List of largest museums explained
Museums hold large collections of items relating to their subject, building some of the largest complexes in the world in order to store and exhibit the collection in a controlled environment. The world's most preeminent museums have also engaged in various expansion projects through the years, expanding their total exhibition space.[1]
List
The following is a list of museums ranked according to their floor area where published by reliable sources. Only museums with more than 20000sp=usNaNsp=us of floor space are included. Entries are not ranked as large museums that do not have reliably-sourced statistics may be omitted; this is not necessarily a complete list.
Building | Name | City | Year established | Subject | Floor area | Exhibition space | Collection | Country |
---|
| Louvre | Paris | 1792 | Art, architecture, history | 758000m2[2] | 72735m2[3] | More than 380,000 (35,000 on display)[4] | |
| State Hermitage Museum | Saint Petersburg | 1764 | Art | 233345m2[5] | 66842m2 | 3,150,428 | |
| British Museum | London | 1753 | Archaeology and art | 92000m2[6] | 65752m2 | More than 8,000,000 (largest in the world) | |
| National Museum of China | Beijing | 1959 | Archaeology and art | 191900m2[7] [8] | 65000m2[9] | More than 1.4 million[10] | |
| Grand Egyptian Museum | Giza | 2021 (projected) | Archaeology | 81000m2[11] | 38000m2 | over 100,000 artifacts | |
| Museum of Science and Industry | Chicago | 1933 | Science and technology | | 400000square feet[12] | more than 35,000 | |
| Minneapolis Institute of Art | Minneapolis | 1883 | Art | 545000square feet[13] | 32000m2[14] | More than 100,000[15] | |
| National Museum of Natural History | Washington, D.C. | 1910 | Natural history | 1320000square feet[16] | 325000square feet | (Artifacts not samples) | |
| Victoria and Albert Museum | London | 1852 | Art | | 320000square feet[17] | 2,278,183 (60,124 on display)[18] | |
| Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York City | 1870 | Art | 2000000square feet[19] | | | |
| Palace Museum | Beijing | 1925 | Archaeology and art | 150000m2[20] [21] | | 1,862,690[22] | |
| National Museum of Korea | Seoul | 1909 | Archaeology and art | 138156.26m2[23] | | | |
| National Gallery of Art | Washington, D.C. | 1937 | Art | 1300000square feet[24] | 271000square feet[25] | More than 150,000[26] | |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago | 1879 | Art | 1000000square feet[27] [28] | | Almost 300,000[29] | |
| Israel Museum | Jerusalem | 1965 | Art | 80000m2[30] | 200000square feet[31] | | |
| National Museum of American History | Washington, D.C. | 1964 | History | 750000square feet[32] | | More than 1.8 million | |
| Museum of Modern Art | New York City | 1929 | Art | 708000square feet[33] | 166000square feet[34] | Almost 200,000[35] | |
| National Gallery Singapore | Singapore | 2015 | Art | 64000m2[36] | | More than 9,000[37] | |
| National Air and Space Museum | Washington, D.C. | 1946 | Aerospace | 687000square feet[38] | 161145square feet[39] [40] | More than 60,000[41] | |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | Boston | 1870 | Art | 616937square feet[42] [43] | 221267square feet | Almost 500,000[44] | |
| MASS MoCA | North Adams | 1999 | Art | 600000square feet[45] | 250000square feet[46] | No permanent collection | |
| National Gallery | London | 1824 | Archaeology and art | 46396m2[47] | | | |
| Three Gorges Museum | Chongqing | 2005 | Archaeology and art | 45098m2[48] | 23225m2 | | |
| Vatican Museums | Vatican City | 1506 | Art | 42000m2[49] [50] | | | |
| National Museum of Anthropology | Mexico City | 1825 | Archaeology | | | 600,000[51] | |
| Shandong Art Museum | Jinan | 1977 | Art | | | | |
| Birmingham Museum of Art | Birmingham | 1951 | Art | 180000square feet[52] | | 27,000 | |
| Arsenal (Biennale) | Venice | 1895 | Art | | | | |
| Musée National d'Art Moderne | Paris | 1947 | Art | | | | |
| Musée d'Orsay | Paris | 1986 | Art | | | | |
| San Francisco Museum of Modern Art | San Francisco | 1935 | Art | | | | |
| Museo del Prado | Madrid | 1819 | Art | | | | |
| Denver Art Museum | Denver | 1918 | Art | | | | |
| Egyptian Museum | Cairo | 1902 | Archaeology | | | | |
| Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo | São Paulo | 1951 | Art | | | | |
| Dia Beacon | Beacon | 2003 | Art | | | | |
| Dallas Museum of Art | Dallas | 1903 | Art | | | | |
| Museo Reina Sofía | Madrid | 1992 | Art | | | | |
| National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art | Gwacheon | 1969 | Art | | | | |
| Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit | 1885 | Art | | | | |
| Tokyo National Art Center | Tokyo | 2007 | Art | | | | |
| National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts | Taichung | 1988 | Art | | | | |
| National Gallery Prague (Veletržní) | Prague | 1796 | Art | | | | |
| Indianapolis Museum of Art | Indianapolis | 1883 | Art | | | | |
| Bavarian National Museum | Munich | 1855 | Art | | | | |
| Capital Museum | Beijing | 1981 | Archaeology and art | | | | |
| Montreal Museum of Fine Arts | Montreal | 1860 | Art | | | | |
| National Gallery of Victoria (St Kilda Road) | Melbourne | 1861 | Art | | | | |
| Palais de Tokyo | Paris | 2001 | Art | | | | |
| Salar Jung Museum | Hyderabad | 1855 | Art | | | | |
| Virginia Museum of Fine Arts | Richmond | 1934 | Art | | | | |
| Tate Modern | London | 2000 | Art | | | | |
| Cleveland Museum of Art | Cleveland | 1913 | Art | | | | |
| National Gallery of Canada | Ottawa | 1880 | Art | | | | |
| Art Gallery of Ontario | Toronto | 1900 | Art | | | | |
| Hamburger Kunsthalle | Hamburg | 1869 | Art | | | | |
| Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen | Rotterdam | 1849 | Art | | | | |
| Houston Museum of Fine Arts | Houston | 1900 | Art | | 27870m2 | ~70,000 | |
| National Gallery of Modern Art | New Delhi | 1954 | Art | | | | |
| Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille | Lille | 1809 | Art | | | | |
| Pinakothek der Moderne | Munich | 2002 | Art | | | | |
| Rijksmuseum | Amsterdam | 1800 | Art | | | | |
| Tretyakov Gallery (Krymsky Val) | Moscow | 1985 | Art | | | | |
| MUDAM | Luxembourg City | 2006 | Art | 10500m2[53] | | | | |
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: William Lee Adams. From the British Museum to the Tate Modern, mega-museum go big. 2020-09-18. CNN. 10 April 2014 .
- Web site: Rapport d'activités 2019. 2021-01-17. louvre.fr. Louvre. 15. fr. September 2020. 2740-7136. LE PALAIS 360,000 M2 de planchers... LE DOMAINE DU LOUVRE ET DES TUILERIES 37 hectares de cours et de jardins... COUR NAPOLÉON 28,000 M2 de surface.
- "Pyramid" Launch Project. 18 September 2014. Louvre Museum. 6 January 2017.
- Web site: Louvre Museum. 2021-01-09. museums.eu. en.
- Web site: Hermitage in Facts and Figures. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201207073035/https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/about/facts_and_figures. 2020-12-07. 2021-01-09. hermitagemuseum.org.
- Web site: Institute of Historic Building Conservation .
- Wu. Yanxi. February 2018. The National Museum of China. 19 September 2020. researchgate.net. 10.13140/RG.2.2.31874.32963.
- Web site: 2011-03-25. National Museum of China. 2020-09-19. Architizer. en-us.
- Web site: 28 February 2003 . Aufklärung im Dialog – National Museum of China . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022141/http://www.aufklaerung-im-dialog.de/the-idea/national-museum-of-china/ . 7 November 2017 . 6 January 2017 . Aufklaerung-im-dialog.de.
- Web site: About the NMC National Museum of China. 2021-01-09. en.chnmuseum.cn.
- Web site: Construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum has been kicked-off Technical Cooperation Projects JICA. 2020-09-19. www.jica.go.jp.
- Web site: Museum Facts . Museum of Science and Industry . 5 March 2024.
- Web site: Policies and Guidelines –– Minneapolis Institute of Art . 2022-04-03 . new.artsmia.org.
- Web site: Minneapolis Travel Guide . 2022-04-03 . KAYAK . en-us . Spread over 32,000 square meters of gallery space, admission is completely free, and it's well worth paying a visit..
- Web site: 2005-07-21 . WILLIAM M. GRISWOLD APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR OF THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS . 2022-04-03 . new.artsmia.org.
- Web site: National Museum of Natural History. 2021-01-10. Smithsonian Institution. en.
- Allen-Greil. Dana. Colleen Dilenschneider. Janet Petitpas. Spring 2014. The British Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Exhibition. American Alliance of Museums. 27 December 2019. In 2001, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London opened renovations to their British Galleries, which cover over 32,000 square feet of exhibition space and comprise 10% of the Museum’s overall exhibition floor..
- Web site: Size of the V&A Collections. 2021-01-09. www.vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum. en-GB.
- Web site: MET Fifth Avenue - The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. 2020-09-19. Inexhibit. en.
- Web site: Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang - China.org.cn. 2021-01-10. www.china.org.cn.
- Web site: About the Palace MuseumThe Palace Museum. 2021-01-10. en.dpm.org.cn.
- Web site: Palace Museum has 1,862,690 registered cultural relics - Xinhua English.news.cn. 2021-01-10. www.xinhuanet.com.
- Web site: Architecture and Design. 19 September 2020. museum.go.kr.
- Web site: National Gallery of Art Appoints Sheila McDaniel as Administrator. 2021-01-09. www.nga.gov. In addition to overseeing the hundreds of Gallery staff who care for the 1.3 million square feet of space, including the iconic, architecturally significant buildings and landscapes....
- Green. Tyler. 1 July 2008. Inside the National Gallery. Washingtonian. 28 November 2015. In total, the NGA has 271,000 square feet of exhibition space..
- Web site: About the National Gallery of Art. 2021-01-09. www.nga.gov.
- News: Rosenbaum. Lee. 2009-06-02. A Modern Wing Takes Flight. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2021-01-09. 0099-9660.
- Web site: The Art Institute of Chicago Inaugurates Modern Wing Designed By Renzo Piano. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160601062734/http://www.artic.edu/sites/default/files/press_pdf/MW_Overview_PRFINAL.pdf. 1 June 2016. 6 January 2017. Art Institute of Chicago.
- Web site: History. 2021-01-09. The Art Institute of Chicago. en.
- Web site: Israel Museum - Jerusalem Al Mansfeld and Partners. 2021-01-21. אדריכלים מנספלד קהת בע"מ. en-US.
- Web site: Leichman. Abigail Klein. 2015-02-19. Israel Museum celebrates 50. 2021-01-21. ISRAEL21c. en-US.
- Web site: 2012-03-01. Mission & History. 2021-01-10. National Museum of American History. en.
- News: October 16, 2019. MoMA reopens with a $450 million mega-expansion and slick renovation. en-US. The Architect's Newspaper. November 18, 2019.
- News: Kennicott. Philip. Review The new MoMA is a lot bigger. But you may not learn as much about the art.. en-US. Washington Post. 2021-01-09. 0190-8286.
- Web site: The Collection MoMA. 2021-01-09. The Museum of Modern Art. en.
- Web site: About the Gallery. 2021-01-09. National Gallery Singapore. en.
- Web site: About Our Collections. 2021-01-09. National Gallery Singapore. en.
- Web site: Modernizing the National Air and Space Museum. 2021-01-10. www.phcppros.com. en.
- Web site: 2011-04-14. National Air and Space Museum and Udvar-Hazy Center. 2021-01-10. Smithsonian Institution Archives.
- Web site: October 2018. GAO-19-78, NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: Smithsonian's Efforts to Improve Reliability of Its Revitalization Project's Cost Estimate Are Ongoing. gao.gov. United States Government Accountability Office.
- Web site: 2016-06-16. About the Collection. 2021-01-10. National Air and Space Museum. en.
- Web site: The New MFA. 2021-01-10. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. en.
- Web site: November 2010. MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON BUILDING EXPANSION AND RENOVATION FACTS AND FIGURES.
- Web site: About the MFA. 2021-01-10. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. en.
- Web site: 2018-11-16. Massive Undertaking: MASS MoCA's Phase III. 2021-01-10. The Collaborative. en-US.
- Web site: 2017-05-19. Mass MoCA Just Became One of America's Largest Museums. 2021-01-10. artnet News. en-US.
- Web site: About the building History National Gallery, London. 2020-09-19. www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
- Web site: Page. Intern. Martini. Chongqing Three Gorges Museum. 2021-01-10. iChongqing. 6 September 2019 . en.
- Web site: Vatican Museums - Useful Information - Rome & Vatican Museums. 2020-09-19. www.rome-museum.com. en.
- Web site: The Vatican Museums, ItalyGuides.it. 2020-09-19. ItalyGuides.it. en-us.
- Web site: National Museum of Anthropology museum, Mexico City, Mexico. 2021-01-09. Encyclopedia Britannica. en.
- Web site: About the Museum Birmingham Museum of Art . 2023-01-23 . en-US.
- Web site: Musée d'Art Moderne . 2023-07-15 . www.pcf-p.com . en.