Best Modern Art Museums and Galleries
The greatest masterpieces of modern art can be admired in many museums and galleries across the globe. Some of the finest ones in Europe include:
Tate Modern. The most famous and visited modern art gallery in the UK attracts about 5 million visitors per year with it collections and temporary exhibitions. The gallery is open from 10am to 6pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 10pm from Friday to Saturday. Admission is free but the temporary exhibitions usually aren’t.
Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. One of the finest modern and contemporary art museums houses some of greatest masterpieces of 20th century art by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Raoul Dufy, Henri Matisse, Giorgio de Chirico, Kees van Dongen, Robert Rauschenberg and many others.
Lille Metropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art (LaM). The art museum in Villeneuve d’Ascq in France houses a collection of over 4,500 artworks and is the only art museum in Europe to display all major movements of the 20th and 21st century art. It is open everyday except Mondays from 10am to 6pm. On Thursdays, it is open until 10pm.
Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. One of France’s largest museums of its kind houses an impressive collection of paintings, sculpture and other artworks from the 1870s to the present day. Highlights include artworks by Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Max Ernst, George Braque and Marcelle Cahn, to mention only a few. It is open daily with the exceptions of Tuesdays from 10am to 6pm.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. The Spanish national art museum of 20th century art mainly houses artworks by Spanish 20th century artists including masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Juan Gris, Julio Gonzalez, Pablo Gargallo, Pablo Serrano and many others. International collection includes works by Max Ernst, Joseph Beuys, Robert Delaunay, Jacques Lipchitz and Francis Bacon, to mention only a few. The main venue at Sabatini and Nouvel Building is open daily with the exception of Tuesdays and holidays from 10am to 9pm. On Fridays, the museum closes at 11pm and at 7pm on Sundays.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Modern and contemporary art museum in Bilbao is attracting about 1 million visitors each year with both its fine art collection and the building itself which was designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry. In fact, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao building is widely considered as one of the finest architectural works in the last three decades. The museum is open everyday except Mondays from 10am to 8pm. In July and August, it is open daily.
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. This art gallery in Rome houses the largest collection of the 19th and 20th century Italian artists including works by Giorgio de Chirico, Giacomo Balla, Alberto Burri and many others. International collection includes works by artists such as Paul Cezanne, Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock and Alberto Giacometti. The gallery is open daily with the exception of Mondays and holidays from 8.30am to 7.30pm.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It is home to about 90,000 works of modern and contemporary art, and design including works by Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Kirchner, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and many others. Due to renovation, the museum was closed from 2003 and September 2012 when it reopened. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam can be visited daily from 10am until 6 pm and until 10pm on Thursdays.