As San Diego County's first and largest art institution, the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) provides access to original art works of the highest caliber and is thus the community's primary resource for enjoying and learning about art. Whether in conjunction with the Museum's collections or a major traveling exhibition, special guided tours, classes, lectures, concerts and other related programs allow museum visitors to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the art on display.

SDMA is perhaps best known for its collection of Spanish old master paintings. Gifts and museum purchases have rounded out the collection of European art with examples by all the major French Impressionists. The American collection has flourished over the past three-quarters century. The collection of Asian art numbers over 4,000 objects and is, in fact, the largest area of the Museum's holdings. Recently, the Museum has made significant acquisitions of contemporary and Latin American art as it strives to build those important areas of the collection and to provide a bridge between existing collection strengths.

While providing the community with new opportunities to explore its collections in greater depth, the Museum hosts many traveling exhibitions that bring great art from other parts of the nation and the rest of the world to the region's doorstep.

With each of these exhibitions, the visitor's experience and understanding of the art is enriched through free guided tours by docents, curators, and the Museum's education staff; interactive computer kiosks; related concerts and films, and lectures by noted experts in the field. The Museum also provides brochures, wall texts, and guided tours in both Spanish and English for most of its exhibitions.

The library of the San Diego Museum of Art is housed in a detached wing of the museum complex. The library collections consists of 27,000 books, 12,000 volumes of bound periodicals, 100 ongoing periodical subscriptions, over 27,000 auction and sales catalogs, 175 linear feet of clipping files, photographs, scrapbooks, rare art periodicals with original lithographs, CD-ROMS, software, and videos.

Also at SDMA, you'll enjoy Waters Café, featuring a wide selection of menu options that includes gourmet sandwiches and pizzas, fresh soups and salads, specialty pastas, and mouth-watering desserts.

Official Web Site

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Map of San Diego Museum of Art Location