The Blanton Museum of Art (200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 512/471-5482, www.blantonmuseum.org, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Wed. and Fri.–Sat., 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thurs., 1–5 p.m. Sun., $7 adults, $5 seniors, $3 students 13–21, free on Thurs.) recently opened to much fanfare in Austin, in part because the city had long been lacking a high-profile quality art museum.

The facility was initially poised for international acclaim until the university’s conservative board of regents nixed plans for a spectacular and progressive building designed by acclaimed Swiss architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron because it was apparently deemed too threatening to the uniform appearance of the other campus facilities. Despite this embarrassing setback, the Blanton contains an impressive collection of art from Texas and around the world.

The Blanton is the largest university art museum in the country, with important collections in Latin-American art, American art, and European painting, prints, and drawings. The museum’s collection of Latin-American art is particularly notable, featuring more than 2,000 works from more than 600 artists representing Mexico, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. It’s considered one of the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive collections in the country.