SFMOMA Free Community Day — Matisse Opening

SFMOMA is holding a free community day on Sunday, May 24, 2026, with museumwide admission and special programming tied to the opening of *Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal*. The San Francisco museum said the event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes access across the museum, though entry to the Matisse exhibition itself is being managed separately. (sfmoma.org) Timed tickets for that show are available only on-site at the Floor 2 Ticketing Desk, on a first-come, first-served basis and subject to limited capacity. The event also coincides with SFMOMA’s newly reimagined Fisher Collection galleries, according to the museum’s event listings. (sfmoma.org) ### How does the free day work if the Matisse show has timed entry? SFMOMA said general admission to the museum is free all day on May 24, but visitors still need a general admission ticket. The museum’s event page says access to *Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal* is handled through separate timed-entry tickets distributed on-site. The Floor 2 Ticketing Desk is the place to get those exhibition tickets, according to SFMOMA’s event page and exhibition FAQ. The museum said availability is limited and tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning free entry to the building does not guarantee immediate access to the Matisse galleries. (sfmoma.org) ### What is SFMOMA opening with this event? *Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal* opened at SFMOMA on May 16 and runs through September 13, 2026. The exhibition centers on Henri Matisse’s 1905 portrait *Femme au chapeau* — also known as *Woman with a Hat* — and examines the painting’s debut, reception and longer afterlife. (sfmoma.org) SFMOMA said the painting is part of its own collection and does not travel under the terms of its bequest, making the museum the exclusive venue for the exhibition. In a press release, Chief Curator Janet Bishop said the show is intended to tell “the full story” of a work the museum describes as central to Matisse’s break with convention. (sfmoma.org) ### Why is this painting so closely tied to SFMOMA? SFMOMA said *Femme au chapeau* has been part of the museum’s history since its early years. A museum essay says the painting was first shown there in 1936, a year after the institution opened as the San Francisco Museum of Art, and entered the collection in 1991 as a bequest from Elise S. (sfmoma.org) Haas. The August 2025 exhibition announcement traced the work’s path through the Stein family before it reached the Bay Area. SFMOMA said Leo and Gertrude Stein acquired the painting after the 1905 Salon d’Automne, and Michael and Sarah Stein later brought it from France to the Bay Area in 1935. (sfmoma.org) ### What else is happening during the day? SFMOMA’s event pages describe the May 24 program as museumwide and family-friendly, with free admission and special activities throughout the day. The museum has framed the event as a community day built around learning, creating and connecting, though the public listings surfaced in search results do not provide a full minute-by-minute schedule in the snippets available. (sfmoma.org) The museum’s homepage and events listings also link the day to the reopening of the reimagined Fisher Collection galleries. That means visitors arriving for the Matisse opening are also being invited to see new installations across other floors of the museum. (sfmoma.org) ### What should visitors know next? May 24 is the free community day date, and SFMOMA said programming runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum’s events page is carrying the current schedule, while *Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal* remains on view through September 13, 2026, with regular exhibition pricing listed as $10 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and holidays outside the free day. (sfmoma.org) (sfmoma.org)