Phoenix Art Museum

The Phoenix Art Museum is considered the largest art museum in the southwestern United States and is located in Phoenix, Arizona. Spanning more than 280,000 square feet (over 26,000 square meters), the institution presents a comprehensive collection of more than 20,000 works ranging from antiquity to the present day. The museum's history begins in the 1910s, when local associations laid the groundwork for a municipal art collection. After it opened in 1959, the building was expanded several times, most recently in 2006 with modern additions that created new exhibition spaces, a sculpture garden, and a large entrance area with a cantilevered canopy. Here, you experience not only classic art but also modern architecture that draws the eye to the diverse exhibits.

The museum's collections cover a broad range of themes and include works from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The European department holds more than 1,200 paintings, drawings, and sculptures spanning the periods from the early Renaissance to Impressionism, including works by artists such as Delacroix, Courbet, and Monet. The American collection documents the cultural history of the Southwest and features landscapes by John Mix Stanley as well as portraits by Gilbert Stuart. Especially noteworthy is the Asian collection, which ranks among the most significant of its kind and brings together archaeological finds, Chinese ceramics, jade objects, and religious art from India, Tibet, and Japan. The evolution of fashion is also represented, with more than 4,500 garments and accessories by designers such as Chanel, Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent.

In addition to the visual arts, the museum houses the Center for Creative Photography, a leading center worldwide for the history of photography. This archive, which opened in 1975, preserves more than eight million documents and more than 90,000 photographs by over 2,200 artists, including masterpieces by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. The modern and contemporary department shows works by pioneers of modernism such as Georgia O'Keeffe and Pablo Picasso, as well as current positions from artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Olafur Eliasson. The museum places great emphasis on the cultural and geographic diversity of its holdings and gives you a deep insight into global art history.