May 17 ~ Santa Fe, NM

Courtyard at Museum of International Folk Art

MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART

If you are interested in folk art, this is the place to come. With more than 130,000 items from all over the world, the museum houses the largest international folk art collection in the world.

Museum of International Folk Art

We arrived just in time to take a free 1.5 hour docent tour.

The museum is made up of four main wings, each with a different focus and collection. I’ll take them one at a time to share some of my favorites.

Bartlett Wing

Part of Bartlett collection

The museum was originally founded by Florence Bartlett, whose collection of 2500 pieces of art from 34 countries made up the original gallery back in 1953. She gifted the building and her collection to the people of Santa Fe. She also established a foundation to support the museum.

Bartlett collection

Girard Wing

Girard Collection

Metal train

The Girard Wing opened in 1982 with the long-term exhibition Multiple visions: A common Bond. This incredible collection was the love child of Alexander and Susan Girard who over the years amassed over 100,000 objects. Girard was also a designer who envisioned and then created over a four year period the displays housed here.

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Hispanic Heritage Wing

Dress from Peru

This is one of the few museum wings in the US that is devoted to Hispanic/Latino and Latin American cultures. Much of this section focused on Peru.

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Neutrogena Wing

Alexander Girard as a young man

Currently housing a special exhibit about the other side of Alexander Girard – as a textile designer, architect and interior designer.

Textiles and furniture he designed

There was one more section downstairs…

Lloyd’s Treasure Chest

Is this Folk Art?

Primarily a storage area, they broach the subject of “What is Folk Art”?

In the past

Today

Just the facts, Ma’am

• Open Tues-Sun (closed Monday)
• Hours 10am to 5pm
• Docent tours 10:30, 11:30 and 2:00
• Admission: $7 for NM residents, $12 for other adults/seniors
• If you are going to see several museums/cultural sites, check to see if the Culture Pass for $30 fits your needs (Click here for details)
• There is a small cafe next door for lunch/snacks
• Photography is allowed in all exhibits

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that we had a more relaxing stroll through this museum. We were both worn-out from our hectic pace the previous day. Folk art is Tim’s favorite and I think he enjoyed seeing these collections tremendously. He is always such a good sport to indulge my choices, so I’m glad we could make this happen today.