First opened to the public in 1933, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art maintains collections of more than 35,000 works of art.
A few highlights from the collection include Native American art from pre-European to contemporary, more than 7,000 works of Asian art spanning 5,000 years, 900 works of European art ranging from the medieval period to the late 19th century, a large collection of Old Master prints and drawings, and a collection of Modern Art from 1900 to 1959 representing Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus and Abstract Expressionism. The collection is displayed by culture, theme and medium.
An ongoing program of art acquisition meant the original Museum of Fine Arts building no longer provided sufficient space. This led to the unveiling, in 2007, of the Bloch Building, a state-of-the-art addition designed by Steven Holl Architects, which increased gallery and storage space for the growing collection.
Read our review of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Art Things Considered - An Art Geek Travel Blog.
Please check the museum website for updated exhibition information. Scheduling may have been modified as a result of the temporary museum closure.
Art that reveals the United States’ history, its people, and their lives
A window onto important medieval era materials and beliefs
Explores the significance of animal images to Chinese artistic traditions
Focus exhibition reveals the creative world behind the public spectacle
Fifteen works made by artists in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia during Spanish colonial rule
Nearly forty ancient Greek vases from 850 to 300 B.C.E
Silver thrones created in the early 1900s while India was under British colonial rule
76+/- photographs, featuring 60+ early black and white prints plus recent color work
Eighteenth-century European and American portrait miniatures
How France launched itself into the domestic porcelain industry in the 17th and 18th centuries