Former Occidental Petroleum chairman/CEO Armand Hammer’s frankly unfocused personal collection of traditional western European and Anglo-American art is the linchpin of UCLA’s two-story, Carrara marble museum, but the daring and sometimes controversial visiting exhibits generate the buzz, such as the provocative “Tea and Morphine: Women in Paris 1880 to 1914” in 2014. Its biennial “Made in L.A.” exhibition presents a wide variety of new and experimental art in a space run by local artists. There’s no reason not to look in on whatever show is up during your visit, since the museum dropped the admission fee in February 2014 to prompt more frequent visits. (Some special exhibitions may still charge a fee.)
-Christine Delsol