A Place for Art Lovers of All Ages
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art has distinguished itself through its track record of informative and fascinating exhibitions and programs of international significance. These shows have covered almost the entire range of the history of art, from ancient works (Chinese, Greco-Roman, and Pre-Columbian) to the contemporary and diverse.
Highlights of the permanent collection on view include a reimagined installation of the Museum’s monumental Roman marbles, intermixed with African and pre-Columbian antiquities. Galleries dedicated to the Museum’s superb Asian collection celebrate the region’s diversely rich aesthetics with selections from China, Japan, and Korea, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas.
A new installation in the Preston Morton and Ridley-Tree Galleries highlights the influence of American and European women artists, as well as the impact of women donors whose gifts to the Museum helped shape the permanent collection. In 1959, Sophia ‘Preston’ Morton funded the 3,200-square-foot Preston Morton wing of the Museum, with one of its galleries later named to honor the support of Lady Leslie and Lord Paul Ridley-Tree. Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree continued to support the work of the Museum in many ways throughout her life and was a major supporter of the recent $50 million renovation. More information about current and upcoming exhibitions can be found on the Museum website.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
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sbma.net
(805) 884-6427
External Affairs Deputy Director: Susan Bradley
Mission
The mission of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is to integrate art into the lives of people.
Begin to Build a Relationship
We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s Director of Development and/or Executive Director.
We believe that incorporating art into students’ lives plays a crucial role in social and emotional learning. Engaging with art, whether in a group or alone, helps us understand and connect with one another. Art stirs curiosity about the unfamiliar and encourages us to accept and appreciate differences and new perspectives. By integrating art, we can enhance curriculum connections, explore diverse narratives, provoke questions, and inspire meaningful discussions.
Program Support
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art provides in-person and online resources for art makers, art educators, and art enthusiasts. Your donation supports free educational programs and engagement opportunities including classroom and after-school activities, in-person and virtual school field trips, and adult studio classes and workshops. The Museum is committed to engaging the community in new and substantial ways, through a varied series of lectures and programs, including mission-enhancing literary, musical, and theatrical events. Please visit sbma.net/support or call (805) 963-4364 to speak to one of their friendly staff for information on how you can participate.
Become a Member!
Join Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s community of art lovers and enjoy numerous benefits, including free admission, discounts on programs, lectures, workshops, and Museum Store purchases, as well as exclusive access to events celebrating art and art-making. For those who want to make a deeper connection, a Museum Circles Patron membership provides special opportunities to meet with artists, educators, curators, and fellow supporters.
2024 – 2025 Board of Trustees
Michael C. Linn, Chair
Lynn Cunningham Brown, Vice Chair
Christian McGrath, Secretary
Marta Holsman Babson
Susan Drymalski Bowey
Karen Lombardo Brill
Robert Castle
Joan Davidson
Richard De Schutter
Martha Gabbert
Mitchell Green
Christine Vanderbilt Holland
Rachel Kaganoff
Jacquelyn Klein-Brown
Norman A. Kurland
J. Paul Longanbach
Kandy Luria-Budgor
Janet Feldstein McKillop
Nicholas Mutton
Betsy Newman
Doug Norberg
Stephen Schaible
Merrill Sherman
Jeanne Towles
Martha Townsend
Beth Wood
Bruce Worster
Laura Selwyn Wyatt