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San Francisco Museum Exhibits: Top Traveling Shows for 2024
by Jill Loeffler •
Updated: July 1, 2024
Discover a full calendar of current and upcoming San Francisco museum exhibits.
My schedule offers a monthly look at the top shows at popular museums such as the de Young, the SF Museum of Modern Art, and the Asian Art Museum.
The calendar includes traveling and temporary exhibits with the dates they will be open to the public.
You will need to buy a ticket in addition to the general admission tickets for many of the art exhibits.
You can pick these up when you arrive or in advance online.
Click the links below to jump ahead to a specific month:
Disclaimer: I receive a small commission from some of the links on this page.
July 2024
Asian Art Museum
Deities, Paragons, and Legends: Storytelling in Chinese Pictorial Arts, 9/14 - 7/8
Into View: New Voices, New Stories, thru 8/5
RAD (Research and Development), through 10/31
Phoenix Kingdoms: The Last Splendor of China's Bronze Age, 4/19 - 7/22
Takashi Murakami, 9/15 - 7/22
Contemporary Jewish Museum
RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped, 8/31 - 7/28
Annie Albagli: We Become [Vessels], 3/23/23 - 7/28/24
California Jewish Open, 6/6 - 10/20
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
L'Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15, through 10/20
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care, 2/17 - 7/7
Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, 1/20 - 8/11
Nampeyo and the Sikyátki Revival, through 9/15
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
Irving Penn, 3/16 - 7/21
American Beauty: The Osher Collection of American Art, 5/18 - 10/20
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
Legion of Honor
Zuan-cho: Kimono Design in Modern Japan (1868 - 1912), 3/30 - 8/25
Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World, through 8/18
Woodcut: Primary Printmaking, 4/13 - 10/20
Museum of African Diaspora
Rachel Jones: !!!!!, 3/27 - 9/1
Unruly Navigations, 3/27 - 9/1
Corinne Smith, Silene Capensis, 5/29 - 7/21
Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Zanele Muholi: Eye Me, 1/18 - 8/11
Chiura Obata, 12/21 - 7/14
Mary Lovelace O'Neal, 3/16 - 10/20
Art of Noise, 5/4 - 8/18
What Matters: A Proposition in Eight Rooms, through 9/22
Creative Growth: The House That Art Built, 4/6 - 10/6
Art of Noise, 5/4 - 8/18
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
Find Tickets to Our Top Museums
Hop On Hop Off Bus: One of the best ways to explore the city and these San Francisco museum exhibits is with the Hop On Hop Off Bus. It will take you directly from attraction to attraction with ease. Learn more about the tour options here.
August 2024
Asian Art Museum
Into View: New Voices, New Stories, thru 8/5
RAD (Research and Development), through 10/31
Contemporary Jewish Museum
California Jewish Open, 6/6 - 10/20
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
L'Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15, through 10/20
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, 1/20 - 8/11
Nampeyo and the Sikyátki Revival, through 9/15
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
American Beauty: The Osher Collection of American Art, 5/18 - 10/20
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift, 8/10/2024 - 9/28/2025
Robert Bechtle: Prints and Drawings, 8/10 - 1/5
Legion of Honor
Zuan-cho: Kimono Design in Modern Japan (1868 - 1912), 3/30 - 8/25
Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World, through 8/18
Woodcut: Primary Printmaking, 4/13 - 10/20
Museum of African Diaspora
Rachel Jones: !!!!!, 3/27 - 9/1
Unruly Navigations, 3/27 - 9/1
Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Zanele Muholi: Eye Me, 1/18 - 8/11
Mary Lovelace O'Neal, 3/16 - 10/20
Art of Noise, 5/4 - 8/18
What Matters: A Proposition in Eight Rooms, through 9/22
Creative Growth: The House That Art Built, 4/6 - 10/6
Art of Noise, 5/4 - 8/18
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
September 2024
Asian Art Museum
RAD (Research and Development), through 10/31
Hallyu! The Korean Wave, opens September 27
Contemporary Jewish Museum
California Jewish Open, 6/6 - 10/20
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
L'Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15, through 10/20
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Nampeyo and the Sikyátki Revival, through 9/15
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
American Beauty: The Osher Collection of American Art, 5/18 - 10/20
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift, 8/10/2024 - 9/28/2025
Robert Bechtle: Prints and Drawings, 8/10 - 1/5
Legion of Honor
Woodcut: Primary Printmaking, 4/13 - 10/20
Museum of African Diaspora
Rachel Jones: !!!!!, 3/27 - 9/1
Unruly Navigations, 3/27 - 9/1
Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Mary Lovelace O'Neal, 3/16 - 10/20
Creative Growth: The House That Art Built, 4/6 - 10/6
What Matters: A Proposition in Eight Rooms, through 9/22
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
October 2024
Asian Art Museum
RAD (Research and Development), through 10/31
Contemporary Jewish Museum
California Jewish Open, 6/6 - 10/20
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
L'Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15, through 10/20
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
American Beauty: The Osher Collection of American Art, 5/18 - 10/20
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift, 8/10/2024 - 9/28/2025
Tamara de Lempicka, 10/12 - 2/9
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries, 10/19 - 1/12
Robert Bechtle: Prints and Drawings, 8/10 - 1/5
Legion of Honor
Woodcut: Primary Printmaking, 4/13 - 10/20
Mary Cassatt at Work, 10/5 - 1/26
Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Mary Lovelace O'Neal, 3/16 - 10/20
Creative Growth: The House That Art Built, 4/6 - 10/6
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
Get in the Game, 10/19 - 2/18
November 2024
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift, 8/10/2024 - 9/28/2025
Tamara de Lempicka, 10/12 - 2/9
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries, 10/19 - 1/12
Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON, 11/16 - 6/29
Robert Bechtle: Prints and Drawings, 8/10 - 1/5
Legion of Honor
Mary Cassatt at Work, 10/5 - 1/26
Dress Rehearsal: The Art of Theatrical Design, 11/9 - 4/27
Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
Get in the Game, 10/19 - 2/18
Amy Sherald: American Sublime, 11/17 - 3/9
>> Calendar of events for November
December 2024
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Leah Rosenberg: When One Sees a Rainbow, 6/6/24 - 4/27/27
de Young Museum of Fine Art
Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family, 3/16/24 - 3/15/26
Leilah Babirye: We Have a History, 6/22/24 - 6/22/25
About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift, 8/10/2024 - 9/28/2025
Tamara de Lempicka, 10/12 - 2/9
Art and War in the Renaissance: The Battle of Pavia Tapestries, 10/19 - 1/12
Embroidered Histories, 12/14/2024 - 12/7/2025
Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON, 11/16 - 6/29
Robert Bechtle: Prints and Drawings, 8/10 - 1/5
Legion of Honor
Mary Cassatt at Work, 10/5 - 1/26
Dress Rehearsal: The Art of Theatrical Design, 11/9 - 4/27
Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, 11/5/2022 - 1/26/2025
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth's Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, 6/22 - May 2025
Get in the Game, 10/19 - 2/18
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
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