Provo, UT

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo is one of the principal fine art museums between Denver and San Francisco, and one of the top university museums in the U.S. Located on the BYU campus, the museum has a permanent collection of more than 16,000 pieces with an emphasis on American and religious art. (Although the entire collection isn’t on display at any given time, you can make an appointment for the print study room to see artworks not currently on view).

The museum’s religious art collection includes paintings, prints and sculptures spanning five hundred years. The American art collection features works from the 18th century to the present, with significant representation from the Hudson River School and American Impressionism. The permanent collection includes works by Maynard Dixon, Minerva Teichert, Edwin Evans, Robert Indiana, Norman Rockwell, and even John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, Rembrandt and Dürer!

In addition to the permanent collection, BYU MOA also hosts temporary exhibits and traveling shows. The first time I visited the museum was for a retrospective of renowned graphic designer Milton Glaser, whose influence on pop culture and design has spanned five decades–and my own graphic design career. Not bad for a small museum, I thought.

But the highlight of my numerous visits to BYU MOA was to see Paths to Impressionism, arguably one of the most “impressive” art shows to hit the museum. Courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusettes, the traveling exhibition included masterpieces by Monet, Pissarro, Corot, Sisley and others, and explored the evolving styles and attitudes of the Barbizon and Impressionist schools.

What I loved about the Impressionism exhibit (aside from the obvious) was that it was the type of show that would have been nearly impossible to get tickets for in a larger city. And it was free! In fact, there are generally no admission charges to the museum (except for occasional exhibits), although donations are welcome.

Current exhibitions include American Dreams: Selected Works from the Museum’s Permanent Collection of American Art, which is on view until 2011. The exhibit showcases the vision of 18th, 19th, and 20th Century American artists and is broken down into three sections: “The Dream of Eden,” “American Aspirations,” and “Envisioning America.”

The museum is open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday noon to 5 p.m. The Museum Cafe is open Monday - Friday, 11:30am - 2:00pm.

The BYU MOA is located on North Campus Drive, Provo, UT 84602

For more info call (801) 422-8287 or visit their website: http://moa.byu.edu