The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was the first museum on the West Coast devoted to modern and contemporary art, founded in 1935. Its current home opened in 1995, a brick building with a wide cylindrical skylight designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta. A large expansion by the firm Snøhetta opened in 2016, adding a rippling white wall along the back and tripling the gallery space.
The collection runs from Matisse and the Mexican muralists to a deep holding of photography and contemporary work. The ground-floor galleries, the sculpture terrace, and the living wall of plants are free to enter without a ticket. The upper galleries charge admission.
Part of a self-guided walking tour
