Fancy a cultural break in one of the USA’s most beautiful cities? Here’s how to make the most of your stay by discovering San Francisco’s fascinating Asian Art Museum!
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco houses one of the finest collections of Oriental art in the country, on three levels. With 18,000 works of art, spanning more than six millennia, it is the world’s largest Asian art museum, behind only Taipei! In addition to collections of artefacts, grouped according to geographical origin, the museum regularly organizes guided tours. But also exciting temporary exhibitions, lectures and majestic shows.
We’ve put together a short guide to help you wander the aisles of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, so that you can get to grips with this incredible and fascinating artistic space. A brief history of the place, attractions and works to discover, access map, prices, opening hours and a wealth of other information are presented.
Ready to enjoy an oriental cultural break? Go for it!
History of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum
Photo credit: Flickr / Nathan Hughes Hamilton
The San Francisco Asian Art Museum was founded in 1966 in a wing of the M.H. De Young Museum. It was here that art collector Avery Brundage decided to protect his collection of rare works – nearly 8,000 at the time! Brundage, who died in 1975, was not fortunate enough to know the rest of the story of this fabulous project. But the works continued to accumulate, managed by a team of enthusiasts, and in 1989, the collection was further enriched by the addition of a department devoted to Korean art.
In 2003, the building, which had become too small, was replaced by the San Francisco Public Library. For the occasion, it was extensively remodeled under the direction of Italian architect Gae Aulenti! He created a new setting for the prestigious works housed in this gigantic cultural space located in the heart of the Civic Center district. Today, more than 18,000 works of art share the three levels of this colossal Beaux-Arts-style building, whose future expansion will be inaugurated in September 2019.
What to see and do at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum?
Photo credit: Shutterstock / Bioraven
The fun thing about visiting San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum is that it can be visited from top to bottom. You start on the top floor and work your way down to the first floor.
The second floor
On the second floor, you’ll find a wealth of exhibits tracing the history of this spiritual movement that shaped the Asian mentality. These include collections from South Asia – from India, the cradle of Buddhism, to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They include splendid stone sculptures, pieces of sacred temples, traditional Sikh armor and weapons, and paintings. Once you’ve contemplated the silver, velvet-covered « Elephant Throne », move on to discover Thai paintings, Indonesian daggers and Angkor stones. There’s no doubt that this is a collection dedicated to Southeast Asia!
Further afield, bronzes from the Himalayas, noble fabrics from Bhutan and famous Tibetan textile paintings give pride of place to the world’s highest mountain range.
The priceless Persian ceramics and secular texts also contribute to the artistic completeness of the site.
The second floor
The second floor is dedicated to the expansion of Buddhism. Here you’ll find porcelain of unrivalled finesse, ceramics and precisely sculpted terracotta pieces, as well as the world’s oldest Buddha. Dating from 338, it is made entirely of gilded bronze! The famous Shang dynasty rhinoceros can also be found in this area.
The Korean art department, which we mentioned earlier, continues the visit eastwards. Here you’ll find lacquers and porcelains richly decorated with rare pigments, stoneware pottery and the famous Celadons of the Goryeo dynasty!
Further afield, the section devoted to the Land of the Rising Sun features samurai armor, engravings, prints and painted scrolls. But what really sets the Japanese art department apart is its « Japanese Tea Room », where twice a month a tea ceremony is held. Don’t hesitate to sample the delicious infusions served free of charge in this typical « Tea House »! It was built and assembled in Kyoto under the direction of architect Osamu Sato, then dismantled and reassembled in San Francisco!
The first floor
Once you’ve duly traversed the second floor, make your way to the first floor: here, a break is in order at Café Asia. It offers a selection of the finest Asian products! Chinese soups, ramen and noodles, spicy Thai salads, bentō – there’s no shortage of things to eat on the terrace of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. The icing on the cake is that tea is served in authentic cast-iron teapots, and it’s even possible to opt for a takeaway meal to enjoy on the go. Asian street food has pride of place here, rivaled only by the museum store adjoining the restaurant. If you’ve decided to bring home a souvenir for your loved ones, this is the place! Particularly well-stocked with books, documents and original pieces… or less, it’s nevertheless a must for your visit to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum!
How do I get to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum?
Getting to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum is pretty straightforward. It’s located at 200 Larkin Street, in San Francisco, just across from City Hall and a few minutes’ walk from Union Square. The city has excellent public transport links, so we recommend taking the subway to the Civic Center station. The San Francisco Asian Art Museum is right next door!
And if you’ve decided to take your car, pay parking lots are scattered throughout the area, so parking won’t be a problem!
San Francisco Asian Art Museum opening hours & rates
You can visit the San Francisco Asian Art Museum every day except Monday, from 10am to 5pm. The museum closes three days a year, on December 25, January 1 and Thanksgiving.
Buying your admission ticket couldn’t be easier: there’s a ticket booth at the entrance to the museum. But you can also save time by booking your ticket online in advance on the museum’s official website!
Admission costs $15 per adult, $10 for over-65s, minors aged 13 to 17 and students with ID.
Last but not least, children under the age of 12 will be offered free admission.
Our special offer: discover the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on the first Sunday of the month – admission is completely free!
Good to know
- An application for smartphones, called « Asian Art Museum Tour », is available free of charge and acts as an audioguide.
- Genuine audio guides are also available, free of charge, at the entrance to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. They are presented in six different languages, including French… on an iPod Touch. What could be more normal in a city just a few miles from Silicon Valley?
- A free checkroom is available on the first floor before you begin your visit. Backpacks, umbrellas, suitcases, coats – don’t worry, you can get rid of them before your visit to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum!
- The space also welcomes visitors with reduced mobility, who can borrow canes, wheelchairs or crutches.