Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

Opened in 2000 in a neoclassical 1920s hospital building with a large modern wing added behind it, this is the main collection of Puerto Rican art anywhere, running from eighteenth-century religious painting through to contemporary installation. José Campeche, working in San Juan in the 1700s, and Francisco Oller, who moved between Puerto Rico and the Paris of the impressionists, anchor the historic rooms; Oller's large canvases of island life are the collection's centre of gravity. Behind the building lies a sculpture garden of around two hectares with native planting, ponds and works by island artists, and a small theatre with a stained glass curtain. Santurce around it is the city's street art district.

History

The building, designed by William H. Shimmelphening and built in 1920, is the last of the old San Juan Municipal Hospital, which served as a hospital until 1966. The idea of the museum dates from 1995, and instead of demolishing the building the planners made it part of the new museum (Wikipedia, Museum of Art of Puerto Rico).

What's there

• Francisco Oller - the nineteenth-century painter at the collection's centre.
• José Campeche - colonial-era portraiture and religious painting.
• The sculpture garden - two hectares of native planting and island sculpture.
• Santurce murals - the street art filling the surrounding blocks.

When to go

Year-round, and a good option in heat or rain. It closes on Mondays and Tuesdays, and some days offer free or reduced entry. The garden is best in the morning before the heat. Combine with a walk through the Santurce murals.

Good to know

It is a fair way from Old San Juan and needs a taxi or ride share rather than a walk. Labels are mostly in Spanish with uneven English. The permanent collection can be partly closed when large temporary exhibitions are installed. The surrounding blocks are patchy and best navigated in daylight.

Nearby

Santurce's murals and market are around it; Condado beach is ten minutes.

Key facts