The Blanton Museum of Art is located on the southern end of the University of Texas campus. Built in 2004, their current two-story home has plenty of space for hosting temporary exhibitions and for displaying pieces from their extensive permanent collection of over 17,000 works.

The atrium in the center of the building is a work of art itself called Stacked Waters by Teresita Fernández. This stunning space is used for variety of events, including concerts, lectures, member gatherings, wedding receptions, and yoga classes. Docent-led tours also start here. Back in 2013, Tibetan Buddhist monks had even assembled a sand mandala in this atrium.

Several years ago I decided to become a member since I visit often to see the latest exhibitions. Some are traveling shows, while others are mounted using pieces from the museum’s own collection. All are high-quality. Currently, The Blanton is hosting Impressionism and the Caribbean: Francisco Oller and his Transatlantic World, exploring the work of this Puerto Rican painter. Organized by the Brooklyn Museum, this show also includes paintings by Cézanne, Pissarro, and Monet, and is definitely worth seeing.

Upstairs, a smaller traveling exhibit, Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm, presents colorful, but strangely unique, renderings of some of the Grimms’ fairy tales. 

Items from The Blanton’s permanent collection are displayed in the second floor galleries. The artwork is sometimes rotated or loaned. Here are three of my favorites pieces from their collection:

The Charge [A Calvary Scrap] – Frederic Sackrider Remington

Portrait of George Gershwin in a Concert Hall – David Alfero Siqueiros

Seepage – El Anatsui

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