Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is a major public art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, established with its original building opened in 1933. It is known regionally for a large permanent collection and its prominent sculpture lawn.

The museum’s collection numbers roughly 35,000 works and covers ancient to contemporary art, with particularly strong Asian holdings and notable 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings. The campus includes the Neo-Classical original building and the 2007 Bloch Building, which provides expanded gallery space and galleries for temporary exhibitions. Outdoors the sculpture park displays large-scale works including the museum’s widely seen lawn sculptures by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

The institution grew from the bequest and support of local benefactors and was established as a public museum in the early 20th century; the main Neo-Classical building opened in 1933. The museum expanded with the Bloch Building in 2007 to increase gallery capacity and modernize exhibition facilities.

The museum sits at 45th Street and Oak on the eastern edge of Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza district, west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and is accessible by road and local transit.

• Admission: General admission to the museum's permanent collection is free, though special exhibitions in the Bloch Building may charge a fee.
• Collection size and strengths: The museum's collection holds approximately 35,000 works spanning antiquity to the present, with especially strong holdings in Asian art and 19th- to 20th-century European and American painting.

What to See #

• Original 1933 building: The original Neo-Classical building on 45th Street, completed as the Nelson-Atkins' core public museum in 1933 and designed by the firm Wight and Wight.
• Bloch Building (2007): A modern addition known as the Bloch Building, opened in 2007 and designed to house temporary exhibitions, contemporary galleries, and expanded gallery space.
• Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park: The outdoor grounds and sculpture lawn that include large-scale works and the museum's prominent lawn sculptures by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.