Huntsville Museum of Art

This is a gorgeous museum! It took us about 2-3 hours with us taking our time to view it. There is a huge variety of paintings and multimedia art pieces including unique items like quilts! A definite must go.
Apr 9th, 2024

Please go and check out the 'American Made' exhibit. This would be considered "over-the-top", no matter what part of the country was hosting it. My favorites would the various landscape paintings.
Apr 1st, 2024

Went for the visiting Age of Armor exhibit, but enjoyed the other collections as well. It's a bargain... well worth the trip.
Feb 4th, 2024

A very interesting museum. There weren't many visitors, the central exhibition and several adjacent rooms are currently under renovation. The price is very favorable, $6 for almost 4 hours of sightseeing. An interesting exhibition divided into eras of art, which can be visited chronologically or going back in time. Exhibition with AI - a revelation.
Feb 3rd, 2024

Honestly, this is the worst art museum of any I have seen. I love going to art museums, and I have been to many mid-sized or larger art museums in metro areas in the United States. I am not familiar, however, with other local art museums in the South. I have also been to top art museums in Europe - as well as to smaller, local museums in Europe. My comparison is not based on the best of the best, but on other art museums for metro areas in the US. However you look at it though, unfortunately this is the worst. One of my greatest joys is spending all day in an art museum. Unfortunately, I don't think that will be possible here. I only visited once in 2021. I was very excited, but greatly disappointed. I saw very few original works of arts - it was primarily prints. I did not see any original works by major artists from any period - prints, yes. It seemed to be, overall, a poor utilization of space, as there were very large rooms with high ceilings and you had many rather small prints. It just looked odd. I am used to seeing larger art works - and a greater variety of sizes. I did not see a single original work of art that took my breath away - and it doesn't take that much to do so. I understand the real issue here is lack of money. The museum clearly lacks the funds to own substantive pieces of art. Art, after all, can be extraordinarily expensive. But maybe instead you could have more original works of art from lesser known artists, or maybe focus on local artists from the region - where you can obtain more works within your price range. Going into a large room with many prints of small to medium sized prints is not very awe-inspiring. Some prints are fine, if necessary due to costs, but let's have more original works of art please. Ultimately, the city, state, and community are to blame for the state of the art museum, as money is clearly not flowing in. I am not sure charging $12 each is the answer, but I am guessing this money is not to buy works of art, but to keep the lights on and make sure staff is paid. I don't think the museum is worth $12, perhaps $2, but I also happily would pay twice that for an excellent visiting exhibition that I could spend just an hour in. I also note that some world-class museums are free. At $12, Huntsville Museum of Art cannot serve the role of being a third place (neither home nor work), which is a very important need for democracy. I really feel for our city's youth when there is this kind of economic barrier that does not allow them regular access. This city lacks non-commercial third places to provide culture to our citizens and youth, even if the museum is severely lacking. It is, as they say, better than nothing. I would strongly encourage exhibitions with original works of art that you can get on loan. I found the experience so disappointing, I am not sure I would want to visit again, though I may try. I guess you could consider this museum something that is better than nothing - a place maybe for young people in school who have never seen art, or people who cannot travel. Though, to be honest, this museum is so lacking that it may leave a bad impression on a visitor and make them think art is boring or not exciting, when a good art museum can be one of the most exciting places in the world.
Feb 8th, 2024