The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
An encyclopedic collection with world-class Asian art—and giant shuttlecocks on the lawn in Kansas City’s monumental cultural heart.
Artwork inspired by Claes Oldenburg
The Nelson-Atkins is an encyclopedic museum with roughly 40,000 works spanning thousands of years, but it is especially celebrated for Asian art. Chinese bronzes, ceramics, sculpture, furniture, and a reconstructed temple interior reward close attention, while European painting, photography, Indigenous art, and modern and contemporary galleries make it possible to build a completely different visit each time.
The campus is part of the collection experience. The original 1933 Beaux-Arts building feels monumental and symmetrical; Steven Holl’s Bloch Building answers it with five translucent glass “lenses” that draw daylight into galleries below. Outside, four enormous Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen recast the lawn as a playful badminton court and make the museum instantly recognizable.
General admission is free, so resist trying to cover everything. Pick one collection as an anchor, cross into the Bloch Building to experience the architectural contrast, and leave time for the sculpture park. A focused 60–90 minute visit can be satisfying; two to four hours allows room to wander without turning the museum into a checklist.
- Collection
- About 40,000 works
- Opened
- 1933
- Plan for
- 2–4 hours
Quick guide
- Admission
- Free · check-in required
- Late nights
- Thursday & Friday until 9pm
Plan your museum visit
- First visit
- Choose one collection wing, see the Bloch Building, then finish outside with Shuttlecocks and the sculpture park.
- Don’t miss
- The Chinese art collection, Caravaggio’s Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Monet’s Water Lilies, and the Bloch Building light wells.
- Check in
- General admission is free, but nonmembers check in for a wristband. Online advance check-in provides a QR code.
- Food
- Rozzelle Court serves lunch and afternoon coffee; Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters is near the Bloch Building north entrance.
- Current note
- Gallery access can shift during renovations, so check current gallery updates before prioritizing a particular work.
Good to know
The four enormous Shuttlecocks turn the sculpture lawn into an imaginary badminton court, playfully recasting the museum building as the net.
Notice these
- 5,000 years of global art
- Exceptional Asian collection
- Steven Holl’s Bloch Building
- Free sculpture park