Last updated: 12/12/2014
32 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Closed all major holidays.
Adults: $15
Seniors (over 65): $13
Children (under 18): Free
Massachusetts Residents (Saturdays from 10am to Noon)
Harvard Faculty, students, and staff (plus one guest): Free
Cambridge Residents: Free
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Thomas W. Lentz
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Maureen Donovan
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Deborah Martin Kao
phone:
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Susanne Ebbinghaus
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Stephan Wolohojian
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Jessica Levin Martinez
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Bahadir Yildirim
phone: 617-495-3940
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Carol Mancusi-Ungaro
phone: 617-384-9410
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Megan Schwenke
phone: 617-495-2384
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Henry Lie
phone: 617-495-2392
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Daron Manoogian
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Discover the rich collections of the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler Museums, newly united in a state-of-the-art facility designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The Fogg Museum includes Western art from the Middle Ages to the present; the Busch-Reisinger Museum is dedicated to the study of art from the German-speaking countries of central and northern Europe, and is the only museum of its kind in North America; and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum is focused on Asian, ancient, and Islamic and later Indian art.
The renovation and expansion of the museums’ landmark building on the Harvard University campus provides new spaces for research, teaching, and learning–all of which are at the heart of their mission. Visitors will be able to learn about research connected to the objects on display; explore new ideas in the galleries; gain a glimpse of leading conservators at work; and in the unique Art Study Center, have hands-on experiences with a wide range of objects from the collections.
The mission of the Harvard Art Museums is to preserve, document, present, interpret, and strengthen the collections and resources in their care, and in keeping with the larger purposes of Harvard University, to advance the knowledge and appreciation of art and art museums through research, teaching, professional training, and public education.
The Fogg Museum is Harvard’s oldest art museum. Its original building, designed by Richard Morris Hunt, opened in 1895 on the present site of Canaday Hall in Harvard Yard. In 1927 the museum moved to its home at 32 Quincy Street in a building designed by Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch, and Abbott that became the site of the Fogg’s development as the nation’s premier teaching museum.
In 1897 a committee of three Harvard professors of German literature published an article titled “The Need of a Germanic Museum at Harvard.” By 1903 the Germanic Museum had opened in Rogers Hall, a former gymnasium.
In 1921 the Germanic Museum moved to Adolphus Busch Hall, at 29 Kirkland Street, and in 1950 it was renamed the Busch-Reisinger Museum. The museum moved again in 1991, this time to Werner Otto Hall at 32 Quincy Street, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. Adolphus Busch Hall continues to house the founding collection of plaster casts of medieval art and is the venue for concerts on its world-renowned Flentrop pipe organ.
In 1912 Langdon Warner taught the first courses in Asian art at Harvard, and the first at any American university. By 1977 Harvard’s collections of Asian, ancient, and Islamic and later Indian art had grown enough in size and importance to require a larger space for their display and study. The Arthur M. Sackler Museum, a new museum building at 485 Broadway designed by James Stirling, opened in 1985.
The Fogg Museum, which opened to the public in 1895, is Harvard’s oldest art museum. It is renowned for its extensive holdings of European and American art from the Middle Ages to the present. Comprising paintings, sculpture, photographs, prints, drawings, and decorative arts, the Fogg Museum’s collection offers students, scholars and visitors a comprehensive survey of the history of Western art. Particular strengths include Italian early Renaissance, 17th-century Dutch, and 19th-century French and British art, including one of America’s premier collections of works by the Pre-Raphaelites and the celebrated Maurice Wertheim collection of impressionist and postimpressionist paintings. The museum also owns a significant group of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and works on paper, and is responsible for the Harvard University Portrait Collection, which represents individuals associated with Harvard’s history.
Founded in 1903 as the Germanic Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum is the only museum in North America dedicated to the study of art from the German-speaking countries of central and northern Europe in all media and in all periods. Its holdings include significant works of Austrian Secession art, German expressionism, 1920s abstraction, and material related to the Bauhaus. Other strengths include late medieval sculpture and 18th-century art. The museum also holds noteworthy postwar and contemporary art from German-speaking Europe, including works by Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, and Gerhard Richter, as well as one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of works by Joseph Beuys.
Opened in 1985, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum holds world-renowned collections of Asian art, most notably, archaic Chinese jades and Japanese surimono, as well as outstanding Chinese bronzes, ceremonial weapons, Buddhist cave-temple sculptures, ceramics from China and Korea, Japanese works on paper, and lacquer boxes. The ancient Mediterranean and Byzantine collections are comprised of significant works in all media from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Near East. Strengths include Greek vases, small bronzes, and coins from throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The museum also holds exceptional works on paper from Islamic lands and India, including paintings, drawings, calligraphy, and manuscript illustrations, with particular strength in Rajput art, as well as important Islamic ceramics from the 8th through 19th century.
The Harvard Art Museums have always considered Harvard faculty and students as key partners—we have encouraged them to experience our exhibitions, study original works of art, and explore our rich digital collections and archival resources. ArtisTalks, scholarly lectures, symposia, and gallery programs contribute to research that relates to intellectual and creative currents on campus.
The Harvard Art Museums have provided a valuable resource for K–12 students and teachers. Works of art from across time and place invite close observation, critical thinking, and opportunities for students to learn about the world and about themselves. Professional development workshops for teachers illuminate our collections and exhibitions, emphasizing object-based teaching and offering thoughtful activities that support classroom studies and the Common Core Curriculum.
Among the Harvard Art Museums’ vital audiences are local and international visitors to Harvard University’s campus. The museums have a rich history of serving this diverse group.
Index (print magazine: 3 times per year)
Blog (online at: www.harvardartmuseums.org/blog)
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