The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas is one of the largest university art museums in the United States, with a permanent collection of nearly 20,000 works. The strengths are in European art from the Renaissance through the 19th century, Latin American art (one of the best collections in the country), and modern and contemporary American and European work.
The museum underwent a major expansion and is impressively housed. Its most talked-about acquisition in recent years is Ellsworth Kelly's "Austin" — a separate building on the museum grounds designed by Kelly in the last years of his life and completed after his death, containing coloured stone panels and shaped windows that create a meditative, light-filled space. Admission to the main museum includes access to the Kelly building.