Timken Museum of Art

Considered one of the finest small museums in the world, The Timken Museum of Art was opened under the direction of Walter Ames, a San Diego attorney, and two serendipitous sisters, Anne and Amy Putnam—members of the Ohio-based Timken family. For decades the Putnam sisters’ accumulation of historic paintings spent time on loan in renowned museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.  The paintings were reunited in 1965 and hung in the museum’s only permanent exhibit, the Putnam Foundation Collection.  The compilation represents three distinct areas: European Old Masters’ paintings, 18th and 19th century American art, and Russian icons. Notable pieces in the preserved collection include Rembrandt’s Saint Bartholomew, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s View of Volterra and Eastman Johnson’s Island of Nantucket.

The museum is closed on Mondays, but admission is always free as are the docent-guided tours offered Tuesday-Friday, 10a.m – noon; Saturdays from 11 – 1 p.m.; and Sundays from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

(619) 239-5548; www.timkenmuseum.org; Mass Transit bus route # 7.