SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Your Museum. Your Community. .
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Founded in 1935, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted to modern and contemporary art. From the outset, the museum has championed the most innovative and challenging art of its time, and we continue to exhibit and collect work by both modern masters and younger, less-established artists.

06/23/2026

One of the strangest details in this painting is hiding under the coffee table 🔍

"Answered Prayers" is one of six intricate paintings by Hilary Harkness using direct and indirect references to Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, their legendary relationship, circle of associates, and the times in which they lived to comment on contemporary issues of s*x and class.

Stein and her brother were the original owners of Matisse's "Femme au chapeau" and Stein was also a celebrated novelist and poet in her own right. But it was her decades-long relationship with writer Alice B. Toklas that captured Harkness's imagination.

See this work in "Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal" alongside two other paintings from Harkness's "Life with Alice and Gertrude" series.

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Hilary Harkness, "Answered Prayers," 2024; collection KAWS; © Hilary Harkness; photo: courtesy Hilary Harkness and P·P·O·W, New York

06/22/2026

🔔 ✨ Mark your calendar ✨🔔 on July 11, we're presenting “Graciela Iturbide: Between Two Worlds,” a major retrospective of the widely celebrated photographer.

See five decades of Iturbide’s poetic and lyrical photography, centered around her home country of Mexico and beyond. Her black and white photography features arresting moments of the everyday, uncanny traditions and festivals, symbols of life's cycles, images of Frida Kahlo’s bathroom, self-portraiture, and more.

Iturbide’s work is grounded in the belief that her camera allows her to relate to the world. The exhibition highlights the ways in which her photographs function as meditations: acts of attention that honor and contemplate the people, landscapes, and rituals that she encounters.

Opening July 11th on Floor 3 📸
Learn more: https://bit.ly/3QSlVwB

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Graciela Iturbide, “Magnolia, Juchitán, México”, 1986; collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide, "El gallo, Juchitán, México" (The Rooster, Juchitán, Mexico), 1986; Collection Fundación Mapfre; © Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide, “Cementerio, Juchitán, México”, 1988; Collection Fundación Mapfre; © Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide, “Vendedora de zácate, Oaxaca, México” (Woman Selling Fodder, Oaxaca, Mexico), 1974; Collection Fundación Mapfre; © Graciela Iturbide

06/21/2026

Colors of a modern day “Femme au chapeau” you can watch and listen to 🎧

Although controversial in its time, Matisse’s unconventional portrait of his wife left a lasting impression on artists today—Rachel Harrison’s “Hoarders” is a perfect example of the colorful impact.

As you enter the last galleries in “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal,” you’ll come across artists like Mickalene Thomas, Hilary Harkness, Wayne Thiebaud, and Joan Brown—each engaging with Matisse’s legacy of “Femme au chapeau” in their own way.

Have you seen “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal” yet? We want to know what you thought about the must-see exhibition of the summer.

06/19/2026

This Juneteenth, we’re sitting with a painting that asks what freedom really looks like.

In “For Love, and for Country,” Amy Sherald directly references Alfred Eisenstaedt’s “V-J Day in Times Square,” the famed photograph of a US Sailor kissing a woman in celebration of the end of World War II. Instead, Sherald re-envisions the work with two Black male sailors sharing a passionate kiss. Through her paintings, Sherald often refers to the historical omission of Black people in American portraiture. Choosing to recreate the image in vibrant and powerful force, she re-contextualizes the narrative to one rooted in themes of freedom, queer-joy, and belonging.

The artist describes her paintings as a resting place, inviting viewers to engage in more expansive thinking about race, representation, and the historical precedents that shape our idea of what it means to be American.

“I was thinking about the history behind the photograph and the Black soldiers who returned from the war shortly after, and what it would mean to broach the iconic pose through another understanding of masculinity.” –Amy Sherald

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Amy Sherald, “For Love, and for Country”, 2022; SFMOMA, purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Helen and Charles Schwab; © Amy Sherald; photo: Don Ross

06/18/2026

Connect, reflect, and make memories that go beyond the gallery walls—
We love hearing your thoughts after visiting “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal” 🖼️🎞️

Take in the stories from the 1905 scandal, all the way up to the art of today. Make your own memories throughout each gallery in the must see exhibition of the summer.

📍Floor 4

[Photo: Don Ross]

06/16/2026

If Mickalene Thomas's monumental portrait reminds you of Henri Matisse's "Femme au chapeau," you're onto something. 🔍✨

With its bold color and dramatic hat, "Qusuquzah, une très belle négresse 1" (Qusuquzah, A Very Beautiful Black Woman 1) echoes the masterpiece that shocked Paris in 1905.

Thomas draws on the legacy of Matisse (and Édouard Manet)—through heightened color, glamour, and the confident presence of a sitter who meets our gaze head-on, she transforms the conventions of modern portraiture.

The connection extends beyond the canvas: In 2025-26, Thomas made history as the first African American woman to be featured in a major solo exhibition at the Grand Palais, where "Femme au chapeau" made its debut 120 years prior.

See this rhinestone-studded portrait as part of the must-see exhibition of the summer, "Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal."

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Mickalene Thomas, "Qusuquzah, une très belle négresse 1" (Qusuquzah, A Very Beautiful Black Woman 1), 2011; © Mickalene Thomas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

06/13/2026

Colors so good they couldn't possibly just stay on a canvas 🪨🎨🫟

After seeing Henri Matisse's "Femme au chapeau" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—a rare sight as the work no longer travels—Brooklyn-based artist Rachel Harrison made sure the bold hues of "Femme au chapeau" didn't stay on a flat surface.

Although already underway with "Hoarders," Harrison decided to translate the Matisse portrait's iconic colors into her sculpture, working from a postcard of the painting.

Explore the connection between the two works at SFMOMA and discover how other artists have responded to Matisse's famous portrait in the 120+ years since its controversial debut.

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[Photo: Don Ross]

06/12/2026

Bring art into your family time this weekend with Sunday's Free Family Day 🌟

This Sunday, explore our new "Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10" presentation through line, shape, and color with an incredible day of programming with fun for all the family: https://bit.ly/49VxpWq

📅 Sunday, June 14
Free general admission for up to two adults accompanying one child (18 and younger)

✨ 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
📍Floor 1, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Atrium
Welcome table with giveaway kits (while supplies last!) + stroller parking

📍Floor 2, Koret Education Center
PLAY WITH COLOR: art making with SCRAP, inspired by Ellsworth Kelly + Scavenger hunt pickup and prizes

📍Floor 4, Gina and Stuart Peterson White Box
BUILD SHAPES: activity with blocks, inspired by abstract art

📍Floor 5, Co-Lab
DRAW LINES: drawing activity with Mitzi Peterson and Jeannie Pettigrew, inspired by Sol LeWitt

✨ 11 a.m. + 1 p.m.
📍Floor 1, Phyllis Wattis Theater
Storytime with SFPL inspired by Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol, and more.

Reserve your Free Family Day tickets today!

Disclaimer: Family Free Day tickets grant you free access to the entire museum, with the exception of Matisse’s "Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal," which requires a timed ticket.

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Photos:
1. Barak Shrama
2. Mogli Maureal
3. Barak Shrama
4. Barak Shrama
5. Myleen Hollero

06/10/2026

Wishing for a meeting place like this too 💭

Be inspired by one of modernism’s most influential spaces: Gertrude and Leo Stein’s famed apartment. It was filled to the brim with artworks and objects, and was where they hosted their Sunday evening gatherings known as salons.

These salons brought together artists, writers, and collectors, all of whom could expect to encounter the most adventurous artworks and daring ideas of the time. So influential was the siblings’ modest home at 27 rue de Fleurus that it came to be described as “the first museum of modern art”—an essential destination for anyone in early 20th-century Paris interested in the new and the avant-garde.

See this animated recreation and step back into 1905 Paris in “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal,” open now.

And calling all members! Don’t miss our special June Member Mondays, running every Monday this month. Visit our Member Lounge in the White Box from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. for complimentary coffee and treats, and a quiet place to linger between galleries 💌

06/08/2026

Latinx celebration, live painting, and music to takeover the SF sky🌇🎶

In partnership with the Bay Area’s beloved and home-grown Noise Pop, SFMOMA takes over the rooftop with our July edition of Rooftop Radio on Thursday, July 16th!

Here’s what’s in store:
🎵6–7:15 p.m. | mare.e.fresh
🎵7:30–8:45 p.m. | Y La Bamba

🫟 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., enjoy live caricature painting by Bay Area⁠–based Ecuadorian visual artist Vanessa Shive. A sign-up form will be provided at the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Only a small number of portraits will be available.

LOOKING TO EXPLORE MORE? 👀
💃 Stop by the White Box on Floor 4 for a baile folklórico dance performance + workshop
📷 Check out "Feel the Beat: Dance in Photographs" on Floor 3
📷 See Graciela Iturbide's retrospective "Graciela Iturbide: Between Two Worlds" on Floor 3

A Rooftop Radio ticket is required to attend. Advance reservations encouraged. Limited day-of tickets available on-site starting at 3 p.m.

🎟️ Ticket link + info: https://bit.ly/4e6kqlV
🍸 This event is 21+

🖼️Planning to see “Matisse: A Modern Scandal” during Rooftop Radio? Visit the link in bio to learn how to reserve your spot.

Address

151 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA
94103

Telephone

+14153574000

Website

http://www.sfmoma.org/

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