Laguna Art Museum

Lovely gallery space. They have a great permanent collection of Laguna artists I wish they had more of their artworks on display. $12 entry. Closed Mondays. Update March 24 returns to revisit. They have no permanent collections on display still very PUZZLING as to why?? Exhibitions I saw were good but please display some of the amazing artworks you own!

The current showings are spectacular! Get to know William Mortensen’s: Photography & Seduction. This showing is quite incredible and learn Mortensen’s keen eye on early photography with a twist of photo manipulation. Something very few artists achieved. A once Laguna resident has left an astonishing history behind. You will be emerged in his beautiful work. Don’t slip away without watching a 34min video by talented artist Rebeca Mendez’s The Sea Around Us. Take a beautiful journey on a 360 view of under water marvel. Beautiful shot and must not be missed while you visit the museum.

We were headed up route 1 to Newport Beach and ended up never leaving Laguna Beach! Stop by for lunch or a fun diner, named Ruby’s and continued driving. Suddenly saw Laguna art museum and decided to stop in. Three floors of local art mostly by artist Joseph Kleitsch. Early 20th century paintings, both portrait and plein air by this amazing artist. Lots of Laguna beach history is included in these impressionist paintings. At least three self portraits of the artist, his wife, and friends, as well as scenic impressions of Laguna Beach, the old Laguna hotel, and other iconic places in the area. And yes, upscale museum also provides a quiet respite to the busy summer beach crowd. Afterward, we took a walk down and around the California trail with stunning scenes of the ocean and the beach park. You can also see pelican rock from this location. I recommend you stop and visit this museum which is reasonably priced with friendly staff and an amazing art collection. They also have a contemporary art section on the second floor by local artists.

it is not large but shows lots of fancy art works, mostly local.

Honestly the art in here is pretty bland. And there also isn’t much work done to put in a nice scenery or atmosphere, so missing the storytelling aspect. For a renowned artist community fairly underwhelming.

This is a fantastic location with extremely friendly safe. Parking is really the only issue, but that's not the museum's fault. So plan ahead when coming, the place is small but that's not an insult. All the pieces are quite amazing, so since the place is small I feel like I have more time to appreciate all the art instead of trying to hurry up and see everything. If you're in or around Laguna beach, add a trip to the museum on your list of things to do.

Hidden Gem !!! While most people visit Laguna for the beach and good food, one must realize that Laguna is also an artist haven. This is a small three level museum with a carefully curated collection that features Laguna’s art vibe. The main floor features permanent collection, the upper level currently features black and white photographs and the lower level pays tribute to the Pageant of the Masters. Plan to spend 30 - 45 minutes. I should thank the Docent, Mr. Robert Powers who was awesome in providing insights about the exhibits.

A wonderful space 1/2 block off the ocean, 3 floors of wonderful paintings, sculpture and stand-alone pieces in different mediums and materials. All beautifully displayed. Free docent assistance provided with the reasonable admission prices.

Pretty nice little museum, especially the special exhibit rooms on the main floor, but also some really great stuff in the new aquisitions room downstairs, where you will also find the bathrooms. Very friendly and helpful docent who came around to check on us, give us extra info and answer questions. Definitely check this out if they have an exhibition from an artist you love! $15 admission at the time of writing.

well, at least they got their $30 for a half hour visit for two guests. I am giving two stars because I did enjoy the two exhibitions I went to see, even though one of them barely had any works to view. The other reviews said the museum was small, but even knowing that and taking our time, we finished in 30 minutes. There is very little information posted about the works, if any information at all. And what really gets me for the price we paid was the condition of the bathroom - one clogged toilet, two stalls without paper on the roll, trash on the floor, and an overflowing trash bin when the museum had only been open for less than half an hour!! The gift shop was nice.

This museum is a great addition to a day in Laguna. My family and I were able to get free tickets through the orange county library program. It's a very small exhibition, takes around 20 minutes to get through. With a free ticket, stopping here after a visit to Urth Cafe across the street on the way to the main downtown makes a lovely afternoon.

I bought a ticket here using the OC Library Discovery Pass. It's a nice small library. It showcases local art students pieces which is nice. It has a mixture of different art themes. They currently have a jewelry exhibit that is very pretty as well and I think worth visiting. This is a small museum, so really only need an hour here or maybe less. It is located in downtown Laguna, so it's a nice stop along the beach.

The Laguna Art Museum is a wonderful spot in Laguna Beach! Each time I visit for a stroll or for an event, the front desk staff are helpful and always ready to answer questions about the exhibits and flow. The art and the facility is clearly well cared for. During my last visit, they were promoting several community programs and well as student programs. I thought that was a wonderful way to expose more local communities to art! It's a great place to spend time while in Laguna.

The Laguna Art Museum is located off of PCH near the iconic Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. It's a smaller museum housing contemporary, modern art. We were greeted by a staff member upon entering and asked if we were Bank of America customers. For Bank of America customers, the first weekend of each month is free, so my husband and I took advantage of the free admission to visit. We were informed that we could take photos on all of the floors except for the lowest level where the special jewelry exhibition was on display. We made our way through the different levels seeing some local artists' work from LCAD, as well as some more well known artists like Frank Gehry. The museum is quiet and very walkable in an hour or two. The lower level Adam Neeley jewelry exhibit, showcasing a local Laguna Beach native, is quite spectacular so I was glad we were able to see it. Afterwards, we dipped our toes in the ocean and made our way back to the free LB trolley. It's definitely a great way to spend the afternoon, if you're local.

Very quaint museum to check out if you are in South OC. There's 3 floors of exhibits. It's not very large so you can comfortably see everything in about an hour if you took your time. We wanted to check out what they had since we'd never been to this museum. General admission was $12 for adults, and it's just street parking or metered parking. The gift shop had a lot of cute items to pick up on the way out!

What a great day we had with Linda Tilden giving us a guided tour of the beautiful jewelry collection by https://www.adamneeley.com/ A local Laguna Beach artist who creates one of kind pieces with a unique perspective and natural designs. Also loved the collection from Joan and Jack couple from LA based artists. Very informative, unique and a great way to spend the day with my favorite tribe of women from South OC.

Cute little museum with a big personality. Right in the heart of Laguna, if you have time to spare definitely recommend a visit. Not crowded, enjoyable art. a couple great rooms, and spacious as well. I didn't partake but looks like there was a craft room for kids of some sort so that's a definite bonus!

We had our annual Valiant Women membership meeting and breakfast this morning at the Laguna Art Museum... Wonderful and informative tour afterwards with the ExecutiveDirector Julie Lee. She did an amazing job explaining most of the art that was presented. This is a smaller Art museum but it is packed with very interesting artists. Since 1918 Laguna art museum has brought our into the lives of millions of people. They also offer Many programs and events all through the month. Become a member today the memories the inspiration and the connection all await you. Membership for an individual is only $60 a year. $30 for a student. ( unlimited daily admission to the art museum and exhibits. Discounts on select ticketed programming or discussions and performances) and the annual membership appreciation week...

I recently had the pleasure of taking a tour of the museum led by your fantastic art docent Linda Tilden. I particularly appreciated the two wonderful exhibitions that are currently on the view at the museum: The jewelry designs of Adam Neely and the art from Joan and Jack Quinn family collection. Linda shared her knowledge without being dry or overwhelming. Her enthusiasm for the art was contagious! I left the museum feeling inspired!

I love this museum. 1 of 3 exhibits were closed (were about to re-open) but the art that we saw was colorful & expertly arranged under lights. The museum was not busy (Tuesday afternoon) a small group was leaving the exhibit as we arrived, so we had the museum to ourselves. We also scored 3 hardcover books for $3 during their sale!

Small but intimate museum showcasing a variety of art. I highly recommend the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit happening now (ends on October 24, 2021). I love clowns and Thiebaud's style and vision presented a fantastic rendition of these creatures (I am being facetious, of course, but I do think clowns are often demonized rather than humanized). Either way, Thiebaud's colorful style and dynamic brush work resulted in a very animated representation. It's a fun collection of pieces and a joy to explore. The museum itself is small and totally manageable within an hour visit. I really appreciate smaller institutions like this as it gives you an opportunity to truly look at each piece. It's also priced reasonably at $7/adult ($5 for students and seniors). They had a couple rooms that held their permanent collection plus three special exhibitions (clowns, an abstract architectural photography exhibition upstairs, and a tableau vivant portrait photography exhibit downstairs). Each exhibition was very different from one another and provided a welcome contrast. The tableau vivant portrait exhibit (based on the local tableau vivant festival in Laguna) was really interesting. It was accompanied by a video which provided the necessary context (and was really important to the exhibition as it explained/showed the event). Gift shop: Some cute items but pretty heavy on the artisanal jewelry. Could have benefited from a more eclectic collection of items. I'm sure Laguna has a wide variety of local artists with unique offerings. PARKING: A huge headache. There is metered parking on the PCH and Cliff Drive but it's naturally very hard to find. I'd recommend checking out the residential area across the street (free to park) as it's where we ended up eventually finding a spot. If you don't mind walking a bit, there are affordable parking garages in the downtown area. The city of Laguna does a good job making all the parking lot information available: www.lagunabeachcity.net/cityhall/parking/default.htm. They even have an app to help you (although I haven't used it).

10/10 in every which way! We are members and are so happy to renew! Thanks for a variety of activities for all!! Hope to see you soon!

Liked this museum, the only thing that I did not like was that there is no parking and it's a small gallery. There is plenty to see inside but some sections where closed when I visited due to COVID-19 restriction and I'm not sure if they were vamping up a gallery area. Always go to the beach near by so will visit museum again once they are done with new exhibit.

This is my second time to check out Kahuna Art Museum. I enjoyed the show this time... but there's no impression for my first visit. This time, they have a graduate exhibition from LCAD which is pretty good. And Francis portrait exhibition is great as well. The basement, they have Jean Lowe's show which is my favorite, it is so fun and amazing to check it out.

This is truly a delightful experience. Paying homage to the historical aspect of the thriving Laguna Beach art colony, it's a must visit among over 100 local galleries and artists studios the area has to offer. Hosting a broad spectrum of rotating exhibitions and family focused events along with darker collections-- this museum is a true pillar of the community. A few steps from Main Beach Laguna, include this as part of your afternoon itinerary whether just visiting or native to OC.

Beautiful :) A must go check out!!! So went to go check out Laguna Art Walk last night super great, came across this museum and loved it . My sister told me people can volunteer to become the standing art at this event where people check out the art. Freaken awesome actually! So they have 3 floors where people can check out the MANY art pieces. On the bottom floor there is a vIdeo on how these volunteers where picked and what there experience was like. How the volunteers decided to do this stand still art for people. I bet it's an AMAZING experience!!! Check out the stand still actually people !!!!

Much thanks to Dr. Malcolm Warner and associates for coming to our home, Oceans 13 Laguna, and choosing to exhibit one of the Russian Dolls series by Rhoda Weissman. We all had fun and are happy to share more art at this wonderful museum in the future!

Hate to leave negative reviews, but this place is very underwhelming. My girlfriends and I visited for the art walk and admission was free, usually you'd have to pay admission of $12.00, which is pretty wild to me. The collection of art wasn't that great and the museum itself felt pretty small. Maybe it's just the collection we saw, but we did walk pretty far in the cold to see this place and I was pretty disappointed with what they offered.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. This teeny tiny art museum has a whole heck of a lot of soul. What that means is that the history and conception of this place is connected to the being of the early days of the town. Around the turn of the century, many plein air artists gravitated to Laguna Beach to live and paint. An art colony was formed. Frank Culprien, Anna Hills, Edgar Payne, and others formed the Laguna Beach Art Association (LBAA) in 1918. Their gallery was in the touristy Laguna Beach hotel. But the professional acclaim of the artists grew, so the Laguna Art Museum was opened on February 26, 1929 right in the spot that it stands currently. Awesome! But the old structure is long gone. Too bad. Today, it is a modern slick design. I was amazed by the history and paintings displayed here. I have been to art museums in NYC, SF, Sacto...but due to the largeness of those, I never sensed the soul of a community connecting to the art. But I felt that here. I never knew Edgar Payne moved to Laguna Beach in 1918 and was the first president of the LBAA. It is so great that the museum has some of his pieces concentrating on the coastal landscape of OC and of the other art colony, Carmel. The majority of pieces displayed here are from artists of the early art colony days that achieved successful national recognition. They also have other art work ranging through current day. They have staff walk around just making sure no one "messes" with the paintings. Photos are allowed, just no flash photography. They try to be discreet but due to the cozy size of the gallery, you may run into them a few times as they do their walk about. They are the friendliest. I spoke to a few of them. They are not docents or guides, so don't expect them to be experts. The adult admission is $7, $5 for students 18 yrs + and seniors 60+, and free for kids 17 and under...not bad at all. The day that I visited, unbeknownst to us, they were letting folks in for free due to the computer being down. Very gracious of them. But, parking is straight up challenging. They have no lot, it is street metered parking in a crowded touristy area.

Probably more like 3.5 stars. I was disappointed that I paid the $12 admission only to find that the bottom floor was closed with no exhibit. I suppose this is my fault for not checking current exhibitions before entering, but it would have been nice had the person taking my money told me. This museum is quite small and while it had some nice work featured it took me little more than half an hour to finish my exploration.

Haven't been here since high school but knew I wanted to stop by ever since they reopened after lockdown! They have a Granville Redmond exhibit going on right now, which is so beautiful! I really enjoyed it and thought it was set up well. The other floors aren't as intriguing but they do have a couple cool pieces in their permanent collection. I feel like you can really get a sense of Orange County/SoCal's history just by looking at the artwork here. Everything is super clean, pristine and it's definitely a great place to stop by when you're in Laguna! Just sure to reserve slots on their website. Tickets are reasonably priced, although that makes sense because the museum is quite small and you probably won't spend more than an hour here. All the staff members were really nice!

A few things to note about Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA: *this SMALL museum celebrating 100 years in 2018 is not comparable in size to the Art Museums you would find in big cities like Boston, Los Angeles, Paris, etc. but the artwork displayed here is lovely and 5 star worthy of any large Metropolitan Art Museum. I saw some of the most beautiful paintings of the ocean that I've ever seen anywhere. The artists who painted my favorite seascape paintings depicted Carmel, my other California Coastal favorite locale. *you will find a small collection of beautiful, stunning paintings which rotate, many are privately owned. I was utterly inspired by the artwork I saw. I also learned many of the Museum owned pieces were not even on display. *Featured artists were inspired by the Laguna Beach area and most artists collaborated with the artist colony in Laguna Beach at one time or another. If I recall correctly most paintings I saw today were from the early to mid 1900's. *we arrived 20 minutes before closing and we saw everything but the second floor exhibit, which we were told was about 6 paintings *Admission is $7, $5 for students and free for military between Memorial Day and Labor day OR free for the general public on the First Thursday of every month from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm ***docent guided tours on First Thursday's. We visited for free. *There is a small gift shop but we did not get a chance to browse due to time constraints. *Street Metered parking can be difficult to find in summer months We were glad we visited and enjoyed a walk at the beach afterward, this is definitely not a destination that would take more than an hour to see. I decided to check out this Museum after a recent visit to the Festival of Arts, Pageant of the Masters this year. The Museum was mentioned in the show and I wondered why I've never visited. For the dozens of times I've been to Laguna, I've never bothered to stop into this Museum, and I am glad we did today. I would love to return for a docent guided tour.

Swung by here for 20 minutes today to check out the local artwork. Been meaning to come here for awhile now and finally did, by using the BofA client "museums on us" offer, where admission is complimentary on the first weekend of every month. Woohoo. Only main floor & upstairs were open to the public today. Wear masks at all times. Parking available by meter across the street.

Staff was warm and friendly. They have a wonderful and interesting curation of diverse art that art-lovers of all kind would enjoy. Engaging historical pieces of California, Laguna Beach, and photography.

Nice "museum", but very small and select. I appreciate a good museum that can keep my mind busy, but sadly LAM didn't really deliver. My bf and I came here after we found Groupon tickets, 2 for the price of 1. Score! We were greeted by a lady who informed us of the main gallery and one upstairs. I thought it would take us an hour to get through, but we finished it in about 35 minutes. The gallery itself has some beautiful pieces, but they are mostly oil based paintings...which is fine...but when I go to a museum I like to see a variety of mediums presented. If you need some time to kill in Laguna, this will definitely take up some of your time, but don't plan a day around this art gallery like we did. You might end up disappointed. Note: Parking is street only.

Right off the main road, adjacent to the beach, is this great little art museum. Deceptively small from the outside, it's actually three floors! Their featured artist is currently Peter Krasnow, whose paintings, sketches, and sculptures are featured on most of the ground floor, along with select landscape pieces from their permanent collection highlighting local beaches. The basement was my favorite area, with current students' work on display- great, vivit stuff spanning different styles and subject matter. Use the back staircase instead of the elevator, you'll know why when you see it. Top floor features Anthony Friedkin's Waves portfolio. Though the art on display is a bit limited, the pieces are carefully selected. I love the theme focusing on beaches and the local culture. Entry price is a low and reasonable $7. Before visiting, note that they are closed Wednesdays and open late Thursdays. Don't skip the gift shop- they have a great selection of limited edition prints!

Hands down one of the best Museums in Laguna! Jean Lowe's exhibit was genius! Had the best time with my date

Very nice museum with very pretty, impressive art. The museum is a decent size, takes about an hour to maybe an hour and a half to appreciate all the art. If you are a student make sure you say so and have your ID to save $2 and pay $5. General is $7. Worth checking out!

3 floors of excellent art. The docents are also really good. Carol discussed the artist Wayne Thiebaud. She was wonderful. The museum is also a 1/2 block away from the most scenic part of Laguna. Walk north and south along the sidewalk. It is a slice of paradise. For parking, we parked up the hill in a neighborhood.

The Museum advertised a photography exhibit. We were not told it was closed until after we paid admission and when we said we came in to see it, we were not offered a refund. We're all for supporting the arts but that felt like a ripoff, especially since the exhibits we did see were not anything interesting.

Olivia at the reception told me it's free parking on that street north of museum parallel from PCH. Who took extra time to search wild flowers for me, an old lady in a county library? Olivia did!

The nerve to charge $12 for this place is just flabbergasting, the top floor of the museum wasn't even open, that's one third of the museum. For an area known for its art the permanent collection was underwhelming. The "humorous" collection of Styrofoam Art on the bottom floor was also disappointing. Save your money and just go to a gallery down in Laguna Beach, you'll see better art and you won't be upset that you spent your hard earned money.

My brother's company, Blizzard, has an exhibit here right now, and he could get us in for cheap, so we came down with him today to check it out. I must admit, i'm not a HUGE art fan, but this place was nice. I liked the way they had everything displayed. The place was just big enough, it wasn't miles and miles of art. The WOW pictures they had displayed were pretty cool. I'm totally not into video games, but I was surprised to find that all the art for the game isn't ugly Viking type men...some of it was pretty cool :) The parking sucked, we circled the area 2 times and found no parking. We ended up eating at Las Brisas next door so we could get valet parking. I will keep an eye on their website and see if they have any other interesting exhibits in the future - if so, I will come back.

I visited the Laguna Art Museum on Free Socal Museum day. The exhibits were works by Stanton Macdonald Wright and the California Auction items. The museum is quite small and you'll have to street park so be prepared for hectic beach parking and to parallel park. I loved the Haiga Portfolio with it's vibrant colors and inspiration to Japanese Art. I enjoys seeing the work of fellow Californians and their take on our sunny state. Prices $7.00 general $5.00 students and seniors FREE for children under 12 and museum members. FREE the first Thursday of every month from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Don't forget to take advantage of walking to the beach it's just a few steps away!

A great museum to visit if you're in Southern California, the lay out is great. I was greeted promptly by a nice young man at the front desk. The paintings were beautiful placed throughout the museum. You may access the second floor with an elevator to take in the more wonderful art work. One thing that can be challenging, is the parking situation. If you're an art lover it's worth the drive to Laguna Beach to see beautiful art work. There is cute little gift shop to buy unique items from local artists....

I came visiting from out of town, and my friend got tickets for us both. Once we came, we spent about an hour looking for parking. We called the museum staff, and were given recommendations on where to park, but there was no parking anywhere in this tiny beach town. We even tried valet parking in the parking lot right next to the museum...only to be told the parking was for the restaurant, not for the museum. Really? In the end, this "museum" just wasn't worth checking out because we wasted at least 1 hour trying to look for parking. We had to get a refund for our tickets from Groupon.

A little hidden gem in Laguna, it's a small collection but contains some exquisite pieces. Went on a Sunday afternoon and it was surprisingly pretty empty which was great, got to really take our time viewing each piece. The nice young lady at the front desk gave us all a great discount because of my boyfriend being a veteran, such a pleasant surprise. Only challenge for this museum is finding parking but there's lot of meter parking just have to drive around a couple times around the vicinity. Overall I would definitely recommend this museum and would go again.

Classy, elegant, and fun. This museum is absolutely gorgeous and so well organized. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. We spent a good 45 minutes in the gift shop and bought quite a few items. The buyer for the shop is a fantastic job in selecting items that are well priced and very cool. Exhibits are well organized and very informative and interesting. I have visited this museum many times over the many years that I have been to Laguna Beach and I've always found it exceptional. Yelp Now that I have been yelping for a while, I realize what a cool application this really is. Yelp has become my "go to" site whenever I go to new city around the world. I've also been able to communicate with yelp friends from around the world whenever I travel to a new city in order to get advice of where to eat and also for business information. Yelp is also a great way to keep track of your past experiences and it has become a digital record of where I have been and how much I enjoyed those locations. Yelp is also really great place to connect with people in your own town to see what is going on and what is fun and which restaurants are new and exciting. Try it, you may very well enjoy becoming a yelper also.

Avoid this place, not worth your time and the staff are not very welcoming. Stalked us around the gallery like we were going to steal something. Go there if you like being looked down at by snooty people!!! This clip from one of their paintings on display illustrates why these snooty people act they way they do. If you are visiting Southern California, your time is better spent visiting the Getty Center in Los Angeles. You won't be disappointed.

This museum is small but mighty! I loved all the art and the special exhibit of Granville Redmond's works. I tend to gravitate towards landscape paintings and his paintings of the CA coast are breath taking. There are three floors of artwork and each floor is accessible by stairs or elevator. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the museum and we also spent some time in the museum gift shop. The employees were extremely kind and welcoming. Parking can be challenging given that it's right off of PCH but you should be able to find something within 15 min. Since our visit was on the short side we also got some nice drinks from starbucks down the road and went for a nice stroll on the pathway along the ocean. I highly recommend this place for a break from the busyness of Laguna and you will support local arts too!

I won 2 tickets in the raffle for Yelp Goes To The Movies and, wouldn't you know it, this place had been on my bucket list for quite some time. So, Marty & I took advantage this summer of the great opportunity to go and explore this unique, small, yet iconic museum tucked away on the corner of PCH in Laguna Beach. We both enjoy getting lost in museums, even when I travel I tell my companions that I will stray, go my way, since the best way for me, [MP] to enjoy a museum is solo. ============================================================= They had a stand out exhibit going on amongst the rest of the art & collections of a women's journey through her brain tumor, cancer & the surgery; how so I relate to this now of the way she felt and, she expressed it eloquently in short films, art work and other displays that gave us BOTH a true sense of her journey. The photos from our visit and other tell the stories of visits, that not only inspire, but give you cause for pause, as you admire the courage, talents and experiences that drive these artists to display their works. The staff is very cordial, informative & knowledgeable and, the museum itself is user friendly, either via the elevator or, via the winding stairs that take you through art work on canvases & other means, strategically placed to catch the lights that reflect their colors & allure. Parking is challenging, but we found street parking, brought a lunch, and people watched, as during the week this is the best time to do so. Were we Gobsmacked? At times yes, but I found myself humming this as we strolled & got lost, got out of ourselves and, appreciated the commitment by this museum to stand apart, display and remain the icon of Laguna which offers up a small two story building for doing just that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG-A_qTAKEI

Nice small museum, downstairs was closed for remodeling but still a good showing for only 7 dollars

Last month I visited Laguna Art Museum. Groupon had a buy one get one free offer so I came here with Tom T. We found out that the museum also offers buy one get one free through checking into the museum on the Yelp app on your smartphone. An exhibit on Noguchi, known in this area for the California Scenario garden in the South Coast Plaza Town Center, runs until Oct 2, 2012. One of the details in the exhibit that fascinated me was the collection of correspondence between the artist and Segerstrom and his staff, who commissioned the work. Smaller structures made by Noguchi are also on display and we had fun peering at them. The top floor houses Lita Albuquerque's Emergence exhibit, comprised of two series of works, Red Pigment Paintings and Beekeeper. Staff here is pleasant and there's a gift shop on the first floor.

Thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this museum situated in beautiful Laguna Beach. The exhibits change regularly; currently there is a splendid exhibit of their Laguna themed permanent collection pieces. Really beautiful. The Dike exhibition upstairs was gorgeous in its curation...the lighting was perfect for both the works as well as a poem by him. The Marcia Hafif pieces were quite riveting. Her use of color to convey mood is outstanding. Overall this was a pleasant afternoon excursion. The gift shop has an outstanding collection of books as well as jewelry and prints of the Dike piece.

Jennifer is a fan of art. She loves photography, paintings, dance, and design. So decided to travel 50 miles to explore the life and art of William Wendt's exhibit: In nature's temple. (11/09/08- 02/08/09).Since the museum didn't provide a parking lot she frantically found a meter at Heisler Park and walked to the museum. Her friend payed 8 dollars for a student admission while her admission was free because she had a Bank of America card. (first weekend of the month) Jennifer thought the flow of the museum was accessible. Each area was painted in a different hue; forest green, maroon, beige, pastel yellow. etc. Jennifer had trouble reading the bios. She noticed that the bios were painted the same color as the wall that read in a small white font. She was fascinated with Wendt's romantic landscape paintings. She liked his use of rich shadows and how he used various colors to create the smallest details. Wendt was an impressionist of his time (1912) Jennifer was very disappointed that photography was prohibited in the museum. Jennifer found more art by walking up the stairs where she noticed the hallway was filled with old historic photos of Laguna Beach! So handicapped people can't see this, she thought? The 3rd level had a small space of other landscape artists. The lower level felt like a garage, she said. Dark cement floor tiles that consisted of names and years and nothing else. They were important somehow! The lower level had nothing but modern art. While Jennifer explored some more she found a tiny corner all the way in the back, the area was filled with students artwork. She felt like she had raided someones diary. The drawings consisted of dreams and deep personal thoughts that only the artists knew. Jennifer liked the charcoal and the oil based paintings the best. Jennifer doesn't really like talking in third person but thought it would be funny because creative writing is a form of art ;)

Laguna Art Museum (LAM) appears rather small from the outside, but it houses 3 floors of art. The top floor is very small and you have a view of the entrance and one of the rooms. The bottom floor is dark and the bathroom is located here as well. It was the last day for the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit, so I headed over to view his art pieces before they were gone. They even had a small room with a few chairs to view an interview Thiebaud had about his art and it's impact on modern culture. The LAM is very open. It's minimalistic design and 1 center bench in the major rooms makes it feel much larger. The staff is kind and the location is perfect. Keep the museum going and donate.

Read the fine print... Yes, it should have occurred to us that, at this time, advance reservations to the museum might be required. Somehow, though, we managed to look at the website twice (reading through the current exhibitions, open days and hours, price, etc.) without noticing the tiny grayed-out line, buried far down the first page, stating this. "Advance Tickets Required" should be in a banner in bold print at the top! So we went in on an offseason weekday morning to be told that the museum was "at capacity" and it would be two hours before any spots would be available. In addition, reservations can only be made online. It seems peculiar that the people working at the front desk can't add your name to the list while you are standing there--isn't this taking "contact free" to an extreme? Fortunately, we live in a nearby town and can come again another day. I've been visiting the Laguna Art Museum now and again for the past 40 years, and they have had some wonderful exhibitions, including (I'm sure) the current one. Just disappointed that the website didn't make it immediately clear that one needs to plan a visit well in advance.