Founded in 1935, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted to modern and contemporary art. From the outset, the museum has championed the most innovative and challenging art of its time, and it continues to exhibit and collect work by both modern masters and younger, less-established artists.
The museum always have a dynamic schedule of thought-provoking exhibition on view, including special exhibitions and changing presentations from our collection of more than 27,000 artworks, photographs, and design objects. The internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art continues to grow. With strong holdings in photography, painting and sculpture, architecture and design, and media arts, the museum strive to present key examples of Modernism as well as more recent works that reflect a variety of artistic developments occurring regionally, nationally, and around the world. Each year, in addition to organizing ongoing installations of permanent collection works, curators develop a variety of collection-based presentations to complement the special traveling exhibitions hosted by the museum. Including both modern art masterworks and glimpses of contemporary art in the making, the permanent collection contributes to SFMOMA’s standing as a dynamic art center where visitors can learn, reflect, and be inspired.
