Columbia Museum of Art

The Columbia Museum of Art sits on Main Street in the heart of downtown and holds a collection stronger than you might expect for a city of Columbia's size. The European holdings run from medieval through Baroque, including works attributed to Botticelli and pieces from the Samuel H. Kress Collection — the same collection that seeded many American museum galleries in the mid-20th century. There is also solid contemporary American work and strong photography holdings.

The building itself is modern and well-designed, with good natural light. Temporary exhibitions rotate frequently and tend to be ambitious in scale. The museum hosts a popular free Fridays series — entry is free one evening per week, with live music and events that bring a younger crowd in from the university.

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The museum's most prized possession is a 15th-century painting attributed to Sandro Botticelli — a significant work for a mid-sized American city to hold. It arrived in Columbia in 1950 as part of a gift from Samuel Rush Kaminsky, a local businessman who spent decades quietly acquiring Renaissance and Baroque works at a time when European art was available at relatively modest prices in the postwar market.

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