The main campus of the Palm Springs Art Museum is located in downtown Palm Springs, in a striking 150,000 square foot building, constructed in 1974. The three-floor building has a café, gift shop, lecture hall, and the Annenberg Theater for live performances. Visitors can also take advantage of free admission on Thursday nights!
The permanent collection is focused on contemporary art since the 1960s, and includes 3,000 paintings, prints and sculptures, and 2,000 photographs from famous artists like Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus and Andy Warhol. The permanent collection is on the third floor, and there are rotating exhibitions on the first and second floor.
The original art museum was constructed in 1938 at La Plaza Arcade on Palm Canyon, and moved to the downtown location in 1958. However, by the late 1960s the building was too small, so a new art museum was built in 1974.
The Palm Springs Art Museum also has a second location in a former midcentury bank building (1961), known as the “Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center”. The museum’s focus is on contemporary design and architecture, and includes an excellent design store known as the Bradford W. Bates Vault. It’s just a 5-block walk from the main campus.
The third location is a 4-acre sculpture garden 25 minutes away in Palm Desert, known as the “Fay Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden”.
5 best things to do at the Palm Springs Art Museum
1. Get free admission on Thursday evenings.
2. Visit rotating exhibition on the other floors.
3. See the permanent collection on the 3rd floor.
4. Stroll through the sculpture garden on the main level.
5. Attend a live performance at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
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