Speed Art Museum

Louisville

LoginSave

Built in 1927 and revamped to the tune of $60 million in recent years, Kentucky's most important art museum – unaffiliated but on the University of Louisville campus – is a beautiful juxtaposition of classic and contemporary. It's highlighted by Spencer Finch's (of National September 11 Memorial Museum fame) Grand Atrium walled with fretted glass and Thai architect Kulapat Yantrasast's striking stacked concrete exterior. Collection highlights include Chuck Close's Barack Obama tapestry and Rembrandt's Portrait of a 40-Year-Old Woman.

The Kentucky decorative arts collection likewise impresses. The whole museum is set up not to overwhelm, and exhibitions are signed to explain how to view them rather than with a deluge of artsy descriptions. There's also a cafe and art house cinema onsite.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Muhammad Ali Center

    Muhammad Ali Center

    2.81 MILES

    This must-see museum tells the tale of the city's most famous native: a local boxer nicknamed the Louisville Lip or, simply, The Greatest. Highlights…

  • Louisville Slugger museum and factory - LOUISVILLE. KENTUCKY - JUNE 14, 2019; Shutterstock ID 1441901372; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

    2.73 MILES

    See how baseball's most famous bat is made. Hillerich & Bradsby Co have been manufacturing the Louisville Slugger here since 1884. Admission includes a…

  • Jim Beam American Stillhouse

    Jim Beam American Stillhouse

    20.62 MILES

    Beam is the country's best-selling bourbon. Watch a film about the Beam family, take the 90-minute tour through the factory and warehouses, and then…

  • 2B3RCKC Rack house Bourbon whiskey warehouse of Old Forester Distilling Co in Whiskey Row.Louisville.Kentucky.USA

    Old Forester Distilling Co

    2.71 MILES

    A new Whiskey Row facility that opened in 2018, Old Forester itself is a classic brand, around since the 1870s. The distillery lets you view the entire…

  • Louisville, KY - Sept. 11, 2021: Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Whiskey Row is part of the Urban Bourbon Trail and features the world's largest rocks glass in their front window.; Shutterstock ID 2039952233; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Evan Williams Bourbon Experience

    2.7 MILES

    The first distillery to open on Whiskey Row, Evan Williams puts on quite a multimedia show. Exhibits transport you back to the 1780s when bourbon-making…

  • Kentucky Derby Museum

    Kentucky Derby Museum

    1 MILES

    On the Churchill Downs racetrack grounds, the museum has exhibits on derby history, including a peek into the life of jockeys and a roundup of the most…

  • Jarrod Rampy rolls a barrel for bourbon into the Kentucky Peerless Distilling company in Louisville, Kentucky on April 11, 2019. - To be called Bourbon in the United States the whiskey mash contents require a minimum of 51 percent corn and stored in a new barrel lined with charred oak. After Canada, China, Mexico and the European Union slapped import duties from 10 to 25 percent on US whiskey and bourbon in 2018, exports dropped over 12 percent in the second quarter. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

    Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co

    2.83 MILES

    This small distiller located downtown along Whiskey Row has an intriguing story. First opened in the 1880s, it closed during WWI to conserve corn. It…

  • Jeptha Creed

    Jeptha Creed

    26.97 MILES

    A mother-daughter team creates Jeptha Creed’s bourbons, flavored vodkas and moonshines. They grow the corn and fruit used in their products on the farm…

View more attractions

Nearby Louisville attractions

1. Kentucky Derby Museum

1 MILES

On the Churchill Downs racetrack grounds, the museum has exhibits on derby history, including a peek into the life of jockeys and a roundup of the most…

2. Evan Williams Bourbon Experience

2.7 MILES

The first distillery to open on Whiskey Row, Evan Williams puts on quite a multimedia show. Exhibits transport you back to the 1780s when bourbon-making…

3. Old Forester Distilling Co

2.71 MILES

A new Whiskey Row facility that opened in 2018, Old Forester itself is a classic brand, around since the 1870s. The distillery lets you view the entire…

4. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

2.73 MILES

See how baseball's most famous bat is made. Hillerich & Bradsby Co have been manufacturing the Louisville Slugger here since 1884. Admission includes a…

5. Kentucky Science Center

2.74 MILES

Three floors of exhibits illuminate biology, physiology, physics, computing and more for families (kids love it) on historic Main St. For an extra $8 to …

6. Angel's Envy

2.75 MILES

A micro-distillery that's one of the hippest spots around, Angel's Envy bucks local tradition by finishing its bourbon in port barrels, giving it a hint…

7. Frazier History Museum

2.76 MILES

This state-of-the-art museum covers 1000 years of history with grisly battle dioramas and costumed interpreters demonstrating swordplay and staging mock…

8. Muhammad Ali Center

2.81 MILES

This must-see museum tells the tale of the city's most famous native: a local boxer nicknamed the Louisville Lip or, simply, The Greatest. Highlights…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "usa/the-south/louisville/attractions/speed-art-museum/a/poi-sig/1563836/362202",
  "destination": "Louisville",
  "continent": "North-America",
  "country": "USA",
  "region": "Kentucky",
  "city": "Louisville",
  "position": "superzone"
}