Art Museums/Galleries in Los Angeles

Los Angeles boasts world-class art museums as well as a fine-art gallery system that has consistently proved itself capable of selling art for big money. This list covers some of the heavy-weight players in the institutional art world here in the Southland.

The biggest general purpose art museums here are LACMA, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Getty Center. Collectively these three museums have amassed formidable collections featuring major pieces of historic and contemporary art. The Getty also has a second location, the Getty Villa, that features works from the cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria (including some really great mosaics).

The Hammer Museum is operated by UCLA's School of Arts and Architecture and is located in the lower floors of the Occidental Petroleum building (very lose to the UCLA campus). The permanent collection here is mostly compromised of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, but also includes older works by artists such as Rembrandt and Titan. Contemporary art is generally featured in the exhibition and project spaces.

MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) also continually features relevant contemporary art shows. They have two spaces downtown, one on Grand Ave (near the Gehry designed Disney Concert Hall) and the other one Central Ave (in Little Tokyo). MOCA also has a smaller exhibition space in the Pacific Design Center.

The only gallery I have listed here is the Gagosian, a world famous art gallery that features the most desirable artists of the day. Please refer to this art gallery guide for more information about the Los Angeles gallery scene.

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