5 American Museums To Know

Summer is for outdoor activities like swimming and camping. It’s also a great time to escape the heat in a museum. Did you visit any museums, art galleries, or arts events this summer? The Scholastic Art team did! Learn about some of our favorite American museums below. If you haven’t visited them already, add them to your bucket list—or check out their online art collections. We promise you won’t be disappointed!

Chicago, Illinois | Opened in 1893

Two bronze lions stand at the AIC’s entrance. When major league Chicago sports teams compete in playoffs, the lions are decorated to show support.

Must-See Art:

• A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-86, Georges Seurat
• American Gothic, 1930, Grant Wood
• Nighthawks, 1942, Edward Hopper

Los Angeles, California | Opened in 1961

LACMA is next to the La Brea Tar Pits, a site where tar has seeped from the ground for approximately 38,000 years. This tar trapped the bones of prehistoric animals, turning them into fossils.

Must-See Art:

• Flower Day, 1925, Diego Rivera
• The Treachery of Images (This is Not a Pipe), 1929, René Magritte
• Urban Light, 2008, Chris Burden

New York, New York | Opened in 1870

The Met has an unofficial mascot named William. The blue-glazed ceramic hippopotamus, created between 1961 and 1878 b.c., is part of the Met’s Egyptian collection.

Must-See Art:

• View of Toledo, c. 1599-1600, El Greco
• The Dance Class, 1874, Edgar Degas
• Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue, 1931, Georgia O’Keeffe

New York, New York | Opened in 1929

The idea for MoMA was born while three women had lunch in 1928. They believed New York City needed a museum devoted to exhibiting and collecting modern art. The museum opened in 1929 in a rented office space.

Must-See Art:

• The Starry Night, 1889, Vincent van Gogh
• The Persistence of Memory, 1931, Salvador Dalí
• Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962, Andy Warhol

Washington, D. C. | Opened in 1941

The NGA is home to the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas. Titled Ginevra de’ Benci, the portrait is of a wealthy poet in Florence, Italy, during the Italian Renaissance.

Must-See Art:

• Ginevra de’ Benci, 1474-1478, Leonardo da Vinci
• Girl with the Red Hat, c. 1669, Johannes Vermeer
• Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950, Jackson Pollock