Phoenix Art Museum's Hidden Collections

The Phoenix Art Museum's permanent collection — approximately 18,000 objects spanning American, European, Asian, Latin American, and contemporary art — receives significantly less attention than the special exhibitions that drive the marketing calendar. The permanent galleries are worth understanding as a destination independent of whatever is showing in the temporary spaces. The American art collection's strength in Western American painting from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is one of the finest in the country for the period. Artists including Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, and members of the Taos Society of Artists are represented with depth that reflects the museum's regional identity. The fashion design collection — approximately 4,000 objects including couture and contemporary fashion — is one of the more distinctive elements in a general art museum collection and includes significant holdings of twentieth-century European haute couture. The Chinese and Japanese decorative arts collection, particularly the porcelain and lacquerware holdings, is displayed in a dedicated gallery that receives a fraction of the foot traffic of the contemporary art spaces. Free Wednesday evening admission (3pm to 9pm) provides the best context for exploring the permanent collection.