Art Review: de Young Museum in San Francisco

I love the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Its collection of American art isn’t big, but it’s one perfect gem after another. It covers all the thematic and style trends with paintings that aren’t all famous but are even better than famous. There’re expressive of their point in time but just offbeat enough to be enigmatic and seductive. Visitors will see artists they might not know who, nonetheless, did rock-star work.

The de Young displays African, Mesoamerican, and Pacific Islander art and a first-class textile collection as well. The museum building, now 15 years old, is high style, eminently functional, and a miracle of philanthropy.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

I love the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Its collection of American art isn’t big, but it’s one perfect gem after another. It covers all the thematic and style trends with paintings that aren’t all famous but are even better than famous. There’re expressive of their point in time but just offbeat enough to be enigmatic and seductive. Visitors will see artists they might not know who, nonetheless, did rock-star work.

The de Young displays African, Mesoamerican, and Pacific Islander art and a first-class textile collection as well. The museum building, now 15 years old, is high style, eminently functional, and a miracle of philanthropy.