Timken Museum of Art

I went to see one simple painting by Rembrandt. Saint Bartholomew. Simply said, it swept my heart away. Masterpiece!

This is a beautiful small (two rooms) art museum that is well worth stopping by if you’re in Balboa Park. Admission is free and the museum staff is approachable, friendly, and knowledgeable. Personally I’m not a fan of religious or Dutch art (which there is plenty of), but the portrait of Margaret Gage (Mrs. Thomas Gage) is absolutely beautiful.

Timken is a free museum in Balboa Park. Can’t go wrong with that. Great art viewing for free. Most of it seemed to be religious art, but that doesn’t diminish its beauty. This place is definitely worth checking out if you’re in Balboa Park. And while you’re there, be sure to visit the San Diego Museum of Art, some of the other museums, and check out the gardens in the park.

Congratulations on your first Orange and Black Ball!
A fantastic event to support a beautiful museum in Balboa Park. The night was so much fun… from portraits with an incredible backdrop (the orange poppies were magnificent) along with beautiful music at cocktail hour to the unveiling of the latest acquisition it was a night filled with lots of excitement!
Moving over to the Prado Ballroom for dinner & dancing was so much fun. Loved the selfie-​station and cocktails out in the courtyard.
It was great being able to take home our portrait from the cocktail hour. Lots of time & effort went into our masks & ensembles so having a beautiful portrait to remember it by was the BEST!
Can’t wait for next year!

I don’t know much about art honestly, but I did enjoy the galleries of the museum here which we stumbled upon on a hot day at Balboa Park and where the admission was free, with a $ 10 suggested donation.
It isn’t a big museum and during the time I went (September 2015) the exhibits include some Dutch paintings, porcelain, paintings about Christianity (some looked really cool and dark) and other portrait paintings from the Baroque period.
It’s definitely not Louvre but is a pretty neat display and a change of pace inside away from the crowds and science stuff in the science museums.
There are two sides with doors that are opposite to each other. Make sure you walk around the building to get to the main entrance.
It’s one of the very few museums in Balboa Park that is free, the other one being the Botanical Garden, which I find ridiculous but that’s a separate review about Balboa Park.
I liked my time at the Timken!

Fascinating little museum and it’s free! Surprisingly, this museum have some of great names in western art in their collection, such as Murillo, Rembrandt, Hals, Metsu, Brueghel, Boucher, Van Dyck, and Corot. Surprising for me because Corot usually painted on small canvasses, this museum has a rather large sized Corot. One of the significant painting is Copley’s stunning portrait of Mrs. Thomas Gage, it really shows Copley’s mastery in painting details of fabric and accessories. Their Rembrandt painting of St Bartholomew, just returned from European tour. It’s a monumental piece, has an unfinished feeling, nevertheless, it’s a Rembrandt. The Brueghel is one of 4 paintings in the U.S. by this artist. It looks familiar because I saw another version at the Louvre. They have several visiting exhibitions from Europe, such the recently rest tributes Raphael, and currently they show Vermeer’s «Lady reading a letter «from the Rijksmuseum. They also have some Russian icons on display as well and some tapestries. Don’t miss this museum next time you visited this museum, and although it’s free, feel generous to drop a small donation on the way out. Such artistic endeavour should be supported.

Well, you can’t complain much because it is free… though they ask for you to make a donation but there is no pressure/​hassle/​tackiness. The gallery is very small, only four rooms… and focuses on Renaissance paintings including some older Christian triptychs. There was a «rotating» gallery in the center of one of the gallery rooms showcasing the ball gown fashion designs of fashion school students. It seemed to be out of place. Highlight was that they had a tiny Raphael painting in its own room with its own security guard. So that was worth it alone. Really this is a nice bonus to the already fantastic Balboa Park area.

I was so impressed by this museum! It is FREE! How can you not like seeing beautiful works of art for free! Even my parents, who aren’t «into» art, enjoyed it.
I expected just a couple of lame paintings but I recognized some of the artists. There were plenty of pieces to look at and ponder. I wished there was better signage on the paintings. There was almost nothing at all (but perhaps that is because they hope you will buy the audiotour?)

This modest museum is almost unnoticeable among the crowds of visitors and other sites in Balboa Park. I’ve missed this each time I’ve visited, and it’s been around for 50 years!
Located by the Botanical Building and the Lilly Pond, Timken Museum of Art houses collections of fine artwork by master artists of centuries past. It’s smaller than other museums in the park, making it an ideal place to explore if you don’t want to spend too much time in one museum. Plus, entrance is FREE!
The museum’s website offers details on upcoming events and future exhibitions, and there’s also a virtual tour — but see these wonderful works of art in person if you can!

I’ll start off by saying that my idea of 5 stars is the MoMa in New York so 4 stars isn’t bad.
I also want to say sorry for not posting pictures for Timken. They have security, or some sort of employees walking in suits so I didn’t want to make them mad with pictures or anything.
Overall, I thought the art was beautiful. The museum is actually quite small, but offers a decent variety of paintings. All of the paintings are framed in beautiful gold rustic frames. My favorite room had a ton of pieces dedicated to Russian religious artwork.
As with the rest of my reviews, if the entrance is free, then it’s a plus, and this museum is also free on the last Tuesday of every month. I don’t really know art, so I’m sorry if my review is not that in depth, but I personally think this is a great place for casual art fans to take a stroll through.

This small, unassuming art museum in Balboa Park hosts a great many beautiful pieces of art. The museum itself is meticulously clean with white floors and muted color walls. When you enter you are greeted by the staff, who all appear very dapper in suits and ties.
I don’t go out to museums very often, and I am by no means gifted at telling what style/​type/​time a piece of artwork came from. However, I do appreciate art, and the Timken Museum is preserving their pieces, and displaying them, very well to the public.
While here I viewed quite a few religious type paintings, and they had a display of old-​timey miniature dresses.
The featured exhibit was works by Raphael. The Virgin and The Child original painting was on display the day my friend and I went. So I got to look at an extremely expensive (I’m sure!) and beautiful painting. Just make sure you stay behind the lines on the floor — as when I was viewing the Raphael, one woman by me stepped over the line and pointed at the painting, one of the museum staff quickly came over to remind her to keep her distance.
Definitely visit this museum if you are in Balboa Park — another perk, it is free!

Last year, we decided to bid on a membership for the Timken Museum at a silent auction, and we won. We like the museum very much, it is small, intimate, focused and a beautiful space in Balboa Park for displaying art.
Tonight, we attended the 8^th Annual Art of Fashion… had no idea what to expect… to be honest, I thought it would be a runway show… instead…it was like the San Diego Museum of Art «Art Alive»…but with real models wearing clothing inspired by particular paintings.
It was very difficult to figure out who is who, but I am doing my best to put credit to the designer where I can… if someone who is uncredited contacts me offline, I will make sure to give credit for the work in the caption.
As far as the event goes, it is a fundraiser, and as far as fundraisers, it was a fun one. Lots of food and libations, and a HECK of a dessert table. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and there were lots of high society mucky mucks there, but that is for someone else’s review, somewhere else, for me it is about the art, the designers and the overall feel.
Feelin’ great!

Small, intimate, free. Worth the visit.

This museum is a must see! You can enter for free and see some of the most beautiful paintings by master artists of the Renessaince! The detail and realism of many of these paintings is incredible! There are beautiful tapestries from the 17^th century with incredibly intricate scenes that you have to see to believe. Paintings by famous Flemish painters attest to the amazing eye and detail that sets these artists apart from other artists of the period. This is a great place to bring friends who are visiting from out of town! You won’t be disappointed!

I was very pleasantly surprised that a museum with free admission had such an impressive collection, but it was really hard to enjoy it with the very grumpy old men volunteers who were basically on my heels the entire time I was there. I seriously couldn’t walk 2 feet without one of the peeking around a doorway and staring me down.
The volunteers at the Huntington and Norton Simon do a great job of keeping watch without making you feel like a criminal and I would have enjoyed the Timken at lot more if I wasn’t being trailed by an unsmiling senior everywhere I went. I didn’t try to touch anything or step over the lines painted on the floor, so I have no idea why I was being followed like an art thief or a vandal.

Okay, I did have my doubts about this museum. I mean, it’s the only free one which made me believe this one wasn’t as impressive as others. However, I was pleasantly surprised! It was a very simple, elegant layout. Many wonderful paintings.
However, the best thing about it was our tour guide, Pat! She was WONDERFUL! My friend requested a tour (which is also free) and we met Pat right on time. She was so enthusiastic and loved what she was doing. You could really tell by the way she talked about the paintings. It was very helpful to learn about the back story of the paintings and the artists. It made me appreciate the art pieces more and let me see them in a different light than if I went by myself. She also planned the tour to be a mix between seeing the picture through an adults eye and from a child’s perspective (my group was of future teachers). If you go to this museum, email them to have Pat take you on a tour! Even other visitors outside our little group wanted to follow her because she was so engaging and helped bring the art to life for us! She made the visit 100x better :]
Anyways, a great museum to visit. I hope to take my future class for a field trip there :]

One of the few free (donation suggested) art museums in the park. It’s smaller inside — there are only two sides, each with a side room to the museum, but it’s free, so you can’t ask for much more.
The art on display is impressive. Even uncultured swine like myself can be awed by the amount of talent on display. I spend a lot of time inspecting a piece of art and thinking to myself, I could never do something like this.
The volunteers that work there are either super friendly or mostly crabby. And, if you want to take your sweet time going through the rooms and viewing the paintings, don’t go in half an hour before they close!
We were there on a Saturday, about 40 minutes before the museum was set to close. The volunteers were friendly enough when we first walked in (reminding us that pictures were not allowed, and stating that the museum would close at 4:30), but about five minutes in to our visit, they started telling us that the museum would be closing soon, and asked us to start making our way out.
By my watch, we still had at least half an hour to go. So, my cousin and I ignored them, of course, and continued on with our viewing. Two minutes later, they came back in and announced that the museum would be closing in ten minutes. Again, my watch showed we had more than 25 minutes.
I’m not sure what they were playing at, but they pretty much started chasing people out well before the 4:30 mark. At one point, they phrased it as, «The museum will be closing in five minutes. Please exit out the front.» That wasn’t even a plea to get us out; it was more like a demand. And yes, we still had way more than 5 minutes left.
At any rate, we enjoyed what we were able to see, in the brief amount of time we had. I’d definitely go back mid-​day, to give myself more time to visit every room without some guy breathing down my neck.

Free admission? Are you kidding me?!
Okay, so you’re not going to spend an afternoon here unless you’re a very very slow walker or looker, but you should always make this a stop when you’re spending the day in Balboa Park. The building itself is beautiful and honestly I plan to go back just to really examine its exterior and interior again. I love that era of architecture!
When I saw it had free admission I wasn’t expecting much, but we were walking by and we had nothing else to do so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look inside. Besides the fact that my dress got stuck in the turnstile and I accidentally flashed the people behind me, I was very pleased upon entering the museum and seeing what was available. We wandered the rooms along with other guests and everyone was very respectful and quiet. There is a lot of Jesus art up in here, but even a non-​relig like myself can appreciate the beauty of it. There are some really beautiful pieces and because it’s a small place and not crawling with people, you can really take the time to appreciate them.
Drop some cash in the donation box on your way out. This is a beautifully maintained free museum, so help keep it that way if you can.

It’s pretty hard to knock a museum that doesn’t charge admission. Since I’m taking a course that required me to visit a museum and do some visual analysis on a few piece of artwork, naturally this was an ideal choice due to the free admission.
Upon entering I was instantly greeted by a member of the staff and was allowed entrance instantly. They had plenty of staff on hand to give tours and go discuss artwork with you. A very kind gentleman was even discussing my school project with me and gave me a few pointers since he was familiar with the instructor.
The only downside is that the museum is a little on the smaller side so it is pretty easy to make your way through very quickly. They do have a couple pieces from some very renowned artists such as Peter Paul Reubens, Rembrant Van Rijn, and Claude Lorrain. As well as countless other great works.
This place is definitely worth a stop for the art lover, student or tourist. The fact that is costs absolutely nothing is enough to make it worth it. The staff is great, the art is beautiful and it’s free! The only things that would make it better is to make it bigger and include more detailed info on the art displays. Aside from that, this is a great place to visit while in the area.

The museum is pretty small and consists of mostly paintings from the Putnam Foundation. What’s odd, at least to me, is that most of the art doesn’t have a description card. They only have a small placard attached to the frame with the title, artist name, and that it’s from the Putnam Foundation. The Icon Room is the only exception to this. While I appreciate the art on display, it would have been nice to learn more about them.
Can’t really complain though since the museum, and its parking, is free. Which is pretty cool considering that this place is «considered one of the great small museums in the world». Worth a quick visit if you’re already at Balboa Park.