Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts

This review is long overdue! I visited the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in August 2024. My husband's brother and his wife live in Little Rock! We were looking for something to do and decided to visit the museum. It was well worth it! We happened to go during the Arkansas Cinema Society's Filmland. It was bustling! We didn't participate in any of the programming, but had we had known about it in advance we may have! The museum itself is beautiful. It has a very great atmosphere! The team members that we did come in contact with were friendly and helpful. We probably spent 2 hours at the museum looking at all the art. I included a few photos! Thank you, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts!!

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is a rare gem where the art is so captivating I actually forgot to take pictures. It was a refreshing change of pace to be fully present and enjoy the collection without a screen in the way. While the museum is intimate in size, it is incredibly dense with talent. I was particularly impressed by the strong representation of Arkansan artists, which gives the galleries a deep sense of local pride and identity. The experience was made even better by the incredibly helpful and polite staff who make the space feel welcoming from the moment you walk in. If you’re looking for a sophisticated, high-quality museum experience that doesn't feel overwhelming, this is it.

🎨✨ The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts – where architecture and emotion become one. This museum is absolutely breathtaking. The building itself is a true work of art — so elegant, modern, and full of light. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave. It feels like the kind of place you could live in forever. The atmosphere inside is so peaceful and inspiring. I want to give a special mention to the staff — they look incredibly polished and professional, and the service was impeccable. Every detail made the experience even more pleasant. I found so much joy just being there — especially from an aesthetic point of view. Every corner feels thoughtfully designed, and it truly elevates your spirit. I highly recommend visiting the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Explore the exhibitions, soak in the beauty, grab a cup of coffee, and read a book while looking through those stunning floor-to-ceiling glass walls. ☕📚🪟 This place isn’t just about art. It’s about feeling alive.

From reception to our self guided tour of the museum, we felt welcome and enjoyed our visit very much! Security officers were kind and were watchful but polite. So many of the exhibits are unique and thought provoking. The cafe on the 2nd level is so light, bright and peaceful with relevant books and comfortable seating to enjoy a cup of ☕. Highly reccomend; especially for families with older children who enjoy history and art!

The architecture of the museum is stunning. A spectacular museum in Little Rock. Walking in the front door you feel the ambiance of beauty and peace. I met a friend for coffee in the upstairs cafe. So quiet and such a beautiful space with spectacular views of Arkansas nature while talking over coffee and a heated chocolate croissant. Hands down better than Starbucks! The museum art store has very beautiful art inspired by merchandise

We had a great time in Little Rock. Early release movie and a pleasant group of people. I had not been in the center in decades. You must see it, it's beautiful.

We visited the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts on the evening of July 4th. While we're not exactly fine arts enthusiasts, I was drawn to the museum after seeing photos of its stunning architecture. Admission is free, and you can pick up a map at the information desk. For kids, there’s a fun treasure hunt activity sheet, which turned out to be a great way to keep our son engaged. He and my wife enjoyed completing the activities together, and once they finished, he received a small gift from the museum store. I took the opportunity to explore and capture the beauty of the museum’s exterior - the architecture is truly photo-worthy from every angle. Parking was easily available, and the museum is well laid out across three floors, all accessible by elevator. Inside, you'll also find a fine dining restaurant, a cozy café, and a gift shop. Just outside, the adjacent park offers a peaceful escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. We spent about an hour and a half there - a visit that was both refreshing and enriching.

The museum itself was beautiful. There are available classes that you can take. Like pottery, art, glass blowing, and so much more. Kid friendly also.

Fantastic Museum Highly Recommend something Free to take the kiddies no see & they have a lovely art school & if you are local you can go there & enroll for art classes for 2 .. makes me wish I was local that would be something I would love to take my mother to .. share time with that loved one or friend or partner.. If I recall correctly its only like $40.00 which covers the art class & supplies which is in my opinion and awesome deal Museum Restaurant. Decent Food but "Real Drinks" Menu is in need of ReVamp lack of quality ingredients * Bloodymary Mix TRY "Zing Zang" Brand.

Wow, this is an amazing fine arts museum that is FREE! Yes, complete FREE but they do take donations. The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is treasure nestled in the heart of Little Rock, easily accessible for both locals and tourists. During my visit, they had an exhibition for Native American artists and I was pleasantly surprised by the Pablo Picasso pieces that were on loan to this museum. Beautifully curated selection of artworks in a building that I consider art itself because of the amazing design and windowed 2nd floor that overlooks Little Rock! They also offer fun, hands on courses for all types of art including painting, sculpting, and even jewelry making. I did not have time to take any courses though. I spent roughly 2 hours and was able to see everything! Whether you have a couple of hours to spare or a whole day, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is highly recommended for anyone with an appreciation for art. A MUST SEE destination in Little Rock!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit yesterday. The current exhibit of paintings, glassware, pottery, and furniture is beautiful. We had no issues with security staff as some visitors reported. They were polite and answered my few questions with no problems. It's a beautiful space and I highly recommend the exhibit on loan from Chicago.

Beautiful building and property overall - the area surrounding the museum (the park, a few homes and buildings across the street, and pedestrian infrastructure) demand attention from investors. The "living room" area with the large windows that look northward toward downtown would be such a better experience if the buildings across the street didn't look like abandoned crack houses. there are places on the property where the walkways abruptly end and many patches of dirt where it looks like the landscapers just gave up or ran out of funding to really make this property and surrounding area magnificent. The museum is impressive and a must see regardless. I enjoyed food and drinks at the cafe on site as well - we even saw an eagle hanging out in one of the trees on the south side of the building. One major con for me was the extreme lack of training and professionalism from the security guards on duty in the museum. I visit museums all the time and this was really the first time where I encountered angry, rude, aggressive security guards. They didn't smile much, seemed super frustrated any time they had to interact with me or other guests, and were way overly aggressive in telling people to step back from the paintings - there's no guide tape to help visitors so really, as a visitor, we had to guess how close we were allowed. I think we were told 4 or 5 times to step back from the paintings when we were more than 1-2 feet away from the wall. Sometimes, we like to look closely at the detail of the older paintings - that's the point! But these security guards seem to be itching to reprimand as many people as they can and possibly enjoy that POWER! I'm not kidding - go visit this place and I promise you'll come to the same conclusions. I've never seen that before at any museum. Again, it could be the lack of training and education level that these security guards have. But there's plenty of parking so you have that!

The arts are amazing and they let your kids drink out a wine glass it is the best they even have fun but watch out for the guards they don't be nice

This newly updated and renovated Museum of Fine Arts is a MUST SEE when visiting Little Rock. The building is a beautiful structure in design and architecture. There is a nice mix of more traditional art and contemporary art, which is wonderfully diverse and inclusive. Kudos to the museum curators on the more modern selections! And kudos for working with the Quapaw Nation on land acknowledgment statement. Now if the museum commits to purchasing and showcasing a certain percentage of Native/Indigenous art, that is even better in your commitment! The grand public area on the 2nd floor can be rented out for private functions is the highlight of the museum or for just hanging out. The ceilings and wall to ceiling glass windows are breathtaking. You have an incredible view of the park and surrounding area. It is FREE to enter. I would take one star off for security guards being a bit overzealous and brusque in telling visitors to stay two feet away from the art and placards, but I didn't bc I want this museum to succeed and listen to visitor feedback. Instead of having the security guards having to repeatedly tell v visitors to stand back, I'd kindly suggest you require your front staff to greet all visitors entering for museum both for headcount and kindly reminding visitors of museum rules of no touching and staying two feet away. Also consider guide tape in front of artwork displayed if you don't want visitors too close to the artwork. Other museums do this. I imagine it's exhausting for the guards to have to tell visitors this multiple times every few minutes. The brusque security guards did not pass the vibe check, so we went into another room but still I heard other visitors grumbling how they were treated which might influence them to NOT visit your museum again or art in institutions! Please coach your security guards on kinder patron interactions in tone. This museum is a gem and it would be a shame if ppl did not return bc of their negative experience viewing the art.