Boca Raton Museum of Art — Attraction in Boca Raton

The Boca Raton Museum of Art was founded by artists in 1950 as The Art Guild of Boca Raton. Today in addition to the museum and gift shop there is also an art school. My daughter used to attended summer camp at the art school when she was in elementary school. I have fond memories of seeing her summer art project on display here.

The two story museum has an impressive permanent collection that includes art by Degas, Matisse, Picasso and Warhol. A photography collection and Pre Colombian and African Art are also part of the permanent collection. Several temporary exhibits are also on display. When I visited they included Imagining Florida: History and Myth in the Sunshine State, Michael Smith: Excuse Me!?!...I'm Looking for the "Fountain of Youth", and Daniel Faust: Florida Photos from the 1980's.

I enjoyed seeing the new exhibits but my favorite paintings were by AE Backus and the Florida Highwaymen. Backus was a landscape painter in the Fort Pierce area of Florida who inspired a group of African American painters known as the Highwaymen. They drove down the coast of Florida in the 1950's selling landscapes they created out of the trunks of their cars. There is a museum created by Backus in Fort Pierce. I also enjoyed two paintings of the Barefoot Mailman. In the 1850's the Barefoot Mailmen carried the mail from Palm Beach to Miami in 3 days by walking on the beach barefoot. One of them mysteriously disappeared at the Hillsboro Lighthouse. In addition to all of the wonderful art inside there is also a sculpture garden around the outside of the museum.

My visit to the museum was part of PNC's free family day which is held the first Sunday of every month. During the event they offer crafts for kids. The museum also hosts a number of programs for adults during the year including lecture, tours, and classes. No visit to the museum would be complete without a stop in the gift shop which offers unique items, pieces by local artists, and beautiful jewelry.

Even if You have to pay the entrance fee it is a reasonable $12. Students and children under 12 are free. They offer memberships that help support this important cultural institution. Although not as large as some the other art museums in Palm Beach County it is well taking the time to visit. Coupled with the extensive restaurants within walking distance, lunch and a visit to this museum could make for the...

11/7/2021 The Peru exhibition was very nice but to find the museum entrance door was a nightmare. Yes a real nightmare. I received wrong instructions from some one standing in the street close by and walked the whole bloc without finding it and why? Just only because the sign 'museum entrance here' placed on the street was missing. When I complained to the museum staff inside, I was told that the city does not authorize signs placed on the street. OK then the museum should have created a better way to help the patrons to enter the museum at the right place as placing one of their staff wearing the yellow top on the street guiding the patrons to enter the museum. Yes such a basic and smart thing to do but failed to have been done. I met patrons lost and handicapped with the same scenario than myself. How come a museum with such exhibition failed to do such simple thing? I do and never worked in a museum but it is something normal that I would have done. Something obvious. I was given that flyer for a future art festival. I looked and searched for the year since it is printed February 5 & 6. I started wondering which month are we now. On the other side of the flyer I found out in small characters 2022 as per attached. That date ABSOLUTELY should be printed also in front next to the week end dates Saturday and Sunday. What a brain! Another technical discrepancy from the people in charge of advertisement and marketing. When I will end giving free feedback to those companies much more potential than myself? Great question! If you go there, take time to find the HIDDEN entrance door to enter the museum and good luck! UPDATE 11/20/2021 Jim, Director, understood the above and made changes in the museum entrance thanks to me and credited my credit card for the full amount. My friend who drove me there never entered the museum and missed the exhibition. She was also too annoyed. The time selected was 2h00 pm but it was 3h30 pm when we finally found the entrance door. I had to ride 2...

Bad situation my Father and I went through!... This happened to us on Wednesday February 16th which was my Father's BIRTHDAY! ..... This was my PRESENT to him!.... So the Exhibit and the Virtual Experience!....We were coming from Miami which is an 1:30 minutes away from us! When we arrived they asked us if to do the exhibition or the virtual so we went ahead with exhibition which was quite interesting.... afterwards we exited to enter again the Museum to see the Virtual....This was the WORST of the Situation! ...We were told that we had to wait in line for an HOUR!... Hardly anyone was wearing mask and there was surely no social distancing to be waiting there for an hour with the crowd of people... I had purchases tickets way in advance easily 3 weeks to a month before... So we were simply told that if we couldn't wait that hour that the tickets could not be REFUNDED and if not to JUST TO RETURN BACK ANOTHER DAY!!!...Mind you again.... I don't live right around the corner.... we came from Miami.... we're not going to drive back another day within 2 weeks before this ends to a virtual reality of 8 to 9 minutes and maybe even have to wait another hour.... So of course we left!... and returned back home!... So GREAT!....I lost that money and the Experience for my Father to have seen the Virtual....which doesn't seem like much but it would have been quite exciting for him!... Mind you ..... we had the 11:30 AM slot... When I return back home I surely called the Museum and spoke to the Manager (JIM MAYES)... all he had to say was .... "Well how long did you expect to spend in the museum?.... Well that wouldn't have been enough time!....to have seen it ALL!" He also added that the staff ALWAYS tells everybody when they buy their tickets about it being even a wait of up to AN HOUR!... which is NOT TRUE!..and that in the email confirmation it is also STATED. ..another LIE!... Really now...