Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

Description:

• Everyone (ourselves not nearly least among them) scoffed when then-Bellagio owner Steve Wynn opened an art gallery on his fabulous property. Sure, Wynn's been a serious and respected fine-arts collector for years, and consequently there was good stuff on display (though there are no masterpieces, there certainly are serious works by masters), but who would go see art in Las Vegas? Tons of tourists, as it happens, so many that they had to almost immediately relocate the gallery to a larger space.

  When the MGM MIRAGE company bought Wynn's empire, the future of the gallery, which did rely on his collection (he took most of it with him), was in doubt. Surprise again, you scoffers (and that again includes us). The gallery is not only open again, but it's also getting written up by real art critics, thanks in part to such well-chosen shows as Warhol, Monet, Picasso ceramics, and Ansel Adams retrospectives, and an exhibit from the collection of none other than Steve Martin -- yes, we mean the stand-up-comedian-turned-actor-turned-playwright/author. See, he's a longtime, well-respected collector, too, and, consequently, there were real-life reviewers, hushed with happy reverence, who took the entire show seriously indeed.

  Now, will there be as interesting a show when you go? Beats us. (When we wrote this, it was a collection of American Modernism organized with Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.) Then there's that ticket price. Do let us point out that the Louvre -- needless to say, quite a bit larger and with, one can safely say, some notable works -- is about $5 cheaper than the entry fee to this museum.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2009
•  Recommended 2010