American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Museum

The American Visionary Art Museum opens its doors of perception in Baltimore, United States, not in an effort to make war on academic or institutionalized learning, but to create a place where the best of self-taught, intuitive contributions of all kinds will be duly recognized, explored, and then championed in a clear strong voice.
American Visionary Art Museum opened with a true sense of our own thanksgiving for more than ten years of dreaming and planning; six years of a successful all-volunteer $7 million fundraising campaign aimed at opening our doors to you debt-free; and two years of complex construction and extensive environmental cleanup at our fantastic Baltimore Inner Harbor site, on land generously provided by The City of Baltimore. We have been truly blessed.
Critically acclaimed as an "architectural jewel," the 35,000-square-foot main building of American Visionary Art Museum combines an elliptical, three-story, historic industrial building with extensive new architecture to contain six galleries, filled with art exploring one central exhibition theme at a time. The central stairway, balustrade and garden gates were beautifully hand cast by metal artist, David Hess, and have been described as "alone worth the price of admission."
Located on the ground level, the American Visionary Art Museum's Museum Shop features handcrafted gifts, choice international crafts, exotic charms, jewelry, hand-painted and recycled cards and stationery, toys, t-shirts, books, and other terrific items. Gift wrap is always free of charge.