The Best Tampa Bay Art Museums

Where to go in Tampa Bay when you want a little culture and a good time

By

Updated on 06/04/19

From a spectacular complex set on a 66-acre estate to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the Tampa Bay area offers everything from masterpieces of the past to works by today’s foremost artists.

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Salvador Dalí Museum

Salavador Dali Museum St. Petersburg Florida — Anne Rippy/Getty Images

The permanent home of the world's largest collection of works by Dalí, the museum houses some 95 oil paintings, more than 100 watercolors and drawings and 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures and objects d'art. It is situated on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg.

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John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art

John and Mable ringling Museum of art Sarasota — Marje/Getty Images

Situated on the shore of Sarasota Bay, this 66-acre complex boasts 21 galleries featuring European, American and Asian artists such as Rubens, Velázquez, and Gainsborough. The compound also includes Cà d'Zan Mansion, the Ringlings' waterfront residence constructed in 1926 and restored in 2002; the Circus Museum, devoted to documenting the history of the Ringlings' craft; the Treviso Restaurant and the Banyan Café; and two gift shops.

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Tampa Museum of Art

The massive 66,000-square-foot museum features modern and contemporary art as well as an extensive collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. One side of the museum's exterior is covered in 14,000 LEDs, making the building itself a work of art.

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Contemporary Art Museum at the University of South Florida

exhibition at Contemporary Art Museum University of South Florida — Photo courtesy of the University of South Florida Contemporary Museum of Art

Situated next to the USF College of Visual and Performing Arts in Tampa, the museum's permanent collection features more than 5,000 objects of contemporary graphics, sculpture multiples, photography and the work of such acclaimed artists as Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg. It also offers an extensive sampling of contemporary photography and African art. But guests should call ahead of time when planning a visit since the museum closes between exhibitions,

Continue to 5 of 5 below.

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St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts

Established by Margaret Acheson Stuart, the collection includes everything from fine examples of 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century European art to 19th- and 20th-century American art and Greek and Roman antiquities to pre-Columbian and Asian art.

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