- Open today, 10 am to 5 pm.
- Parking & Directions
- Free Admission
Visitor Guide & Maps
Welcome
Explore the galleries View maps
Perry Glass Studio
Daily demos at noon See the calendar
Our History
Who was Walter Chrysler, Jr.? Learn more
FAQ
HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
GLASS STUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS
Tuesday through Sunday at noon. Advance tickets are no longer required.
MUSEUM SHOP
The Shop is open during regular Museum hours. If you prefer to shop online, visit shop.chrysler.org.
FOOD AND DRINKS
Zinnia is open during Museum hours with a full-service lunch, grab-and-go options, and a coffee bar. Food and drinks are not permitted in the galleries.
STAY HOME IF SICK
If you’re experiencing any signs of illness, please delay your visit.
ASK A GALLERY HOST
If you have questions, Gallery Hosts, wearing blue, are throughout the building and happy to help.
PROTECT THE ART
Experience the art by looking at it for as long as you like. Please help us preserve the works in our galleries by not touching the art, leaning on walls or pedestals, or running through galleries.
ARTISTS WELCOME
Feel free to sketch in our galleries with dry media (pencils, crayons, pastels). Wet media (watercolors, paint, etc.) are allowed with advanced permission. Please contact our Registration Department at 757-965-2030 or artists@chrysler.org.
ENTERING THE MUSEUM
All bags and parcels larger than 11″ x 15″ will be inspected upon entry. Backpacks are not permitted in the galleries, but feel free to check them at our complimentary lockers or complimentary coat check.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Take pictures of your favorite works, but help us keep the art safe by not using a flash, tripod, or selfie stick. When you get the perfect shot, share it with us on social media @chryslermuseum and use #ChryslerMuseum.
VISITING WITH CHILDREN
We are excited to welcome the next generation of museum enthusiasts. Children can explore the galleries on foot or in a stroller. Please do not carry children on your shoulders.
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE GUIDES
Espanol Deutsche
Explore the Museum
Gallery Maps
First Floor
Second Floor
Exhibitions on View
Through May 14, 2023
Facing Ourselves: Mike Disfarmer and the American Portrait
Exhibition Details
While You're Here
Perry Glass Studio
Discover how masterpieces in the Chrysler’s glass collection were made.
The state-of-the-art facility presents free live glassmaking demonstrations Tuesday through Sunday at noon and a variety of classes for all skill levels.
Learn more about the Glass StudioOur History
View the timeline
THE MUSEUM BUILDING
The Chrysler Museum of Art opened in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. Since then, the Museum has been expanded six times. Today, the 220,000-square-foot Museum features more than fifty galleries, a restaurant, and a theater.
NORFOLK SOCIETY OF ARTS
The Norfolk Society of Arts (NSA), established in 1917, was born from the Irene Leache Foundation, an organization established in honor of a teacher devoted to bringing the arts to Norfolk. The NSA was founded “to stimulate and further the interest in art in Norfolk and to establish an art museum.” The NSA took its first major step toward bringing a museum to Norfolk in 1923 by creating The Museum Building Fund. By 1926, NSA member Florence Sloane was leading the efforts to garner financial support. Florence and her husband, William, were textile mill owners and art connoisseurs from New York. Their former home is operated today as the Hermitage Museum and Gardens.
In 1927, the NSA secured the future museum’s first collection objects, Harriet Frismuth’s Play Days and Lillies, Lanterns, and Sunshine, a painting by Helen Turner. The NSA’s free lecture series was established in the 1950s and continues to bring notable curators, historians, architects, journalists, professors, and others to the Chrysler. Learn more about the NSA
WHO WAS WALTER P. CHRYSLER, JR.?
Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (1909–1988), the son of the founder of the Chrysler Corporation, was one of America’s preeminent collectors. He focused his acquisitions largely on twentieth-century art, American and Old Master paintings, sculpture, and glass.
In 1971, Chrysler’s wife Jean, a Norfolk native, encouraged him to gift much of his collection to the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences after his collection outgrew a space in Massachusetts. The institution was renamed in his honor.
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