Photo Credit: Katya Kallsen and Harvard Art Museums
As if 150,000 pieces of ancient art, period art, and multi-cultural art weren't good enough, the Harvard University Art Museums give visitors three museums for the price of one. The Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum share international renown in the discipline of art history. Visitors can roam the galleries on their own, enjoy docent-led tours, and attend the museums' lectures.
The Fogg Art Museum focuses on the progression of Western art. Representations include Italian early Renaissance, British pre-Raphaelite, Impressionist, and post-Impressionist art. An important collection of Picasso's work has its home here. Other represented names worth dropping include Botticelli, Pollock, Rothko, Sargent, Rodin, Renoir, Degas, Monet, and Bernini.
The Busch-Reisinger Museum houses postwar and modern art from Central and Northern Europe, emphasizing works from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other German-speaking countries. The museum also showcases sculptural reproductions from the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods; 16th-century painting; and 18th-century porcelain. László Moholy-Nagy's Light-Space Modulator is demonstrated each Wednesday at 1:45 p.m.
The Arthur M. Sackler Museum specializes in the art of the East, with its objects of ancient Asian, Islamic, and later-Indian art. In addition, it displays an extensive collection of Chinese jades, Japanese woodblock prints, and Korean ceramics.
Location
The Cambridge museums are one block east of the Harvard Square MBTA subway stop. The Fogg Art Museum is located at 32 Quincy Street and Broadway, next to Harvard Yard. Across the street from the Fogg is the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, at 485 Broadway. On Prescott Street and behind the Fogg is the Busch-Reisinger Museum in Werner Otto Hall, which is entered through a doorway on the Fogg's second floor.
Hours of operation
The museums are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve.
Admission
Admission fees grant access to all three museums.
Adults
$6.50
Senior citizens
$5.00
College students
$5.00
Admission is free for:
Children under age 18
Those visiting on Saturdays until noon
Cambridge Public Library cardholders
Members of the Harvard University Art Museums and other Harvard museums
Visitors with a Harvard University ID
Visitors of the Sert Gallery
Contact information and reservations
Call (617) 495-9400 for general information. To arrange group tours, call (617) 496-8576.
Disabled access
All three museums provide disabled access. For the Fogg Art Museum and Busch-Reisinger Museum, enter through the Fine Arts Library on Prescott Street. For the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, use the ramp to the right of the main entrance.
Special considerations
Groups of eight or more are required to have reservations for admittance.
Group discounts are available.
Parking, much of which is reserved for Cambridge residents, is limited to some metered parking and a few parking garages. Museum visitors are encouraged to use public transportation.
Please note
Cost, hours of operation, or other information about this attraction is subject to change without notice. We suggest you confirm with the attraction prior to your visit.
