Museums hold large collections of items relating to their subject, building some of the largest complexes in the world in order to store and exhibit the collection in a controlled atmosphere. The world's most important museums have also engaged in various expansion projects through the years, expanding their total exhibition space. [1]
The following is a list of museums ranked according to their floor area where published by reliable sources. Only museums with more than 20,000 square meters (220,000 sq ft) of floor space are included. Entries are not ranked as large museums that do not have reliably-sourced statistics may be omitted; this is not necessarily a complete list.
The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement and home to some of the most canonical works of Western art, including the Mona Lisa,Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French kings.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art, and has built an internationally recognized collection with over 33,000 works of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, and media arts. The collection is displayed in 170,000 square feet (16,000 m2) of exhibition space, making the museum one of the largest in the United States overall, and one of the largest in the world for modern and contemporary art. In 2024, SFMOMA was ranked 14th in the Washington Post's list of the best art museums in the U.S.
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, it was established in 1967 by the Australian Government as a national public art museum. As of 2022 it is under the directorship of Nick Mitzevich.
Jess Collins, simply known today as Jess, was an American visual artist.
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and city views using lines that explore space and perspective. She also worked in tapestry and stained glass.
Candida Höfer is a German photographer. She is a renowned photographer known for her exploration of public spaces and architecture. In her career she transitioned from portraiture to focusing on spaces like libraries and museums. She is a former student of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Like other Becher students, Höfer's work is known for technical perfection and a strictly conceptual approach. Her work explores the ways in which institutional architecture shapes and directs human experience. Höfer's technical approach is reflective of her goals as an artist.
The Museum of Islamic Art is a museum on one end of the seven-kilometer-long (4.3 mi) Corniche in Doha, Qatar. As per the architect I. M. Pei's specifications, the museum is built on an island off an artificial projecting peninsula near the traditional dhow harbor. A purpose-built park surrounds the edifice on the eastern and southern facades while two bridges connect the southern front facade of the property with the main peninsula that holds the park. The western and northern facades are marked by the harbor showcasing the Qatari seafaring past. In September 2017, Qatar Museums appointed Julia Gonnella as director of MIA. In 2024 Julia Gonnella became director of the Lusail Museum, also and was replaced by Shaika Nasser Al-Nassr. In November 2022 the MIA became the first carbon-neutral certified museum in the Middle East. The museum participated in the Expo 2023 Doha from October 2023 until March 2024, with workshops and events focusing on biodiversity and sustainability.
Mark Manders is a Dutch artist, currently living and working in Ronse, Belgium. His work consists mainly of installations, drawings and sculptures. He is probably best known for his large bronze figures that look like rough-hewn, wet or peeling clay. Typical of his work is also the arrangement of random objects, such as tables, chairs, light bulbs, blankets and dead animals.
Penelope Umbrico is an American artist best known for her work that appropriates images found using search engines and picture sharing websites.
David Diao is a Chinese American artist and teacher based in New York City.
Qatar Museums was founded in 2005 and is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at the Katara Cultural Village, ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space, the Al Zubarah World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, and archaeological projects throughout Qatar, as well as the development of future projects and museums that will highlight its collections across multiple areas of activity including Orientalist art, photography, sports, children's education, and wildlife conservation.
The year 2012 in art involved various significant events.
Michal Rovner, also known as Michal Rovner Hammer, is an Israeli contemporary artist, she is known for her video, photo, and cinema artwork. Rovner is internationally known with exhibitions at major museums, including the Louvre (2011) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (2002).
M+ is an art museum located in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong. It exhibits twentieth and twenty-first century art encompassing visual art, design and architecture, and moving image. It opened on 12 November 2021.
Zarouhie Abdalian is an American artist of Armenian descent, known for site-specific sculptures and installations.
Lauretta Vinciarelli was an artist, architect, and professor of architecture at the collegiate level.
Richard Learoyd is a British contemporary artist and photographer.
Marlon Mullen is a painter who lives and works in Contra Costa County, California, maintaining a studio practice at NIAD Art Center.
N. Dash is an American artist who works primarily in painting. Dash lives and works in New York. Born in 1980 in Miami, Dash studied at New York University, before earning a Master's in Fine Art from Columbia University.
LE PALAIS 360,000 M2 de planchers... LE DOMAINE DU LOUVRE ET DES TUILERIES 37 hectares de cours et de jardins... COUR NAPOLÉON 28,000 M2 de surface
Spread over 32,000 square meters of gallery space, admission is completely free, and it's well worth paying a visit.
In 2001, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London opened renovations to their British Galleries, which cover over 32,000 square feet of exhibition space and comprise 10% of the Museum's overall exhibition floor.
In addition to overseeing the hundreds of Gallery staff who care for the 1.3 million square feet of space, including the iconic, architecturally significant buildings and landscapes...
In total, the NGA has 271,000 square feet of exhibition space.
