The finest university art museum in the American South — the UT Austin collection of 21,000 works includes exceptional Latin American art, early European masters, and Ellsworth Kelly's last major work, Austin (2018), a stunning freestanding chapel.
Why It’s Worth Your Time
The Blanton Museum of Art at UT Austin holds one of the most significant university collections in the country — 21,000 works spanning ancient to contemporary with particular strength in Latin American art (the collection is nationally significant), early European paintings, and 20th-century American abstraction. The museum's newest and most talked-about work is Ellsworth Kelly's Austin (2018) — a standalone building Kelly designed as his final major work, a concrete chapel flooded with colored light through 14 stained glass windows and a skylit marble sculpture. It is one of the great artist-designed spaces in America. The Blanton is free for UT students and inexpensive for visitors; the downtown location makes it easily accessible.
What Stands Out
- Ellsworth Kelly's Austin (2018) — his final major work, a standalone light-filled chapel
- Premier Latin American art collection — nationally significant
- 21,000 works including exceptional early European masters
- Free on Thursday evenings
- Walking distance from 6th Street and the Capitol