California News Blog

Founded in 1910 as part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art, the Los Angeles Museum of Art has since become an independent museum home to over 100,000 pieces of both ancient and contemporary art, making it the largest art museum in the western United States.  The museum attracts nearly one million visitors every year through its vast collections, exhibits, public programs, and research facilities.  LACMA holds its beautiful artwork in its seven-building complex on 20 acres of land located in the heart of Los Angeles.  Currently, the museum is also undergoing construction and development in an attempt to expand the museum. Today, the museum is most well known for its expansive collections in Asian art, Latin American art, featuring artists including Diego River, Frida Kahlo, and Jose Clemente Orozco, as well as Islamic art, which is one of the most significant collections in the world.

When LACMA was first established in 1910 as part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art in Exposition Park, the museum did not hold its own collection of art, but rather featured only lent collections of art.  Over the next few decades, community support allowed the museum to gain its own collection and continue to expand it over the years.    Throughout the years, the museum acquired art from around the world, and in 1961, LACMA was established as an individual museum.