
Hello fellow travelers! My single trip for 2025 focused on driving halfway across the country. I traveled towards Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, and Badlands National Park. We made many stops along the way, and here was our first stop. Our first stop was at the Toledo Museum of Art located in Toledo, Ohio.
About:
The Toledo Museum of Art was established in 1901 to share the transformative power of art with the community. More than 30,000 artworks are housed in architecturally significant buildings on our 37-acre campus. Innovative and extensive education programs offer a variety of multi-sensory experiences for every visitor. The generous spirit of the museum’s founders has made a lasting impact. Coupled with the continued support of members, we stay a privately endowed institution dedicated to being non-profit. Our collection is open to the public, free of charge.
The museum is not that large. It only consists of 2 floors. You will only need an hour or two to explore all the exhibits.
Exhibits:
The exhibits at the museum when I went were:
Rachel Ruysch: Nature into Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is hosting a notable exhibition. It is the first monographic exhibition of Rachel Ruysch, the eminent Dutch flower still life painter (1664–1750). At a time when women’s access to careers as professional artists was severely limited, Ruysch became highly successful. She was widely renowned. She was born into a well-to-do family. Her father was Frederik Ruysch, a renowned professor of anatomy and botany. He apprenticed her to one of the premier flower still life painters of the day.
Return to Turtle Island: Indigenous Nation Building in the 18th Century
Return to Turtle Island: Indigenous Nation-Building in the Eighteenth Century celebrates the sophisticated social, political, and creative systems. These were developed by Indigenous peoples before they interacted with European settlers. Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and other First American and Canadian First Nations peoples call the North American continent Turtle Island. This references the origin story of a landmass built on the back of a great turtle.
Opulent Echoes: Artistic Journeys in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Long-distance interactions such as trade, exploration, and conflict have shaped human societies for millennia. The 16th and early 17th centuries marked a notable period of intensified global connectivity. By the 1500s, Muslim traders traveled to Southeast Asia. Representatives from the Chinese Ming Dynasty sailed to Africa. Spanish galleons traversed both the Pacific and Atlantic. The works displayed in this gallery include elaborate Safavid Persian carpets, delicate Venetian glass, and elegant Ming and Islamic ceramics. These works, along with the groundbreaking paintings of the European Renaissance, attest to the power of luxury objects. Their makers transcended social differences, aesthetic boundaries, and linguistic barriers during these centuries.
From Asia to the World: Ancient to Contemporary Art
From Asia to the World: Ancient to Contemporary Art celebrates over a century of collecting Asian art. It showcases more than one hundred years of exhibitions at the Toledo Museum of Art. It features superb examples from the ancient period to the present. Sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu deities embody sophisticated ideas and philosophies. Blue-and-white porcelain, celadon, and enamel ceramics from China, Korea, and Japan highlight trade between Asia, Latin America, and Europe. This trade occurred during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Works by contemporary artists engage these histories as well as current political and social conditions.
Africa Unmasked
Africa Unmasked commemorates sixty-five years of African art collecting and exhibiting at the Toledo Museum of Art. The display features sixteen exemplary works. These range from the oldest to the most recent acquisitions. It invites viewers to appreciate the permanent collection as both an example of African innovation. Additionally, the display is seen as an outgrowth of evolving European-American ideas about African culture. The display reckons with the past. It wrestles with the present. It posits a future in which the total creative genius of the continent is pieced together again. Kushite and contemporary works juxtapose 18th through 21st century sculptures, textiles, and paintings. These works capture and reflect the continent as a dynamic field of artistic mastery. They do so from north to south and from antiquity to our current time.
Photos


















Some of the art done by children from the community









Some of the artifacts from the Asian contemporary art exhibition






More contemporary art plus an embroidered rug.









I love these still life paintings, they show the serenity of the sea and a quiet life very well.























Exhibitions from the Africa Unmasked exhibit. They had artifacts from mainland Africa and places like Egypt.






This is definitely one of my favorite pieces, the art is made with paint and rhinestones to add some sparkle.

This is another favorite.


Two really cool neon lights displays.


The outside
The museum has several outdoor sculptures.




I like this sculpture a lot, it looks like a subway station.
Glass Pavilion
The Glass Pavillion at the Toledo Museum of Art is a beautiful exhibit of all things glass.

Beautiful glass pill-looking sculptures

This cute miniature of a diner


Glass balls with flowers and fruit

A pair of beautiful covered cups

A perfume bottle

A gorgeous gold jewelry box

A plate engraved with the head of a family



Overall, although the Toledo Museum of Art isn’t as big as other art museums I’m used to, it is free. For an hour or two of entertainment, this is a good spot to visit. It’s also a great date idea while traveling. If you’re ever in the Toledo area in Ohio, make sure to check it out.
Have you ever been to the Toledo Museum of Art before?
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