Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus (must see)

The Columbus Museum of Art is an art museum located in downtown Columbus. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. Its original building was the Sessions Mansion. It was replaced on the same site by the current building, which opened on January 22, 1931. It was designed by Columbus architects Richards, McCarty and Bulford. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1992, under its original name.

The museum had historically focused on European and American art up through the early modern period, but in recent years has branched into more contemporary art exhibits and a permanent photography collection. Highlights of its permanent collection include early Cubist paintings by Picasso and Juan Gris, and works by Cézanne, Boucher, Ingres, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Edward Hopper, and Norman Rockwell. The Museum also has a substantial collection of paintings by Columbus native George Bellows. Its photography collection includes works by Berenice Abbott and Eugène Atget.