Wichita Art Museum

The Wichita Art Museum at 1400 W Museum Boulevard is the largest art museum in Kansas and one of the premier fine art institutions in the Great Plains region. The museum's building, a graceful post-modern structure designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and expanded in 2003, sits three miles northwest of downtown Wichita adjacent to Botanica Wichita and the Arkansas River parkway. The permanent collection spans more than 8,000 works with particular depth in American art from the 18th century to the present. The collection's centerpiece is Charles Russell's Western paintings and sculpture — more than 350 works that constitute one of the world's largest Russell holdings. The American Modernism galleries include significant works by Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and Georgia O'Keeffe. A dedicated wing presents the Naftzger Collection of works on paper, including drawings and prints by major American and European artists of the 20th century. Rotating temporary exhibitions, often drawn from national museum loans, occupy the lower-level gallery and change every three to four months. The museum's rooftop terrace and ground-level sculpture garden offer views of the surrounding park and river corridor. Thursday evenings until 8pm are popular for quieter visits and the discounted admission hour that runs from 5 to 8pm. The museum cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday. The WAM is part of a cultural corridor that includes Botanica Wichita and the Old Cowtown Museum, all within a short walk of each other along the river park.