The history of museums is a long one, and worldwide, it would be hard to pin down when art museums first started appearing. Art has been collected for many hundreds of years, but in earlier times was often used as display in churches, temples and private residences rather than in any one location that simply existed for showcasing art.

In Europe after the Middle Ages, opening up parts of palaces, castles, and homes of the elite to the public became more popular, especially as a price could be extracted for the visit. English housemaids, for example, would give tours of the homes they worked in during the long periods the family would spend somewhere else.

Today, there are many famous art museums located in the United States. Some of the more well known contenders include the Met museum of art in NYC, the Philly art museum, and the modern art museum also located in New York, known as the MoMA.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or MET as it is affectionately termed, is the largest museum in the US, and one of the three largest museums in the entire world. It has a permanent collection of over two million works ranging from classical antiquity to modern art. Currently the Met NY has a pay as you wish admission, with the recommended donation of 25 dollars.

The Philly Art Museum, or Philadelphia Museum of Art, is also one of the largest art museums in the US, with a collection of more than a quart of a million pieces. The Philly art museum was originally established as part of the very first World Fair, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The Philly art museum has a basic entrance fee of 20 dollars.

The MoMA, or Museum of Modern Art has been important to the development of modern art, and has often been identified as one of the most influential modern art museums in the world. The original idea for the art museum was developed back in 1929 by Abby, the wife of John Rockefeller, and two of her close friends.