The Baltimore Museum of Art is Baltimore City’s premier art museum, as well as the largest art museum in Maryland. Operating for over 100 years and featuring art spanning over 5,000 years, the BMA boasts an impressive collection of art new and old from around the world.
The BMA’s mission statement has always been that art is an essential part of civic life, a philosophy that continues to inform its work exhibiting and preserving artwork into the 21st century.
“We care for artworks that span 5,000 years of history from almost every part of the globe,” says Kevin Tervala, the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown chief curator at the BMA. “We’re the only place in Maryland where you can see art from basically everywhere and every time.”
The BMA’s exhibits are constantly changing, cycling works from different artists or focusing on specific subject matter throughout the year. But visitors are most likely to be familiar with the Cone Collection, which houses modern art from Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet, among other famous painters. Tervala considers it the core of the museum.
The collection is named in honor of Baltimore-based art collectors and sisters Claribel and Etta Cone, who were considered two of the most prolific modern art collectors in the United States during the 20th century.
“Baltimore has always been a town that loves modern and contemporary art, and [Baltimoreans] have been giving to the BMA and supporting the work we’ve been doing ever since we were founded,” Tervala adds.
The BMA also houses one of the country’s largest collections of art from contemporary Black artists, and often uses its exhibits to platform diverse cultures. For nearly a year, the museum has run the “Preoccupied: Indigenizing the Museum” initiative, featuring exhibits from Native artists.
While the BMA has won plenty of awards during its century-long run, Tervala thanks the Baltimore community for choosing the museum as the Best Art Museum for 2024.
“We’re just so thrilled and grateful that folks have chosen us to be the best museum. And I think the feeling is mutual, so to speak. We love Baltimore, and we’re glad that Baltimore loves us. We strive every day to be a museum where Baltimoreans can see themselves reflected in the institution and to be a part of the community and a part of everyone’s day-to-day life,” Tervala says. “Museums don’t only have to be spaces where you go on fourth-grade field trips and where you bring their parents when they come to town. They can be spaces where you can just hang out and enjoy art, and places where you bring your friends or bring a date.”
