San Antonio Museum of Art
San Antonio Museum of Art
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in a historic brewery along the banks of the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk. The Museum offers important permanent collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art, contemporary art and American paintings. The museum offers a variety of programs. Visit our website for admission pricing and more information. Bexar County residents enjoy free general admission every Tuesday 4–7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
813 reviews
Excellent
485
Very good
263
Average
54
Poor
7
Terrible
4
Eagle-ODU
Dayton, OH6 contributions
Mar 2020
Sunday morning is a great time to visit this art museum. It's not crowded. The art is contemporary to the masters and there's usually a special attraction going on. Those who are members of a North American Reciprocal Museum Association institution can visit the SA Museum of Art for free. (For example, we belong to the Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute and visited the SA Museum of Art for free.)
Written March 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ElvisAndrus
Arlington, TX912 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
It is very big but space is well giving several big pieces the room they are worthy of. It took me about two hours to see about half of the museum. Mapping easy to follow so I pick and choose what I liked. About half the building is Asia and the other half the Americas. John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Mrs Elliot Fitch is breathtaking. No audio tours and docent led tours are few but nice interpretation next to each work.
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cheryl H
133 contributions
Mar 2020
I love Ancient art specifically Ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art and this museum has a surprising collection. The galleries are spacious and the displays are well curated. The collection itself is exquisite. I like that the galleries are sequential and a visitor can see artifacts from Egypt, Greece, and Roman in one easy visit. The number of artifacts is amazing.
Written March 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cougdoc
Highland, UT55 contributions
Mar 2021
You know that feeling when your spouse looks over the list of local attractions and says, "I want to spend part of my vacation at the art museum"? Sure you do. But I'm glad I went along. The obligatory gallery of third-grade finger paintings that somehow are considered art? Check. Modern cubist sculptures that just aren't complete until the artist adds a coat hanger? Check. Swirly, vertigo-inducing watercolors on the ceiling? Check. But there is a lot more. The rooms full of Egyptian and Greek/Roman artifacts and sculpture were fascinating. The American art and portrait gallery were excellent and the temporary exhibit featuring metalwork from the movies (Tony Stark's F1 racer, the DeLorean, Adam West's original Batmobile, etc) was awesome. Way more than your typical art museum. Still pricey, though? Check.
Written March 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anonymous
1 contribution
Aug 2022
1.) The "Exhibit" on Japanese bamboo baskets is not an exhibit. It is maybe 10 baskets in a tiny alcove. That alcove actually took two passes through the museum to find. "Display" is a fair word. "Exhibit" as a word is deceitful.
I had expected something of the size of entire wing being used. American Impressionism: Echoes of a Revolution used up an entire wing as an example and was an excellent exhibit.
2.) The Scan and Pay for the parking lot is terrible. I struggled with it. I watched three other people/cars struggle with it. And it was not a busy Saturday morning.
I challenge the museum leadership and board of directors to successfully use the Scan and Pay system. Anyone who needs more than 5 minutes fails.
I had expected something of the size of entire wing being used. American Impressionism: Echoes of a Revolution used up an entire wing as an example and was an excellent exhibit.
2.) The Scan and Pay for the parking lot is terrible. I struggled with it. I watched three other people/cars struggle with it. And it was not a busy Saturday morning.
I challenge the museum leadership and board of directors to successfully use the Scan and Pay system. Anyone who needs more than 5 minutes fails.
Written September 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mdfstephens2017
Fitzgerald, GA147 contributions
Jun 2021
Really good, diverse collection. The Movie Machines special exhibit was cool - even this 60's grandmom was interested!
Part of the museum's multiple buildings was damaged in the big freeze in February and is under repair, but still we saw enough for cognitive overload. Well worth the price of admission and several hours out of the summer heat. They have one of the best museum gift shops I've ever been in. There's thoughtful things for the young adults, stuff for the kiddies for families visiting, and elegant items for the "discriminating," too.
They had a brochure for couples attending the museum on a date that was thoughtfully done - great ideas for getting to know someone while at the museum.
Part of the museum's multiple buildings was damaged in the big freeze in February and is under repair, but still we saw enough for cognitive overload. Well worth the price of admission and several hours out of the summer heat. They have one of the best museum gift shops I've ever been in. There's thoughtful things for the young adults, stuff for the kiddies for families visiting, and elegant items for the "discriminating," too.
They had a brochure for couples attending the museum on a date that was thoughtfully done - great ideas for getting to know someone while at the museum.
Written June 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ron S
New York City, NY5,931 contributions
Mar 2021
San Antonio Museum of Art has a very small collection of paintings but the antiquities collection was a pleasant surprise. Especially the Ancient Egyptian art. Also Ancient Greece is well represented and the Roman portraiture exhibit contains a few excellent pieces. The parking is conveniently located across the street.
Written April 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Avid Traveler
6 contributions
Jan 2023 • Solo
I’m conflicted about this Museum, it’s trying to be everything to everyone with small galleries dedicated to Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Japanese, Korean, Oceanic, and European art. However the galleries are quite small and the works are nothing particularly special. They do, however, have an excellent Latin American art collection, especially the gallery dedicated to modern popular art. They also have a surprisingly tiny gallery dedicated to Texas art. To me, they are missing an opportunity to really focus on Latin American and Texas art, which would be a differentiator, rather than being a scaled down version of major metropolitan art museums.
I definitely understand the value in local residents having access to art from around the world. However as a visitor to San Antonio it’s definitely not a must see if you’ve been to the Met, LACMA, the Getty, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and others that have the space and the deep collections to do it well.
I definitely understand the value in local residents having access to art from around the world. However as a visitor to San Antonio it’s definitely not a must see if you’ve been to the Met, LACMA, the Getty, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and others that have the space and the deep collections to do it well.
Written January 14, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mmarymomm
Pleasanton, CA1,663 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
I have been to many museums situated in smaller cities and this among the best of those. Who expected a panel by the workshop of Lorenzo Monaco or the fine John Singer Sargent portraits?! The number of Chinese ceramic pieces is amazing. The collections were well laid out and we enjoyed ourselves very much.
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taylor B
Chicago, IL8,491 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
I am addicted to ancient history. It is one of my passions. In my library, there are seven shelves filled with books on Roman, Greek and Egyptian history, Julius Caesar, Alexander and Rameses II. So you can imagine that I was exhilarated when I learned that the heritage live oak tree that shades what is now the Sculpture Garden of the San Antonio Museum of Art alongside the San Antonio River dates to 1718. But I was even more excited to browse through the museum's popular new exhibit, Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii. Yes, the museum, which opened to the public in 1981, features 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. It exhibits American Art, Asian Art, European Art, African Art, Islamic Art, Latin American Art, Ancient Mediterranean Art, Oceanic Art and Modern and Contemporary Art. But I was drawn to the Roman Landscapes like a kid to a candy store. It is the first exhibition in the United States to explore landscape scenes as a striking new genre of ancient Roman art. They depict a countryside dotted with seaside villas and rural shrines, where gods and mythological heroes mingle with travelers, herdsmen and worshippers. The exhibition features 65 wall paintings, sculptures, mosaics and cameo glass and silver vessels created in Roman Italy between 100 BC and 250 AD, including paintings and sculptures from houses in Pompeii and nearby villas on the Bay of Naples to lavish Roman residences and their gardens. Among the most interesting works are two wall paintings from the Roman villa of N. Popidius Florus, both pigment on plaster, from the early to mid 1st century AC, both entitled "Wall painting with a landscape scene." Also two marble sculptures entitled "Relief with a herdsman and cow before a sanctuary" and "Statue of an Old Fisherman." Another fascinating exhibit with a marvelous history is "A Roman Portrait from Germany in Texas," an ancient Roman marble sculpture dating from the first century BC, which was discovered and purchased from a Goodwill store in Austin, Texas, in 2018 for the sum of $35. The bust of a Roman man once stood in the town of Aschaffenburg, Germany, in a full-scale model of a house from Pompeii, called the Pompejanum, built by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. During World War II, Allied bombers targeted Aschaffenburg, seriously damaged the Pompejanum and the sculpture disappeared. How it arrived in Texas is pure speculation. It will remain on display in the museum until May 23, then will be returned to Germany.
Written April 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your question! Visitors are welcome to take souvenir photos and video of the exterior and interior of the Museum for their personal use. Flash photography, tripods, and selfie sticks may not be used in the galleries. We ask our visitors to stay at least one foot away from works of art and display cases. Thank you!
Written August 26, 2020
I am not sure what you question is asking. You can check the times the museum is open on its home page.
samuseum org
it is free after a certain hour on some days. We went at that time and had plenty of time to see everything.
Written August 21, 2019
Is the Rodin Exhibit a permanent collection at SAMA? i adore Rodin since I wen to school in Paris and a French teacher.
Merci,
Cristina
Written June 15, 2016
Sorry to say it was temporary and gone. We were so fortunate to see it the last day of the exhibition.
Written June 15, 2016
Annette P
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Is Thanksgiving a good weather time to come for the River Walk?
Written May 17, 2015
There is a chance it will be chilly at night but it is seldom cold so I think it would be a good time to come (except for the expensive airfare and busy airports).
Written June 28, 2015
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