San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: Your ultimate guide

But the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has found a way with its convenient SoMa location, atypical hours, dynamic and diverse programming and exhibits, freebies and its whimsical, pop-art inspired exterior. 

Keep reading to learn why SFMOMA might just have the edge over the city’s other art establishments.

When SFMOMA opened in 1935, it was the West Coast’s first museum devoted to modern and contemporary art. In its first decade, SFMOMA showcased works by heavyweights such as Diego Rivera and Henri Matisse. It even hosted Jackson Pollock’s first solo museum exhibition. Today, the museum’s permanent collection includes an extensive mix of 20th- and 21st-century art, with diverse collections that include cubism, fauvism, pop art, abstract expressionism, minimalism, photography and much more.  

“He [Bedford] seems to already be making a difference at SFMOMA,” says Landry, who already knew of Bedford’s work when he was at the helm at the Baltimore Museum of Art. “I like that they are doing more with all the space in the building, are trying hard to bring in more diversity and inclusion and presenting art in a new and interesting way. To me, the museum is an exciting place.” Current and upcoming exhibits are a testament to this.

A few years back, the museum underwent a three-year, $305 million expansion and renovation. The redesigned SFMOMA was unveiled to acclaim in 2016. The remodel expanded the footprint of the museum significantly, doubling its overall size and tripling the exhibition space. The revamped exterior is made up of white fiberglass panels that have been described as both “cliffy” and “cloudlike,” paying homage to the city’s fog and surf. Unfortunately, as of the spring of 2023, the apparatus used to clean the panels is no longer functioning, so the once gleaming white panels are now a dingy greenish gray.
 
One of the highlights of the expansion is the Living Wall, on the museum’s third floor. It is a large-scale vertical garden made up of 37 species of native plants, living on a beautiful outdoor terrace. In his Artist Statement, the wall’s designer, horticulturist David Brenner, suggests that the best way to fully experience the wall is by walking the length of the terrace “as if it were a trail within a forest. The path offers the viewer a multitude of intimate discoveries of fragrance, color and texture in the foliage.” He also suggests viewing the wall in profile “where the various dimensions of plant forms are showcased and where the undulating white facade of the building is embraced by the soft textures and lushness of the plants. It is where nature and architecture meet and become one.”

While most museums stop non-paying visitors at the door, SFMOMA offers access to 45,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space during museum hours, without an entry fee. 

On the first floor, the floor-to-ceiling, 60,000-plus pound Diego Rivera mural, Pan American Unity, currently dominates the free Roberts Family Gallery on Floor 1. (The mural is on display at SFMOMA until March 2024, when it returns to City College of San Francisco.) Also on Floor 1, Julie Mehretu’s sprawling HOWL, eon (I, II) is also free for visitors to view. At 27 feet high and 32 feet wide, Mehretu’s massive canvases are impossible to miss. The museum’s cavernous lobby also houses the museum’s expansive, open-to-the-public Museum Store with something for everyone, from a $1,950 signed Cindy Sherman Film Still Triptych Skateboard set to a $5 SFMOMA stainless steel drinking straw kit and an extensive collection of art and design books.

SFMOMA’s second floor houses a number of free exhibits (in some cases, you still need to make reservations; check the website for details), as well as Steps Coffee, which offers ample seating and does not require a museum ticket. It’s the perfect spot to get inspired over a latte and even get some work done if you need a quiet, although still bustling, spot. A number of the tables have views of Rivera’s mural.

It doesn’t stop there. Museum entry is free for those 18 and under at all times and free for residents of the nine Bay Area counties the first Thursday of each month. Not bad for a museum with a $25 standard-entry adult fee. Reservations can be made up to two weeks in advance and are highly recommended. (Limit two adult tickets per person.) There are also free family days, in which admission to the museum is free for up to four adults accompanying one child 18 or under.

Bucking the museum trend of shuttered Mondays, SFMOMA only closes its doors on Wednesdays. Every other day, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except Thursdays, when it opens at 1 p.m. and closes at 8 p.m.).

East Bay resident Lynn Landry has been a SFMOMA member for about a decade, and visits whenever she gets the chance. “I love SFMOMA because it’s easy to access by BART, they are open on Mondays and they have the late evening open hours on Thursdays,” she says. “It makes for a perfect date or meeting with friends.”

With seven floors, it would be hard to make it through the museum in less than a couple of hours; one could easily spend a whole day at SFMOMA. There is that much art — and good art. If you get hungry, you have three choices for dining. In addition to Steps Coffee, there is the restaurant grace on the first floor (no museum ticket required). The name pays homage to Grace McCann Morley, the museum’s first director. And on the fifth floor is Cafe 5, an indoor/outdoor cafe that connects to the museum’s sculpture garden (museum ticket required). You’ll want to linger at Cafe 5 with its view of the city’s skyline and the terrace’s large-scale sculptures. 

Find it: SFMOMA, 151 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94103; 415-357-4000

This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Managing Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.