10 Must-See Artworks in KC
With three great museums in the Kansas City metro to choose from, it’s hard to know where to begin. Whether you’re an art aficionado or a casual viewer, you’re sure to love these beloved pieces.
Guanyin of the Southern Sea — (11th to 12th century)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Internationally recognized as the finest sculpture of its kind outside China, this piece may be the best-preserved and most magnificent sculpture from this period of Chinese Buddhist art. The piece is part of the Chinese collection at the museum, which is recognized as one of the finest in the world.
Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness — Caravaggio (1604-1605)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - This masterpiece is one of the museum’s greatest treasures and is one of only a few original works by Caravaggio in American collections. Caravaggio’s dramatic painting style played a significant role in the development of the Italian Baroque.
Some/one — Do-Ho Suh (2004)
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art - This meticulously crafted sculpture is comprised of thousands of stainless steel dog tags pieced together to form a monumental robe with outstretched arms. Like many of Suh’s works, it explores the relations between individuality, collectivity, anonymity and identity.
Campiello del Remer — Dale Chihuly (1996)
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art - This sculpture represents the first time that an outside artist was allowed into Ireland’s Waterford Crystal factory to work with the factory artisans. The hand blown pieces of cut crystal that make up this piece are joined together to create one massive 1,800 pound sculptural “chandelier,” which hangs above the museum’s west doors.
Boulevard de Capucines — Claude Monet (1873-1874)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - This work provides a glimpse into 19th-century Parisian life on a winter day. Once criticized for its loose brushwork and ordinary subject matter, the painting is now one of the most loved pieces in the museum’s European collection.
Shuttlecocks — Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (1994)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Four shuttlecocks, each standing nearly 18 feet tall and weighing 5,500 pounds, are placed on the lawn on opposite sides of the museum. The husband and wife artist team responded to the formality of the neoclassical building by imagining the museum as a giant badminton net and the lawn as a playing field.
Spider — Louise Bourgeois (1997)
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art - This spider, which is more than 11 feet tall, sits on the museum’s lawn and is positioned to suggest that it is walking towards the building’s entrance to attend to a baby spider, which is attached to the museum’s façade.
Microcosm — Leo Villareal (2007)
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art - Dramatically sited underneath the overhang of the museum’s entrance, Microcosm radiates with more than 60,000 individual LED lights enacting Villareal’s computer program. This dazzling work signifies the museum as a gateway to the Johnson County Community College’s 21st-century campus.
Mrs. Cecil Wade — John Singer Sargent (1886)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - This portrait of the wife of a wealthy English stockbroker in her London townhome explores a range of lighting effects and textures. Sargent’s work is part of the newly expanded American galleries at the museum, whose collection of American art is among the strongest in the United States.
Experienced Time — Matthew Ritchie (2003)
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art - Ritchie’s works explore the limits of human consciousness in understanding the universe. This monumental painting hangs in the Kemper Museum of Art.
Art in KC
1827 Log Courthouse
Region: East
Phone: (816) 325-7111
Visit WebsiteAmerican Jazz Museum
Region: 18th and Vine Neighborhood, Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-8463
Visit WebsiteAmerican Royal Association
Region: West Bottoms, Downtown
Phone: (816) 221-9800
Visit WebsiteThe Midland Theatre
Region: Power & Light, Downtown
Phone: (816) 283-9900
Visit WebsiteBelger Crane Yard Studios
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-7316
Visit WebsiteBruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center
Region: South KC
Phone: (816) 513-0700
Visit WebsiteChicago and Alton Depot
Region: East
Phone: (816) 325-7955
Visit WebsiteCopaken Stage
Region: Power & Light, Downtown
Phone: (816) 235-2700
Visit WebsiteElmwood Cemetery
Region: East
Phone: (816) 231-0373
Visit WebsiteFolly Theater
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-4444
Visit WebsiteGem Theater
Region: 18th and Vine Neighborhood, Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-8463
Visit WebsiteHallmark Visitors Center
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 274-3613
Visit WebsiteHeritage League of Greater Kansas City
Region: Downtown
Phone: (913) 715-2551
Visit WebsiteHorace M. Peterson III Visitors Center
Region: 18th and Vine Neighborhood, Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-8463
Visit WebsiteJohnson County Archives
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 715-0400
Visit WebsiteJohnson County Museum
Region: Kansas, Overland Park, Johnson County/South
Phone: (913) 826-2787
Visit WebsiteKaleidoscope
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 274-8301
Visit WebsiteKansas City Ballet
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 931-8993
Visit WebsiteKansas City Repertory Theatre
Region: South Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 235-2700
Visit WebsiteKauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Region: Crossroads, Downtown
Phone: (816) 994-7222
Visit WebsiteKemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Region: Country Club Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 753-5784
Visit WebsiteLanesfield Historic Site
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 893-6645
Visit WebsiteLittle Theatre
Region: Crossroads, Downtown
Phone: (816) 513-5000
Visit WebsiteMahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 971-5111
Visit WebsiteMidwest Genealogy Center
Region: East
Phone: (816) 252-7228
Visit WebsiteMusic Theater Heritage
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 221-6987
Visit WebsiteMusic Hall - Municipal Auditorium
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 513-5000
Visit WebsiteNational Frontier Trails Museum
Region: East
Phone: (816) 325-7575
Visit WebsiteNegro Leagues Baseball Museum
Region: 18th and Vine Neighborhood, Downtown
Phone: (816) 221-1920
Visit WebsiteOld Red Bridge Love Locks
Region: South KC, Swope Park
Phone: (816) 513-7500
Visit WebsitePuppetry Arts Institute
Region: East
Phone: (816) 833-9777
Visit WebsiteQuindaro Ruins Underground Railroad
Region: Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas
Phone: (913) 609-1587
Visit WebsiteSpencer Theatre
Region: South Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 235-2700
Visit WebsiteSpring Hill Cemetery
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 592-3664
Visit WebsiteStarlight Theatre
Region: South KC, Swope Park
Phone: (816) 363-7827
Visit WebsiteThe Coterie Theatre
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-6552
Visit WebsiteThe Money Museum at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 881-2683
Visit WebsiteTrailside Center
Region: South KC
Phone: (816) 942-3581
Visit WebsiteVaile Mansion and Arboretum
Region: East
Phone: (816) 503-6700
Visit WebsiteVietnam Veterans Memorial
Region: Westport, Midtown
Phone: (816) 561-8387
Visit WebsiteArabia Steamboat Museum
Region: River Market, Downtown
Phone: (816) 471-1856
Visit WebsiteThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Region: Country Club Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 751-1278
Visit WebsiteUnion Station Kansas City
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 460-2000
Visit WebsiteVisit Independence
Region: East
Phone: (816) 325-7575
Visit WebsiteNational WWI Museum and Memorial
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 888-8100
Visit WebsiteKansas City Symphony
Region: Crossroads, Downtown
Phone: (816) 471-1100
Visit WebsiteThe National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Region: South Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 235-8000
Visit WebsiteKansas City FilmFest International
Region: Midtown, Country Club Plaza
Phone: (816) 286-4777
Visit WebsiteBingham-Waggoner Estate
Region: East
Phone: (816) 461-3491
Visit WebsiteBelger Arts Center
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 474-7316
Visit WebsiteHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
Region: East
Phone: (816) 268-8200
Visit WebsiteMissouri Town Living History Museum.
Region: South KC, East
Phone: (816) 229-8980
Visit WebsiteHistoric Garment District Museum of Kansas City
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 513-0726
Visit WebsiteKansas City Automotive Museum
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 322-4227
Visit WebsiteThe Theatre in the Park
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 826-3012
Visit WebsiteKansas City Renaissance Festival
Region: Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas
Phone: (913) 721-2110
Visit WebsiteKC Fringe Festival
Region: Downtown
Phone: (917) 653-1547
Visit WebsiteEclectics Gallery
Region: South KC
Phone: (816) 361-6643
Visit WebsiteShawnee Town 1929
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 248-2360
Visit WebsiteKansas City Public Library
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 701-3400
Visit WebsiteJohnson County Arts & Heritage Center
Region: Overland Park, Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 826-2787
Visit WebsiteKansas City Irish Fest
Region: Crown Center, Downtown
Phone: (816) 561-7555
Visit WebsiteKansas City Museum
Region: North East
Phone: 816-702-7700
Visit WebsiteVine Street Studio
Region: Downtown
Phone: (816) 842-2364
Visit WebsiteShawnee Historic Murals
Region: Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 631-2500
Visit WebsiteThe Regnier Family Wonderscope Children's Museum of Kansas City
Region: South KC
Phone: (816) 643-6700
Visit WebsiteBlack Archives of Mid-America, Inc.
Region: 18th and Vine Neighborhood, Downtown
Phone: (816) 221-1600
Visit WebsiteLewis and Clark Lookout, Case Park
Region: Downtown
Phone: N/A
Visit WebsiteBelger Glass Annex
Region: Downtown
Phone: 816-474-7316
Visit WebsiteBoulevardia
Region: Downtown
Phone: 816-561-7555
Visit WebsiteCharlotte Street
Region: Midtown
Phone: (816) 221-5115
Visit WebsiteLinda Hall Library of Science, Engineering, and Technology
Region: South Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 363-4600
Visit WebsiteUniversal Film Festival
Region: Midtown
Phone: (816) 474-9988
Visit WebsiteKansas City Tour Company/Black History KC
Region: South KC, Westport, East
Phone: (816) 286-5298
Visit WebsiteThe Friends of Chamber Music, Kansas City
Region: Country Club Plaza, Midtown
Phone: (816) 561-9999
Visit WebsiteNerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Region: Overland Park, Johnson County/South, Kansas
Phone: (913) 469-3000
Visit Website