City: Birmingham, AL

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (205) 254-2565

Address: 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.

Insider Pick:

Description: There is no doubt—Birmingham and the neighboring communities are fortunate to have a city museum of such quality. Whether wandering through an impressive arrangement of Asian art, Renaissance and Baroque paintings, decorative arts, or more contemporary art by John Singer Sargent or Frederic Remington, the museum rewards investigation—don’t miss Albert Bierstadt’s “Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California” (1865), one of the country’s most significant landscape paintings. Founded in 1951 the Birmingham Museum of Art has long been recognized as one of the premier collections in the region. This is largely due to the sheer number of objects, more than 24,000, in the museum’s collections that represent a wide range of cultures and periods. Its collection of Vietnamese ceramics is one of the best in the world. And of course, the collection of Wedgwood is the largest outside of England. That recognition, however, also represents an active set of educational programs, curated exhibitions of note, and changing programs based on the museum’s permanent collection and special events. In the summer, for instance, the highly successful Art on the Rocks! social event draws a young, vibrant crowd of a couple thousand each evening for live music, gallery scavenger hunts, and cocktails. A destination inside the museum, Oscar’s restaurant offers fresh fare sourced locally from Jones Valley Urban Farm and other nearby purveyors (oscarsatthe museum.com). Need a curious, artsy gift for a friend? The museum store is a good resource for finding that special item for a special person (birminghammuseumstore.org). The museum is closed Mon and major holidays. Admission is free—as is the parking in the museum lot behind the building—but why not drop a gracious dollar (or $5) in the collection at either entrance? You’ll be happy you did.