February 29, 2020–July 18, 2021 In Sanskrit poetry, people and elephants live harmoniously in a shared natural world, where elephants enhance the aesthetic pleasure of the landscape by augmenting almost all of the human senses. In fact, throughout the history of South Asia, elephants were valued profoundly for their might and majesty, embodying royal power and inspiring comparisons to kings…

March 14, 2020–September 6, 2021 Contemporary artist Cauleen Smith creates a new work of art–a video premiering at The San Diego Museum of Art that is inspired by one of the most important works in the Museum’s collection, Juan Sánchez Cotán’s Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber (ca. 1602).   Looking at Sánchez Cotán “First there is the…

We are heartbroken that we must cancel Art Alive 2020. Read more here… Thank you for joining in our efforts to care for our community and we look forward to welcoming you back next year. April 24–26, 2020 From Claude Monet to masterpieces by Edgar Degas and Pierre Bonnard, this special exhibition traces the development of the most important avant-garde movements…

This exhibition celebrates the achievements of the Museum’s Education team led by Johanna Benson, in creating programs for diverse audiences, and demonstrating that art can be accessible for everyone, with benefits that range from quiet contemplation to genuinely transformative experiences. Perhaps most people are aware of the free docent tours, and that these are offered in ten languages, including American…

Multimedia artist Nick Roth’s installation Fates is a three-panel animation that draws upon classical mythology to represent the tumult of human life and the struggle to come to terms with mortality. Rendered in a semi-abstract, semi-figurative style, the three Fates—Clotho (“the spinner”), Lachesis (“the allotter”), and Atropos (“the unturnable”)—appear, dissolve, and reconstitute themselves as the ten-minute animation unfolds. Nick Roth…

This gallery highlights secular works of art, from scenes of daily life—including landscape, still life, and interiors—to historical subjects, mythology, and literature. While not religious in nature, many of these works have underlying symbolic or moralizing themes, such as Lucas Cranach’s Nymph of the Spring. Around 1600, a dramatic shift took place in European painting. It was the dawn of…

This group of paintings places Wayne Thiebaud’s Caged Pie, usually seen as an emblem of American Pop Art, in the context of his contemporaries in California, including Roger Kuntz, David Park, Roland Petersen, Raimonds Staprans, and Paul Wonner. Works by Richard Diebenkorn can also be seen in the Visible Vaults. These artists, in response to the Abstract Expressionists, sought to…

Women Who Empowered a Movement Abstract Expressionism often brings to mind the work of artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko, whose reputations have reached heroic heights. They have been posited as innovators—the creators of one of the most uniquely American art movements in history. The significance of the contributions made to Abstract Expressionism by Pollock and…

Still life is a genre that transcends art movements. It is a timeless form of artistic expression that has been employed for centuries. From European masters Juan Sánchez Cotán and Rachel Ruysch to Americans Raphaelle Peale and Emil Carlsen, all represented in the permanent collection, still life has served as a means by which artists have proven their mastery of…