There’s something quite special about the intimacy of a small museum. Whether it’s the former home of an artist who defined a movement, or an opulent display of a private collector’s most cherished treasures, these places offer a sense of the story behind the art. We’ve gathered a selection of top stops for those who appreciate this very human connection to art and the ways in which it shapes our quotidian lives. Many of these spaces have been highlights in Tom’s travels, inspiring his own work and informing his sensibilities around creativity as a whole. We hope you, too, might find in them a personal connection of your own…

 

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden

 

The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives has long been a favourite of Tom’s. Teetering on the craggy cliffs of Cornwall, it takes on a strong spirit of the place which so inspired the artist. Her works are displayed in full force under the open sky of the sculpture garden, with her studio standing by just as she left it. In the minute museum, itself you’ll find a selection of her more delicate works and a bit of insight into the life of an artist who helped to define Modern British sculpture.

 

Kreeger Museum

 

The Kreeger Museum is a small art museum located in the former Washington, D.C. residence of Carmen and David Kreeger. This modern interpretation of a Roman Villa is the work of Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, and is sure to delight admirers of the International Style of architecture. It was designed as a home in 1963, with an eye to its eventual use as a museum, striking the perfect balance between its two incarnations. The art within is a mixture of modern and contemporary pieces, with work by the likes of Claude Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, and Alexander Calder. Set within a leafy residential neighbourhood, it’s a unique atmosphere for world-class art seen through the eyes of the collectors who loved it so.

 

Sir John Soane’s Museum

 

Sir John Soane’s Museum was once the home of the eponymous London-based neo-classical architect. It beautifully showcases his drawings and architectural models, alongside his collection of art and antiques. The place has been kept as close to its original form as possible, with restoration works keeping it fresh and very much alive. Artistic highlights include works by Canaletto and J. M. W. Turner, with intriguing Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities for added colour. Rather refreshingly, only 90 people are allowed in at any time, with labels and lighting kept discreet for an intimate, domestic feel.

 

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

 

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an expression of its namesake’s passion for art and those who make it. Once her home, it has a vibrant and storied past, given Peggy’s close ties to many luminaries of modern art. Works by Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, and Jackson Pollock shine in full force in this once residential setting, intermingling in a refreshingly casual manner. The Venetian palazzo was left unfinished, giving it an intriguingly modern quality, itself and alluding to the creative sensibility of Peggy and her circle.

 

The Noguchi Museum

 

This small New York museum showcases the works of Japanese-American designer, Isamu Noguchi. He’s best known for his modern furniture and lighting designs, informed by traditional Japanese techniques and a reverence for the raw beauty of natural materials. His light sculptures are a highpoint, filling their space like nebulous orbs of soft, golden sun. The museum is intimate, with a peaceful, almost meditative quality permeating throughout – and the sculpture garden stands out as a unique opportunity to see some of Noguchi’s less functional works as they were intended.

 

Museum Kampa

 

Prague’s Museum Kampa plays host to the private collection of Dr. Meda Mládková. It’s housed in the Sova’s Mills, which date back to the 10^th century. They sit perched on the bank of the Vltava river, which makes for a truly idyllic setting. The buildings have been beautifully restored and refreshed with a glass-walled addition to introduce a hint at the modern works within. There’s a focus on Central European art, with a strong emphasis on Czech culture. Its temporary exhibitions do feature big names from the international contemporary art world, which introduces a bit of context. The abstract modern work of the ’Eastern Block’, however, reigns supreme, illuminating the roots of a homegrown artistic movement which rippled across Europe and beyond.

 

Atelier Brancusi

 

The Romanian artist, Constantin Brancusi had a strong connection to Paris, living and working there from 1904 until his death in 1957. His parting gift to his adoptive country was the contents of his studio, brimming with sculptures, drawings, and the tools he used to make them. Architect, Renzo Piano carefully reconstructed the space as true to form as possible, complete with fragments of the artist’s inner life, as embodied by his record collection, books, and photographs.

 

Musée Rodin

 

Musée Rodin is dedicated to the infamous works of French sculptor, Auguste Rodin. It’s housed in the beautiful Hôtel Biron, with a secondary site at Rodin’s former home just outside of Paris. The artist would commute between the two, using the Hôtel as his workshop. It’s quite special to see these pieces in their natural habitat, as it were, filling the rooms in which they were made and spilling out across the grounds. Many of Rodin’s most beloved sculptures have taken up residence here, from The Thinker to The Kiss, making it a key point of pilgrimage for many admirers of his work.

 

The Chinati Foundation

 

The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum set in the otherworldly expanse of Marfa, Texas. It’s based on the ideas of artist, Donald Judd, who felt that some art simply could not be separated from its setting. There’s a major focus on context here, with the natural elements playing their own role in animating the art. It’s a give and take which brings a sense of softness and dynamism to the crisp, geometric forms of Judd as well as a curated selection of other artists.

 

Galleria Doria Pamphilj

 

Galleria Doria Pamphilj holds Rome’s largest private art collection, drawing a link between the legacies of four noble families joined by marriage. The Baroque palazzo remains in the family today and is as much a work of art as its contents. The lion’s share of the art collection is peppered through state rooms surrounding a central courtyard brimming with foliage. The chapel makes for a real highlight as well, with its ornate mouldings and illusionistic painted ceiling. 16^th and 17^th century art afficionados will be bowled over by the extent and quality of the art as well as the abundantly grand furnishings. To offer a sense, the collection includes the likes of Raphael and Titian, with its crowning jewel being Diego Velázquez’s Portrait of Innocent X. Despite its glowing credentials, Galleria Doria Pamphilj remains a relatively hidden gem celebrated by those in the know and perfect for anyone seeking a more intimate experience of world-class art.

 

 

 

Text by Annabel Colterjohn