Harvard Art Museums
museumUniversity art museum and research complex housing the Fogg Museum, Busch–Reisinger Museum, and Arthur M. Sackler Museum, with a collection of roughly 250,000 works. Known for its Renzo Piano–designed building, the Calderwood Courtyard, rotating exhibitions, educational programs, and event rentals.
Upcoming Events (50)
Materials Lab Workshop: Remaking Egyptian Blue Pigment
Explore Egyptian blue, the first synthetic pigment, in a hands-on Materials Lab Workshop at Harvard Art Museums. Conservator Lisa Barro shares the pigment’s science and history, showcases objects from the collection, and guides you in making your own pigment under expert supervision by Caro.
Gallery Talk: American Works of Art at the 250th
Curator Horace D. Ballard leads a gallery talk at Harvard Art Museums, examining a key American artwork in the 250th-anniversary context. The narrative links art to the political and social currents surrounding the Declaration, in a monthly series.
Midday Organ Recital: Nara Lee
Nara Lee performs on Harvard’s 1958 D. A. Flentrop organ at Adolphus Busch Hall. This midday recital invites attendees to bring lunch and listen quietly in a museum setting. The program is presented by the Harvard Organ Society in collaboration with Harvard Art Museums and Memorial Church.
Exhibition Tour: Celtic Art Across the Ages
Join art historian Kimberly Cassibry for a guided tour of Celtic Art Across the Ages at Harvard Art Museums, exploring how Classical and Celtic sculpture from Italy and France intersect and how ancient stereotypes shaped mutual perceptions.
Harvard Art Museums at Night
Experience an after-hours art night at Harvard Art Museums celebrating Celtic Art Across the Ages. Free and open to all, the evening features DJ C-Zone, local food vendors, a museum shop stroll, and an interactive Materials Lab art-making activity in the Italian courtyard.
Gallery Talk: Activation of Moholy-Nagy’s Light Prop for an Electric Stage
Museum staff discuss and activate Moholy-Nagy’s Light Prop for an Electric Stage, a 1930 Bauhaus device. The gallery talk explores its experimental use of light and technology and its influence on performance spaces at Harvard Art Museums.
Spotlight Tour: Child’s Play, with Ricardo Fernandes Garcia ’27
Join Harvard Art Museums for Spotlight Tour: Child’s Play with Ricardo Fernandes Garcia ’27. A guided look at the Child’s Play exhibition, inviting insights into Garcia’s practice and how play informs contemporary art—an intimate, Boston museum experience.
Spotlight Tour: Art of Healing
Join a Spotlight Tour at the Harvard Art Museums focusing on the Art of Healing with guest Sachi Laumas ’26. This guided tour explores how healing and wellness are depicted across the collections, offering insightful context and an intimate look at works that illuminate resilience. An engaging, intellectual museum experience.
Spotlight Tour: The Nature of Art, with Alyssia Wiesenbauer ’26
Spotlight Tour at Harvard Art Museums exploring the nature of art with Alyssia Wiesenbauer ’26. A guided gallery walk that reveals how nature inspires artists, linking works across collections in an intimate, discussion-friendly setting.
Language of Smoke: Incense and Ritual (Materials Lab Workshop)
Join a materials-lab workshop at Harvard Art Museums as Assistant Professor Paulina Kolata guides a gallery walk through incense implements and devotional objects shaped by centuries of Japanese Buddhist funerary and memorial practices, exploring how smoke mediates connections between the living and the dead.
A Stroll Through History
Join a guided stroll through history at the Harvard Art Museums, exploring artworks and moments that shaped the collection. This indoor, intellectually engaging tour offers context on notable works and museum architecture—perfect for history buffs and art lovers.
In Conversation: Photography and Political Imaginaries
An in-conversation at Harvard Art Museums where Leigh Raiford and Teju Cole examine how photography shapes social movements and political imaginaries, exploring its limits and possibilities in moments of urgency and crisis. A thoughtful, accessible lecture on the power of images in politics.
Midday Organ Recital: Charles E. Brown
Charles E. Brown performs a midday organ recital at the Harvard Art Museums, showcasing classical organ repertoire in an intimate museum setting. A refined afternoon of live music amid art, ideal for adults who enjoy acoustical performances in Boston.
New Women at Work: Hanna Nagel at Harvard Art Museums
New on View: Hanna Nagel’s New Women at Work brings a focused look at how Nagel depicted women and labor, staged at Harvard Art Museums in Boston. The show juxtaposes early-20th-century works with contemporary responses, inviting discussion on gender, work, and modern art. A thought-provoking museum experience in a historic venue.
First/Hand Fridays for Harvard Students
Experience First/Hand Fridays at Harvard Art Museums, a student-focused gallery program at the Harvard Art Museums in Boston. On Friday, April 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC, Harvard students explore works with guided insights from museum staff—an informal, intellectual art encounter in a museum setting.
Spotlight Tour: Contained, with Priya Allen ’27
Join a Spotlight Tour of the Contained exhibit at the Harvard Art Museums, led by Priya Allen. A focused gallery walk offering insightful context and close looks at the featured works in a premier museum setting.
ASL Spotlight Tour: The Moods of Love
Join an ASL-interpreted spotlight tour at Harvard Art Museums to explore The Moods of Love. Guided by Diana Ochoa-Chavez ’26, this accessible program offers sign-language narration and intimate views of the artworks in a traditional gallery setting.
Spotlight Tour: In the Blink of an Eye
Join a Spotlight Tour at the Harvard Art Museums led by Jade Xiao ’27, spotlighting key pieces from the exhibition In the Blink of an Eye. This guided, concise walk offers contextual insight, artist commentary, and a close look at how perception and time are expressed in the gallery.
Monday Moments: Friends, Fellows & Partners
Join Harvard Art Museums for Monday Moments, a program designed for Friends, Fellows, and Partners. Enjoy a brief, insightful talk on art history and museum highlights in a relaxed indoor setting, followed by light conversation. Aimed at museum supporters and professionals.
New on View: Blank Space
New on View: Blank Space at Harvard Art Museums spotlights newly installed contemporary works in a sleek, gallery-first setting. The exhibition invites visitors to reimagine blank spaces as sites of perception, with immersive displays and curatorial conversations that spark fresh dialogue.
Gray Area: Unstable Canvases—19th-Century Colonial Portraiture and International Diplomacy
This Harvard Art Museums exhibition explores how 19th-century colonial portraiture intersected with international diplomacy, revealing how power and empire were negotiated on canvas and in state relations.
Midday Organ Recital: Justin Brueggeman
Experience a midday organ recital by Justin Brueggeman inside the Harvard Art Museums. A refined classical program unfolds amid gallery ambience, blending rich organ tones with the museum’s quiet art-filled spaces. A cultured noon concert suited for music lovers and museum visitors seeking an intimate, artful escape.
Art Study Center Seminar: La Farge Designs for Trinity Church
Explore John La Farge’s designs for Trinity Church at the 150th anniversary with Harvard Art Museums’ Art Study Center Seminar. This scholarly talk examines design choices, architectural impact, and stained-glass programs in a museum setting, offering fresh insights into late-19th–century church art.
Daylong Symposium: Celtic Art Up Close
A daylong academic symposium at the Harvard Art Museums exploring Celtic art up close, with talks, gallery insights, and close study of artifacts. An immersive program for scholars, students, and art lovers to deepen understanding of ancient design and iconography.
Second Saturdays Story Time
Second Saturdays Story Time at Harvard Art Museums offers a family-friendly storytelling session inspired by the museum’s collections. Kids and their grown-ups enjoy a playful, educational program with activities in a welcoming indoor setting in Boston.
Midday Organ Recital: Adrian Cho
Experience a refined midday organ recital by Adrian Cho at the Harvard Art Museums, filling the galleries with lush classical organ repertoire. Set in the museum’s atmospheric spaces, this intimate concert pairs architectural beauty with musical precision, inviting listeners to a thoughtful, professional afternoon of live music.
Spotlight Tour: Injury and Repair, with Diana Ochoa-Chavez ’26
Join a spotlight guided tour of the 'Injury and Repair' exhibition led by artist Diana Ochoa-Chavez at the Harvard Art Museums. Explore materials, repair processes, and the work's meaning in an intimate, museum setting.
Spotlight Tour: Where Are We?, with Varya Lyapneva ’26
Join a Spotlight Tour at Harvard Art Museums led by Varya Lyapneva ’26 as they explore the theme 'Where Are We?' through selected works. This guided tour offers fresh perspectives on the collection and exhibition context, perfect for art lovers, students, and curious visitors.
Art + Science: Broken Pot Assembly
A hands-on Art + Science program at Harvard Art Museums where visitors explore broken pottery through creative assembly, blending scientific curiosity with artistic technique in an interactive workshop.
In Conversation: Stuart Semple on Culture, Color, and Conflict
Stuart Semple sits down for a candid conversation at Harvard Art Museums to explore how color, culture, and conflict shape contemporary art. The discussion, part of the museum's dialogue series, dives into Semple's practice, public reception, and the role of art in social discourse.
Midday Organ Recital: Junkai Dong
Experience a refined midday organ recital by Junkai Dong at the Harvard Art Museums. The intimate concert blends classical organ repertoire with the museum's architectural ambience, offering a serene cultural highlight in Boston.
Spotlight Tour: The Moods of Love
Discover 'The Moods of Love' on a focused spotlight tour at Harvard Art Museums, led by Diana Ochoa-Chavez ’26. The intimate walkthrough surveys love-themed artworks across the collection and offers a student-hosted perspective on the museum's highlights.
Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture: Celtic Coin Imagery
An Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture at Harvard Art Museums examining Celtic coinage imagery—gods, beasts, and warriors. Numismatics and art history scholars discuss interpretation of coins and what they reveal about ancient ritual, economy, and cross-cultural exchange in Boston.
Midday Organ Recital: Janet Yieh
Midday organ recital featuring Janet Yieh at the Harvard Art Museums, presenting a focused classical program in an intimate gallery setting. Attendees can enjoy exquisite organ textures amid the museum’s refined ambiance.
Harvard Reading Period Study Session
Join Harvard Art Museums for a focused study session during Reading Period. This quiet, gallery-side gathering invites students to work on coursework amid the museum’s inspiring spaces, with peers and mentors on hand for light guidance. An ideal campus study vibe in an iconic Boston venue.
Arts Fest: Performance Fair at Harvard Art Museums
Arts Fest returns to the Harvard Art Museums with a Performance Fair in the Calderwood Courtyard and Adolphus Busch Hall. Attendees can explore live performances and interactive happenings across museum spaces, celebrating modern and classical arts in a historic campus setting.
ASL-Interpreted Spotlight Tour
Join an ASL-interpreted spotlight tour at Harvard Art Museums, exploring highlights from In the Blink of an Eye. Led by Jade Xiao ’27, this accessible indoor tour offers insightful commentary in ASL and a vivid look at the museum’s collection.
New on View: Bodhidharma
Harvard Art Museums debuts Bodhidharma in a new-on-view exhibition, offering fresh curatorial perspectives on this iconic figure in East Asian Buddhist art. The display pairs early paintings and scrolls with interpretive materials, inviting visitors to explore cross-cultural facets of Bodhidharma.
Film Marathon: Irish Folklore Trilogy
Experience a curated film marathon at Harvard Art Museums featuring the Irish Folklore Trilogy. Back-to-back screenings explore myth and storytelling within a museum setting, inviting cinephiles and scholars to an immersive night of Irish cinema.
Art + Science: Light on Paper & Media
Explore how light transforms materials at Harvard Art Museums in this Art + Science event. The session examines the effects of illumination on paper and media, blending conservation science with art history. Led by curators and scientists, it offers fresh insights into display, perception, and the material life of artworks.
Art + Science: Mending Paper
A hands-on workshop at Harvard Art Museums exploring the science of paper conservation. Participants learn restoration techniques for fragile documents, observe preservation methods, and discuss interdisciplinary approaches shaping museum practice.
Museums Closed
Harvard Art Museums will be closed on June 19, 2026, with all galleries inaccessible for that day. This calendar entry serves as a visitor notice—plan to visit on another day and check for updates. The closure affects standard hours and programs at the Harvard Art Museums in Boston.
Harvard Art Museums at Night
Experience Harvard Art Museums after dark with extended gallery hours and special exhibitions in the historic Cambridge building. This atmospheric evening invites art lovers to explore the collections, enjoy a quieter museum ambiance, and discover unique programs under one roof.
Gallery Talk: American Works of Art at the 250th
Join a curator-led Gallery Talk at Harvard Art Museums exploring American artworks highlighted for the 250th anniversary. Discover pivotal artists, works, and themes shaping American art, in an engaging, museum-gallery setting.
Second Saturdays Story Time
Join Harvard Art Museums for Second Saturdays Story Time, a kid-friendly program with stories and hands-on art activities in a gallery setting. Perfect for families with young children, it blends reading with museum exploration in a welcoming, casual atmosphere.
Gallery Performance:Celtic Art Across the Ages
An evening gallery performance at Harvard Art Museums exploring Celtic art across the ages. Live performance intertwined with gallery displays traces Celtic design from ancient symbols to modern interpretations, set in a grand Boston museum space.
Art + Science: Cotton Duck Canvas
A joint Art + Science program at Harvard Art Museums exploring Cotton Duck Canvas through a dialogue between artists and scientists. This exhibition-style event links museum collections with scientific perspectives to reveal material choices, painting techniques, and how we perceive canvas.
Gray Area: Compassion and Companionship
Gray Area: Compassion and Companionship at Harvard Art Museums invites visitors to step into intimate, thought-provoking works exploring empathy and human bonds. Spanning contemporary pieces across galleries, the show blends sculpture, painting, and installation to provoke reflection on connection in everyday life.
Art + Science: Materials and Techniques in Frame Conservation
Harvard Art Museums hosts a science-informed look at frame conservation. Conservators discuss materials, adhesives, and techniques used to preserve historic frames, with case studies and practical preservation guidance. A thoughtful blend of art history and conservation science in a museum setting.
Second Saturdays Story Time
Join Second Saturdays Story Time at Harvard Art Museums for a colorful, child-friendly storytelling hour inspired by the galleries. Ideal for families with young children, the program blends read-aloud stories with interactive art activities in a welcoming museum setting.