The Museo de Arte de Ponce, known as MAP, holds one of the most important collections of European art in the Caribbean, in a landmark modernist building on Boulevard Luis A. Ferré Aguayo in Ponce. If you're planning a trip, the key fact is this: the museum is temporarily closed. Its main building was damaged by the earthquakes of January 2020, and a $30 million reconstruction began in May 2026. The museum has not announced a reopening date. Here's what MAP is, why it matters and how you can still engage with its collection while the work goes on.
A museum founded on one man's vision
MAP was founded in 1959 by Luis A. Ferré, the Ponce industrialist who later served as governor of Puerto Rico. He set out to give the island a serious art museum and built the collection from European Old Masters, Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian painting, and Puerto Rican and Latin American art. Today the collection numbers more than 5,000 objects.
The museum's home was designed by the American architect Edward Durell Stone, whose other work includes the original Museum of Modern Art building in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington. Its linked hexagonal galleries, lit from above, and the white, symmetrical façade make it one of the most admired modern buildings in Puerto Rico. The building was expanded and renovated in the late 2000s and reopened in November 2010, while the collection toured museums in Europe and the Americas.
Highlights of the collection
MAP is best known internationally for its British Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian paintings, led by Frederic Leighton's Flaming June, the glowing image of a sleeping woman in orange drapery that has become the museum's emblem. The European holdings also include work associated with Rubens and Van Dyck, and the museum has strong collections of Puerto Rican art from the colonial era to the present, including painters such as José Campeche and Francisco Oller. Pieces from the collection have been lent to major institutions abroad, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
What happened after the 2020 earthquakes
The earthquakes that struck southern Puerto Rico in late December 2019 and January 2020 damaged the Edward Durell Stone building and forced parts of the museum to close. For several years much of the collection stayed in storage or traveled. In May 2026, MAP began the reconstruction of its main galleries, a project of about $30 million funded by individual donors, corporate contributions and local and federal funds. The work, led by PRAR Architecture under architect Brígida Hogan, includes structural repair and reinforcement and aims to bring the building up to current standards while protecting visitors and the collection.
The museum's own notice says it will remain temporarily closed during the reconstruction phase. Any reopening estimate you see on third-party sites is unofficial; follow the museum's website and social media for confirmed dates.
How to see MAP's art now
- Touring exhibition. A selection of masterworks is traveling in the United States as The Sense of Beauty: Six Centuries of Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce. Check the museum's website for current venues.
- Programs in Ponce. The museum continues public programming, including its "Saturdays at the Museum" activities, at the Plaza del Caribe mall.
- Online. The museum's digital collections and eMuseum let you browse many works in detail, and its online store remains open.
- Elsewhere in Puerto Rico. In San Juan, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in Santurce is open and focuses on Puerto Rican art.
For visitor information, the museum's main phone line and website remain the best sources. You can find the official notice on the Museo de Arte de Ponce website.
Getting there (for when it reopens)
The museum is at 2325 Boulevard Luis A. Ferré Aguayo, a short drive from Ponce's historic center and roughly an hour and a half from San Juan via the PR-52 toll road. Plaza Las Delicias and the rest of the historic center are a short drive or taxi ride away.
Spending a day in Ponce now
Ponce has plenty to fill a day even with MAP closed. Start at Plaza Las Delicias, where the striped Parque de Bombas firehouse museum is open with free admission and the cathedral stands behind it. Drive up to Castillo Serrallés, the rum family's 1930s mansion, and the observation cross at El Vigía. North of town, Tibes preserves ancient ball courts and ceremonial plazas. End the day at the seaside boardwalk of La Guancha.
Good to know
- MAP is temporarily closed; reconstruction of its main galleries began in May 2026.
- No official reopening date has been announced.
- Part of the collection is touring the US as The Sense of Beauty.
- Programs continue at Plaza del Caribe, and the collection can be browsed online.
- Check museoarteponce.org before planning a visit around the museum.
