Santa Barbara Museum Of Art

"Fantastic experience! It is so calming and full of fantastic pieces. They have some incredible paintings and sculptures. We're fortunate to have this museum in our city!"

"The art was fine. The staff was very strange and followed me into every room I went into watching me like a hawk. It’s hard to enjoy the art when you feel eyes glued on you. I’ve seen multiple reviews saying very similar things, I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse. Talk with your staff. I understand the need to protect the art pieces, but there’s a tasteful and respectful way to do so. I’ve been to plenty of art 5 and have never had this same issue."

"Can't wait to go back. Came up for the James Castle exhibit. Definitely didn't have enough time to look at other exhibits. I think it was take at least 1/2 day to explore. Lovely museum and staff. Can't wait to come back up!"

"It’s fair to say this is my favorite museum in Santa Barbara. I was in town for the day visiting from LA and had heard many great things about this museum so decided to see for myself. Parking is easy and there are multiple areas to do it. It’s not very large inside but is two floors filled with beautiful works from all over the world. It’s subdivided into different regions and periods and it’s very easy to spend an hour here looking and reading. Coming from LA it’s way less crowded than I’m used to so that was also a bonus. I would recommend to anyone visiting Santa Barbara or if you’re a fan of art like I am and live within driving distance SB is a wonderful town to plan a day away."

"Maybe it's the humanities major in me, but I really enjoyed the Santa Barbara Museum of Art more than the Mission... We came on Sunday afternoon towards the end of our trip. The admission fee for adults are usually $10, but if you have a student id you can get in for $6 :) yay for looking young enough to get college discounts still!! My favorite collections were definitely the Japanese and the Egyptian exhibits. I really admired the skill-based occupations of the time. In the world we live in, mass production takes away the meaning of art and what's special. So looking at the hand made artifacts really call out to a part in my soul (yeah I know, I sound super lame...) I really preferred the artifacts over the more contemporary photographs and painting. But that's all a preference thing, I have nothing against photographs and paints... I just enjoy the sculptures and artifacts at a higher level. My only complaint about this place is that I didn't have enough time to truly enjoy its' beauty. Towards the end of the trip, I felt like time was running out. If I come back to Santa Barbara, this will probably one of the places I check out on the first day so I can spend more time here :)"