiful building on the John Hopkins Campus, and a really lovely restaurant and gift shop.

I was really impressed with this museum and its’ staff. The staff was very helpful! They gave us directions to other sites in the city and checked our bags in lockers.
The museum store was really nice as well, having a diversity of books, apparel and jewelry. The sales associates seemed attentive and busy. The store is reason enough to go to the museum.
As for the collections, they have not only Warhol, Van Gogh, Matisse and other famous artists, but also a lot of art from antiquity. I really enjoyed these Syrian mosaics they had from AD 300 or so. It really was across the board, from contemporary art to archaeology.
My only complaint is that there was a lot of construction going on, but I guess I shouldn’t hold that against them, so I wont cut them down to 4 stars due to that! In fact, it makes me excited to go back after it is complete.

its worth the time to see the BMA — it won’t take more than a couple of hours to go through the entire museum — it was still under construction when we visited.
We found parking right out front on a meter — $ 1.50 for three hours was plenty of time.
The Museum has got a pretty extensive collection of post impressionist/​modern, due to a significant collection in the early 20^th century by the Cone Sisters (its worth goolging them for more information). The BMA also has an impressive contemporary collection too, including a 7 – 8 Warhols.
But the post-​Impressionist collection by far is what attracted us to the BMA and it lives up to the billing — although we have seen parts of the collection loan out to the DIA and the IMA.
There is also a significant sculpture garden on the grounds — it’s worth spending 15 – 30 minutes roaming the garden paths and looking at some of the impressive sculptures.

We took the fam to the Baltimore Museum of Art last week and it was a great way to spend a chilly Sunday afternoon.
The museum is free, so the only thing you’ll be paying for is parking. Go ahead and hit the gift shop to support these guys in some way.
It’s a relatively small museum so you can blow through in a quick afternoon.
Not much in the way of native Baltimore artists. On the 3^rd floor they have the Baker Awards show which is where you’ll find the MD area artists.
On their main floors they have really a highlight reel from other types and periods. Ranging from Mid-​1800s until really now. I didn’t observe any antiquities (maybe i missed them). Lots of impressionist stuff.
They have Picasso (from blue and rose period), Rathoko, Surrealist period Motta. Space is serene and it had a good flow. They have an restaurant with an award winning chef.
Intimate, but satisfying sculpture garden.
Right now (March 2014) they’re going through renovations. And they have temporary exhibits. The current show is German expressionists.
Bonus: They have a room of large-​scale Warhols.
A satisfying, enjoyable afternoon.

I’m doing my first weekend in Baltimore, and visiting the Baltimore Museum of Art was the first thing on my list. The museum turns 100 this year, and as such is going some renovation/​construction, but the galleries are still open!
My favorite exhibit was the Cone Collection, which I think is their main exhibit. These were the pieces collected by two sisters. While I felt there were some great pieces, including some big names like Matisse, Picasso, and Corot, I didn’t get a strong sense of unity or purpose in the collection. So that’s either a curating thing or an unavoidable obstacle with a personal collection. I did, however, discover a new artist I hadn’t heard of but am excited to research! (Jongkind, if you’re wondering.)
They also currently have a modular, interactive room where you can draw your own art on graph paper. I think this room was made for children, but my friend and I – both mid 20s — spent a very nice 20 minutes making two pieces each. (Honestly, it was great to sit down after walking through all of the rooms!)
In general, I think this is a very family friendly museum. There are a lot of things you can touch, which I imagine is important with kids. I also felt like the rules (ie taking pictures, getting really close to the works) were much more lax than other/​bigger museums.
I’m visiting from NYC, so I’m biased about museums and regularly experience the behemoths that are New York City museums. However, I liked that BMA is open and free, and it’s small size and super-​friendly employees definitely gave it some charm.