Like a mirror, art reflects the beauty of the world around us, reveals who we truly are, and can contain a lot of naked people. Step into a funhouse of art-mirrors with today's Groupon to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Choose between the following options:
- For $30, you get an annual individual membership (a $60 value), which includes free admission to the museum and a list of southeastern reciprocal museums; invitations to exhibition previews; a year's subscription to the members' quarterly magazine; 10% off in the Museum Store and at the MFA Café; and more.
- For $16, you get two adult admissions (a $32 value).
The hallowed halls of this prestigious museum permanently house works by Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Henri, and Aaron Siskind, among other hard-boiled image capturers. Its original building, designed by John Volk, opened in 1965 and has since expanded to include two interior gardens and the MFA Café, which allows eyes to continue their feasting frenzy with views of the downtown waterfront. More than 10,000 images take up two-dimensional residence on the MFA's walls, and ancient Greek and Roman sculptures prance boastfully around its galleries, having conquered the dimension linking time and space. In addition to the museum's permanent collection, rotating exhibitions ensure that return trips, like your last three identities, are warranted.
Reviews
Frommer’s, the St. Petersburg Times, and Art Daily have all featured the Museum of Fine Arts. Three TripAdvisors give it an average of four owl eyes:
- Resembling a Mediterranean villa on the waterfront, this museum houses an excellent collection of European, American, pre-Columbian, and Far Eastern art, with works by such artists as Fragonard, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Gauguin. – Frommer’s
- My boys and I truly enjoyed our experience and would highly recommend the Museum of Fine Arts to any person or family who desires to both learn about and enjoy the art of our world. – A TripAdvisor Member, 2/15/2006
Museum of Fine Arts
The Experience
Inside a building in St. Petersburg, works of art from around the world gather like good friends. Georgia O'Keeffe's Poppy hangs not far from Paul Cézanne's A Corner of the Woods, Pointoise. Claude Monet's Houses of Parliament gives a glimpse of faraway lands, while Thomas Moran's Florida Landscape stays closer to home.
With a range of permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Museum of Fine Arts seeks to engage visitors with art while preserving the pieces in its care. Much of the collection resides in an original 1960s building, but the adjacent modern gallery area draws in visitors with special exhibitions, interactive educational facilities for children, as well as being a beautiful location to hold a corporate dinner, wedding reception, or event. Guests can also stroll into the museum store to browse unique gifts, artisan jewelry, books, and more.
The Highlights
- MFA collection houses pieces from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as classical and modern American art
- Over 300 annual Museum events include docent-led tours, hands-on workshops for both children and adults, music concerts, and lectures.
- Special events include The Beer Project, Marly Music, Art in Bloom, and more.
- MFA Café overlooks the waterfront with dining inside and out Tuesday through Sunday 11am-3pm
- Museum Store houses hand-crafted jewelry from local artists, men's gifts, children's games and toys, housewares, and the Food+Art Cooking Around Tampa Bay Cookbook
- Nine rotating exhibitions are scheduled for the coming year, with member receptions in advance of each public opening.
Who They Are
The MFA serves over 100,000 visitors annually ranging in age from young children to adults. The Museum is dedicated to engaging and adapting to the community at large. In addition to the wide selection of art from past time periods through modern day, the Museum of Fine Arts offers educational workshops and two gardens where visitors can browse and relax.