Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and More: Visiting Mexico City’s House Museums
With the end of Art Basel Miami this week the world has entered the season of the art fair and its accompanying tours of the museums around the world. While most visitors might simply fly by way of Miami’s international airport to take in the fair the reality is thousands are flying to Miami and then traveling across the world to see the fair, and in some cases that’s without trying to get around the crowds in the city that is rapidly taking over the international airport as a city.
Even if Miami is your first port of call, I’d recommend seeing some of the most important museums in the world before you head out to see the fair. The museums are spread across Mexico City and visitors to Mexico City should not forget the museum sites in their trip around the city.
Some of the most important museums in the world are all in Mexico City and while you likely won’t have a chance to visit as many of them as you’d like, these seven are some of the most important in any travel itinerary.
The Museo Nacional de las Artes y las Ciencias in Mexico City
Mexican artist Diego Rivera’s masterpiece The Nude Maja (1908–1909) is housed in a stunning contemporary art museum that is known for showing only a few works each year. In the spring of 2018 Diego Rivera museum will celebrate the centenary of Rivera’s birth with a special exhibition. The museum’s permanent collection encompasses more than 4,000 paintings and drawings in all media by Rivera. The museum also hosts a series of one-off temporary exhibitions with work by some of Rivera’s colleagues and admirers.
The Museo Ponce de Leon in Mexico City
This sprawling art museum is located in the Palacio de Minería on the corner of the Avenue of the Americas and 7th Street. Construction was completed in 1968 and Ponce de Leon Museum features three floors of collections, among them important works by Diego Rivera, Jacob Lawrence, José Clemente Orozco, Frida Kahlo, José Orozco, Frida Kahlo, Luis Barragan, Isidro Gout, Frida Kah