Carnegie Art Museum

The Carnegie Art Museum occupies Oxnard's original Carnegie library building, a handsome 1906 structure that holds a permanent collection focused on California art from the 1920s to the present. The collection is particularly strong on California Impressionism and plein-air painting from the first half of the 20th century, with works depicting the landscape of the Central Coast and Southern California.

Temporary exhibitions bring in regional and national artists throughout the year. The museum is modestly sized but well-curated, and the building itself — with its characteristic Carnegie library arches and reading room proportions — is part of the pleasure.

things to do museum
A story
The museum building was originally Oxnard's Carnegie Public Library, built in 1906 with a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie — one of nearly 2,500 Carnegie libraries he funded across the English-speaking world. When the library outgrew the building, the city converted it into an art museum.