Although most art galleries are state-owned and aptly named after cities or provincial capitals, some of them are named after specific artists. For the artist, an art gallery named after them is perhaps the best affirmation of their artistic achievements.
The following list introduces eight museums named after artists, including Chinese and others.
He Xiangning Art Museum
2018 marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of He Xiangning, a Chinese revolutionary, feminist and politician. She's also a well-known painter at home and abroad.
2018 marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of He Xiangning, and the museum is holding an exhibition to commemorate her. /Hxnart.com Photo
The He Xiangning Art Museum opened in Shenzhen on April 18, 1997, and this is the first national art gallery in China, named after a person. Moreover, it is also the second national modern museum after the National Art Museum of China.
Two people take photos at the He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, October 29, 2017. /VCG Photo
The museum takes the collection, research, and exhibition of He Xiangning's artworks as the basic academic work, and also holds her most significant works.
Liu Haisu Art Museum
Liu Haisu (1896-1994) was a prominent 20th-century Chinese painter and a noted art educator. He excelled in Chinese painting and oil painting.
Liu Haisu loved Mount Huangshan, and the most important works of his life are mostly about the mountain. It can be said that Huangshan is the source of his art.
On March 16, 1995, the Liu Haisu Art Museum of Shanghai Hongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone officially opened. The museum's exterior also seems to have a feeling of "sea, clouds, and rocks."
According to Liu Haisu Art Museum, the museum has more than 2,000 pieces, of which 903 are donated by Liu.
Muxin Art Museum
Mu Xin (1927-2011) was a Chinese painter, poet, and writer. His works drew on both Chinese and Western traditions.
The night scene of Muxin Art Museum. /VCG Photo
The opening ceremony for the Muxin Art Museum located in Wuzhen was held on November 15, 2015, and the museum officially opened to the public the following day.
The Muxin library at Muxin Art Museum. /VCG Photo
"Wind, water, a bridge" is Mu's last word when he saw the design of the museum, which is highly generalized and foreshadows the building and the landscape of its surroundings.
This sentence, now hanging at the entrance of the museum, is in respect to the poet, but it's also Mu Xin's most poetic description of his hometown.
The sentence, "wind, water, a bridge" hangs at the entrance of the museum. /Muxin Art Museum Photo
Yayoi Kusama Museum
Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, but is also active in painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. She describes herself as a "mental artist." She makes good use of dots and mirrors to cover surfaces, including walls, floors, and canvases.
Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo. /Yayoikusamamuseum.jp Photo
In October 2017, Yayoi Kusama's art gallery set up in Tokyo. The exhibition areas show Kusama's artworks and the most famous immersive installations, including "Infinity Mirrored Room."
The night scene of Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo. /Yayoikusamamuseum.jp Photo
"We hope to share widely the message of world peace and love for humanity that Kusama has promoted, while also engaging people from all backgrounds with contemporary art," said Akira Tatehata, Director of Yayoi Kusama Museum.
N's YARD
Yoshitomo Nara, a Japanese artist, has had nearly 40 solo exhibitions since 1984. Nara set up a personal gallery in the Tochigi Prefecture in 2017. In March 2018, the museum in the forest officially opened to the public.
Yoshitomo Nara's art show in Tokyo, 2018. /VCG Photo
The gallery called "N's YARD," and the exhibition hall displays the artist's works of various periods, including some previously unrevealed art.
Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum, founded in 1973 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, has the most extensive collection of Van Gogh art in the world.
Van Gogh Museum exposition wing in Amsterdam. /VCG Photo
The permanent collection includes more than 200 paintings by Van Gogh, 500 drawings, and more than 800 letters, including one of his most famous pieces, "Sunflowers."
Turner Contemporary
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA, known as J. M. W. Turner and contemporarily as William Turner (1775-1851), was an English Romantic painter and is one of the most celebrated artists in British history.
JMW Turner's watercolor, Margate, 1830. /Turnercontemporary.org Photo
"He is the father of modern art," evaluated John Ruskin in 1843.
"Turner elevated the landscape to a new and exalted status, keeping it equal of historical paintings and portraits," said Ernst Gombrich, an art historian.
JMW Turner Waves Breaking on a Lee Shore at Margate. /Turnercontemporary.org Photo
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, designed by David Chipperfield, the English architect.
Picasso Museum Barcelona
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, poet, and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France.
A visitor looks at a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso during the presentation of the exhibition "Picasso's Kitchen" at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona on May 23, 2018. /VCG Photo
After Picasso's death in 1973, he left behind numerous works. His heirs paid an estate tax to French authorities by giving away Picasso's works. The French government established the Picasso museum for these works in 1985.
There are Picasso's original manuscripts and other collections in this 17th-century building, including 203 of Picasso's paintings.
(Cover designed by Jia Jieqiong)