The art itself is absolutely five stars--beautiful, thoughtful, and well curated. Unfortunately, our experience with the staff completely overshadowed the visit. We came with our kids, including my 10-year-old daughter, who is an artist and was genuinely excited to be there. Instead of feeling welcomed, we were treated like our presence was a nuisance. The staff was extremely strict and repeatedly barked orders at us, with very little customer service or warmth. In one area that had children's blocks, our kids were playing and got a little loud. Wanting to be considerate, my husband closed the door so they wouldn't disturb others. There were no signs anywhere saying the door couldn't be closed. A staff member then came in, visibly upset, and yelled at us--again, with no clear explanation or signage to justify the reaction. Later in the gift shop, another staff member sharply reprimanded my kids for leaning on the glass. Once again, no signs were posted, and the tone was unnecessarily harsh. None of this felt kid-friendly or welcoming. It's unfortunate, because the art and the artists deserve better representation. The staff's behavior made it hard to enjoy the exhibits at all, and it completely turned us off from what could have been a great family experience. We had even considered a membership, but after being treated this way, we will not be returning. The art is wonderful. The customer service is not. ### In response to the owner's reply: your response reinforces exactly why we will not be returning. Your tone comes across as condescending and punitive, with the majority of your response focused on what we supposedly did wrong rather than how your staff handled the situation. Saying you will "talk to your staff" reads like an afterthought when roughly 90% of your response places blame on us. We are fully aware that this is not a children's museum or an interactive museum. The fact that you felt the need to explain this only adds to the condescension. Our children were respectful, quiet, and well-behaved. They were not running, not acting out, and not treating the space inappropriately. In the designated children's area, their voices briefly rose while playing together. Out of courtesy to other guests, my husband closed the door--unaware it was not meant to be closed or that it locks automatically, as there was no signage indicating this. The staff's response was unnecessarily aggressive. You offer a family pass, which implies families are welcome. A family-friendly environment should not make parents and children feel like a nuisance. Because of both the original experience and the tone of your response, I am updating my review from two stars to one star. read more

This is a great way to spend half a day in Fresno, especially if it's a cold or rainy day. I have come here twice on their FREE days, which are every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. Their exhibits change periodically, so if you wait a few months to go again there is usually something new to see. The staff is very welcoming and kind. Right now they have a kid exhibit which is cute, they had some art by Diego Rivera. They have a very interesting cemetery piece. I think my fave was The fruit of life and The contemporary art exhibit, using stones from Zimbabwe (I can't remember the name). They have an outdoor area where you can sit under trees and they also have sculptures out there as well. They also have a great little gift shop! Definitely check it out and support Fresno's Art museum. Afterwards you can go to lunch at Sam's Italian deli across the street or Thai Phucket near by! read more

See all

Fresno reminds me of San Diego in the 70's. Driving into town I noticed lots of new housing replacing the farms. Traffic on the freeways looks like it's getting bad during rush hour. As we pulled into the museum parking lot I noticed some cool artworks outside. Inside there are several rooms and each has a different exhibit. I was excited to see The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai. It was lovely and there were a few other prints by Hokusai. In the room there were works by other artists from that period. The other exhibit I loved was the John Willheim exhibit. I liked how the exhibits were curated. Out in the inner courtyard were more artworks. The gift shop was nice but I wish they had t-shirts as that is my favorite souvenir when I go on trips. I did get a Great Wave magnet. read more

See all

Entering the building we were greeted warmly by the person behind the counter. The air conditioner was working wonderfully. Putting a spring in my step. This Museum is filled with a variety of exhibitions sure to please people from all walks of life. A gift shop is located in the lobby. A well spent afternoon soaking in detailed descriptions, stories and art forms. read more

See all

Time to Support local art and culture in Fresno! I was invited to attend the Opening Reception to view Wendy Maruyama's THE TAG PROJECT that was Executive Order 9066! She made the personal decision to really look at this sorry chapter in America history as a Japanese American! And as a fellow Japanese American (Sansei) I wanted to support this event that is not talked about or many fellow Americans even know about the sacrifices that Japanese Americans had to endure in the relocation camps! The New Exhibitions Opening on 7/27/2024 featured: Wendy Maruyama a second generation Japanese-American who has been making innovative woodwork for over 40 years. Charles Gaines who celebrated his 80th birthday and was a Professor of Arts at California State University, Fresno from 1969 to 1990 before moving on to become a faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Grace Lin and her illustrations, Byzantine Icons from the A.P. Stefanopoulos Collection celebrating 100 years of St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Fresno. This was a great exhibition of different artists and history of art! Please come support a local museum!! read more

See all

This museum is pretty small compared to bigger cities. You can walk through in about an hour or less. They are always putting new art pieces up and switching out the exhibits. Right now they have really cool art work by Maurice Sendak. They also had some photography pics too. Definitely a great place for the family to visit. read more

Fresno Art Museum - Art Museums Near Me - Fresno, California

One of my favorite things that I get to do at work is facilitate an Expressions through Art Class once a week so all concepts of art interests me. I have passed by Radio Park many times, but have never stepped foot in Fresno Art Museum which is an absolute gem in Fresno's own backyard and for only $10 for adults and $7 for children or you can get a $75 yearly membership for your family. Owner let me know they change exhibits every 5 months. I am sad I missed the Andy Warhol Exhibit last year. I actually got interested in this museum from seeing my friend, Chiquita who I melt through Yelp, write a review on Yelp and post photos. Warning: It is right in Radio Park on First and Clinton so you have some transients around it. We also saw a car packed with items with a large note around it blaming a certain race for the cost of living. Maurice Sendak Exhibit- 5/5 When I worked on the children's department at my work, one of my favorite books to read to the children were Where The Wild Things Are. The entrance with the backdrop was neat. Every illustration had a story. I loved the 8 panels of Macbeth and the end where Maurice Sendak thought a child eating his card was the highest compliment. The boat and tree with Max's Wild Thing cut out was cool. The Magic and Flair of Mary Blair Exhibit- 5/5 I have been to Disneyland many times and I honestly don't remember Mary Blair. However, my husband was elated that there was a Mary Blair Exhibit. Mary Blair illustrated the concepts of Its A Small World, The Headless Horseman, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella. It's a must see. Growing An Artist by John Parra 5/5- We did not spend as much time here, but the illustrations were about a child growing up helping his dad with landscaping jobs in the central coast was neat. We got there at 3 and they closed at 4 so we missed the Martha Casanave photos, especially of Father Frost and the Snow Maidens. It's definitely a cool place to take your children or go on a date if you're looking for a calm and chill night that includes an educational purpose. read more

See all

This museum is always wonderful to visit. The exhibits are always beautiful and thoughtful! The gift shop has the best things. The staff is amazing! read more

Do yourself a favor and get on the mailing list to receive upcoming events and exhibits postcards/emails. Always at least one artist with a connection to Fresno and the greater Central Valley region. Wide range of materials (nature, metal, plastics), forms (books, murals, sculptures, paintings, digital) and time (BCE Americas to contemporary). Multiple exhibition rooms, hallways and outdoor areas have well lit displays and easy to read description cards. Outdoor park has cobblestone, dirt walkways, tables and benches. Find items from exhibits plus interesting toys, books, food and more in the gift shop. read more

Fresno Art Museum - Clay Figures from Central America History. Veracruz Wheeled Jaguar and Veracruz Figure Playing with Dog - Art Museums Near Me - Fresno, California

Really enjoyed the Fresno Art Museum. Each little wing was for a different artist, and we saw a nice mix on display. I enjoyed the focus on the different people, different media types, and the lovely courtyard as well. It was a little chilly, which I understand helps with the art preservation but still - bring a jacket. It somehow felt a little empty, like the rooms were large but could have been fuller, but maybe the individual pieces were just a little small for the walls. It was still well worth it. The employees were delightful, and they were even serving cookies and cider in the main area for free. It was very nice art museum! read more

See all

We needed to kill some time before heading to our B&B so decided to stop at this art museum. It's small and you can go through it in about an hour. I enjoyed some of the dresses and some of the artwork. read more

Fresno Art Museum - A display about fracking - Art Museums Near Me - Fresno, California

See all

The Fresno Art Museum is definitely a mixed bag of a museum. Compared to other museums, it's fairly small (you can see the whole thing in an hour, even walking fairly slowly), and displays a relatively small number of works by "major" artists (their crowning achievement is a work by Diego Rivera, who is one of my favorite artists), but the admission prices do reflect that. They have some really great permanent exhibits, as well as some fairly lackluster ones, so whether you decide to visit or not depends on what temporary exhibits they have at the time. Right now, as of March of 2019, both of their temporary exhibits are really great, so I would suggest going while they are still here. We really, really enjoyed the "On The Road Again" photography exhibit (through June 23, 2019), a masterful collection of shots from around the world, as well as "Rethinking Fire," a moving tribute to the victims of recent fires around California and the world (also through June 23). The Latin American artwork (including Diego Rivera's painting) portion of the permanent collection is also quite good. However, the sculpture garden is somewhat lacking (both in number of pieces and quality of the artwork), and the room that exhibits story books does not seem like something worthy of an art museum. All in all, this is a cool place to spend an hour or two looking at art, and while it isn't even close to the scale of artwork on display in many other museums, it mostly does a good job with what it has to work with. read more

Had a little extra time and decided to check it out. It was a nice and everyone was even nicer.

Well, that was a fun way to spend a bit of my afternoon yesterday. I felt "sophisticated", ME at an art museum. Granted, it's a small museum compared to what you'll find in the big cities, but it's a very nice museum. (The museum, not the location. There were homeless people hanging out in the park next door, but they were quiet and stayed to themselves...no panhandling). A fellow Yelper posted about a current exhibit that interested me...Andy Warhol, so I wanted to check it out. I think the exhibit is until June 26th. Who doesn't love his fun and bright pop art?! There was also an Ansel Adam's exhibit, along with the work of an artist named Chester Arnold. He had some paintings there that really get you thinking about our earth and mankind. There was a display of Raphael Lopez's illustrations from children's books. His work is awesome! It took less than an hour to view all the displays. There's a nice gift shop at the museum filled with all kinds of items...be sure to check it out before you leave. The museum is currently open Thursdays-Sundays. read more

Went with a group of friends to see the Mary Blair exhibit, she was one of Walt Disney's most treasured illustrators and concept artists. Her work inspired It's A Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. The Maurice Sendak exhibit of Where the Wild Things Are sketches is very moving. The museum store is incredible! Lots of great little treasures. read more

Pleasantly surprised by the Museum. Just the right size for a 1-hour or so visit. The 4 small exhibits complemented each other is some aspect. Intentional? if so great idea. If not, great serendipity. The Mary Blair exhibit was a discovery of the colourful and creative work of a woman artist. Overall, the lighting in all the galleries open to the public was good, very little glare on the glass. Looking forward to new displays in 2024. read more

Loved these artists.exhibit was great,not crowded and worth it. Staff was very kind and welcoming. read more

See all

Doesn't look a ton from the outside but a ton of great pieces inside. Friendly workers and just nice, clean environment. The artwork is placed beautifully and just growing. From the Diego Rivera exhibit to the Utopia Exhibit, just great Fresno art and even the outside artworks are stunning. read more

Fresno Art Museum - Utopia - Art Museums Near Me - Fresno, California

See all

I went on free Sunday, only three exhibit rooms were open and the outside sculpture garden. There are 4-5 other galleries but they were not open, prepping for some new exhibits. For a rainy May Sunday day, a half an hour to 45 minutes is ample time. read more

See all

It's the local art museum. Once upon a time it had some competition with the Metropolitan Museum, but that great institution was destroyed in a major makeover, so now this much smaller museum is the place to go to see the major shows that come to Fresno. I've been here over the years for different shows, different presentations, even company parties. It is a great venue for a variety of events that allows you to also see well curated art. Hours are limited, Thursday through Sunday, but be sure to check the calendar because the museum can be closed for private parties. read more

My husband and I visited the Fresno Art Museum last weekend. We enjoyed each of the featured artists work. My favorite was the Catie O'Leary Collage exhibition. We are looking forward to January when the new exhibitions will be shown. This museum is a gem and I encourage the community to visit. Patty B. read more

I love the Fresno Art Museum. I grew up within walking distance of the museum, so I went there ALOT. I love this place. It has been a over a year since I have visited so I do need to go soon. I hope thos museum never closes like the Met did. read more

Fresno Art Museum - Art Museums Near Me - Fresno, California

For a museum on a rough part of town, this longer-than-an-hur experience is value priced at $5 per person. My daughter found it a bit boring at first (it's OK, she finds everything thats unique boring). Pro's - Small - it's good to waste an hour here before heading out to Me-n-Ed's pizza. for those of you who are from San Francisco and expecting something to be handed to you with culture - Nice - one step short of eloquent, the staff is very cordial, very informative and can tell you about the collections with authority. - Inexpensive - about the lowest cost art museum in California that I know of. Con's - Small - while it's a pro, don't expect to spend the afternoon there. It's a small museum. Put it in your schedule as such. - Kids - it's a mix of contemporary art and early American collections. Kids may yawn. Us grown ups think its cool, though. Overall 3 stars! read more

As a tourist, I didn't expect much when visiting Fresno, but it is a much larger city that you'd expect. It's hard to look significant in a state so many large cities. Shockingly, Fresno is the fifth largest populated city in California behind Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. Fresno would be the largest city in 28 other states. Similarly, I didn't expect much when visiting the Fresno Art Museum, but it was much larger than I expected. The museum was big enough to have six different exhibits with only one drawn from their permanent collection. I thought we'd be in and out in under half an hour, but our visit took 40 minutes. The widely varied content meant art with a wider appeal like the mainstream Normal Rockwell lithographs or the rock musician photographs with electric guitars on display. read more

This art museum is very clean and a nice museum to visit. It is hidden in the middle of Fresno but worth visiting if you are a local.

In addition to being an art museum, they offer fabulous weekend classes. I've done several on bookmaking and learned bunches each time.

I really enjoyed my visit. What they had on exhibit was perfect. Only wish the museum was bigger. I know that comes with funding though. I will say it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be.. The lady by the door was pleasant and knowledgeable. Entrance charge was more than reasonable and my babies were free. One other thing that I find important is that the bathrooms were clean. As a father of 2 it is very much appreciate that. Thank you for a great visit. read more

Loved the Mini-Maker Faire at the Fresno Art Museum as well as discovering the Ansel Adams and Diego Rivera pieces.

I have enjoyed the observatory since I was a little kid. The view from the roof is always super cool.