Fine Art

Set amid 164 acres of woodlands and gardens, the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh may surprise the casual visitor with its sophistication and breadth. The museum’s European collection includes important works by Botticelli, Raphael, Van Dyck, Rubens, and Monet, and many other favorites. There are galleries devoted to major American artists from the eighteenth century to the present, and there are also significant exhibits of ancient Egyptian, African, ancient American, Oceanic, and Jewish ceremonial art. All told, the collections span 5,000 years. The museum complements its permanent collections with twelve to fifteen special exhibitions each year, and they keep getting better and better. The “Monet in Normandy” exhibit in 2006-07 was a sell-out event, drawing more than 200,000 visitors. If you visit the museum these days, you’ll notice big plans are afoot. A new museum building is under construction, due to open in 2009.

2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, 919-839-6262, www.ncartmuseum.org