5 of the Most Amazing Works in the Baltimore Museum of Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. The Baltimore Museum of Art itself is an important piece of regional history, as it was founded in 1914 with a single painting. Now, the BMA has 95,000 works of art—including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world.

The breadth of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s collections is stunning. You’ll discover a wide-ranging selection of American and European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; prints and drawings from the 15th century to the present; works by established and emerging contemporary artists; and exceptional objects from Africa and Asia. Plus, two beautifully landscaped gardens display an array of 20th-century sculpture. It’s truly an oasis in the city.

The museum itself lives inside a grand historic building designed in the 1920s by renowned American architect John Russell Pope. A $28 million multi-year renovation that began in 2010 has transformed galleries for contemporary, American, African, and Asian art, and improved visitor amenities and essential infrastructure. The renovation concluded with the Joseph Education Center–a new center for art, creativity, and community opened in fall 2015 that offers innovative ways of engaging and interacting with art.

And better still: for 10 years, the BMA has provided free general admission.

Front Room: Broomberg & Chanarin

Now through September 11, 2016

The BMA presents the first U.S. exhibition of the dynamic collaborators Broomberg & Chanarin. Adam Broomberg (1970, South Africa) and Oliver Chanarin (1971, United Kingdom) have worked together since the late 1990s, challenging the concepts and structure of power through their photography-based practice. Their new body of work—photography, copper plates, sculpture, and film—highlight the changes technology has wrought on warfare, revealing the fallacies we tell ourselves about it.

New Arrivals: Art Quilts

Now through June 19, 2016

Unlike its predecessors, the art quilt is intended for display on the wall rather than the bed.

Among the many recent additions to the BMA’s late 20th-century textile collection are five stunning quilts created by professional artists who chose to express themselves with cloth and thread, in some cases abandoning their original media in order to do so.

New Arrivals: Matisse Prints & Drawings

Now through July 3, 2016

Approximately 20 prints and drawings demonstrate the continuing legacy of the BMA’s relationship with the Matisse family. Etta and Claribel Cone’s dedication to collecting the art of Henri Matisse established at the BMA one of the most comprehensive collections of the artist’s work.

Imagining Home

Now through August 1, 2018

The inaugural exhibition for the BMA’s new Patricia and Mark Joseph Education Center brings together more than 30 works from across the BMA’s collection to explore the universal theme of home.

Visitors will discover paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, textiles, and works on paper from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, as well as four miniature rooms, plus a variety of interactive features presented in three thematic areas.

American Art

The newly renovated American Wing includes more than 800 paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts that explore the international character of American art and Baltimore’s position as a major center for art production and foreign trade from the late 18th century forward.

 

We hope you’ll choose to stay with us at Wayside Inn in nearby historic Ellicott City. Close to Baltimore but located in a charming small-town Americana setting, The Wayside Inn is an experience unto itself. Don’t forget to download our free area vacation guide to help plan your trip!