Our Country’s Hidden Art Treasure: College Art Museums

Map of Smith College Museum of Art

It’s almost summer and we are having visions of vacations whether near or far. Many of us are opting to stay closer to home because it’s less expensive, easier travel if nearby, now seems safer and lets us get to know what’s almost in our backyard, including treasures in the arts that our country has to offer.  

It’s likely that any summer outing could include a short visit to a museum. However, many of the most famous ones may be too large to navigate easily, too crowded during the summer months to really enjoy and study exhibitions, too much to absorb, too many people pushing to get closer to the artworks, and as we age, these large buildings may easily tire us out. For example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City spans 2 million square feet, and even the smaller art Institute of Chicago is still 1 million square feet. The even smaller Los Angeles County Museum is 347,500 square feet, too large for those of us less steady on our feet and with less energy and focus. These represent a lot of ground to cover.  Yes, we can pick and choose a few galleries rather than try to take all in, which is impossible to do in one outing. 

Now, there’s another wonderful and less overwhelming option for art-loving older folks. We are referring to the plethora of small art museums connected to many American colleges and universities.  Many have stellar collections that are smaller and often designed to be teaching museums for student classes. They provide cultural opportunities for residents and visitors like us, both indoors and sometimes with sculpture gardens, some with free admission and some with a cafeteria to rest weary feet and grab food or drink. 

Here’s a round-up of more than 30 worth visiting coast to coast. Note some colleges have more than one museum. For example, Yale University has two separate museums, and Harvard has three. Some we’ve been to, and others are on our must-see list. Many have a special focus. Colby College has worked to build an American art collection and is known for its extensive Alex Katz paintings. Dartmouth College’s Hood Museum of Art is known for its indigenous Australian contemporary art and archive of photojournalism. Some collections are housed in noteworthy architectural buildings such as Vassar College’s in a Cesar Pelli-designed modern structure, itself a work of art from the late Argentine architect who was dean of the Yale School of Architecture. 

Our advice is to check special exhibitions on a website before you go, as well be sure the galleries you wish to visit are open since many periodically close to rework gallery space and rearrange artworks. If you’re lucky you may be able to join a tour or lecture.

The list, arranged in alphabetical order, features by no means the only college/university museums worth visiting throughout the country, and we’d love to hear from you if you have a favorite we didn’t mention. Check out the ones closest to where you live for a quick hit of culture this summer—or anytime—and you may become a regular or even a member. 

Arizona State University, ASU Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

Bard College, CCS Bard, Annandale on Hudson, New York

Bowdoin College, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine

Brandeis University, Rose Art Museum, Waltham, Massachusetts

Colby College, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine.

Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York

Dartmouth College, Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire

Harvard University, Harvard Art Museums, which include the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger and Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Indiana University, Bloomington, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Bloomington, Indiana

Mount Holyoke College, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts

Northwestern University, The Block Museum of Art, Evanston, Illinois

Oberlin College and Conservatory, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio

Pepperdine University. Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, California

Princeton University, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island

Skidmore College, Tang Museum, Saratoga, New York

Smith College, the Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA), Northampton, Massachusetts

Spellman College, Spellman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia

Stanford University, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford, California

University of Chicago, Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois

University of Florida, Gainesville, Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida

University of Nebraska, Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, Nebraska

University of Texas, Austin, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas

University of Washington, Seattle, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington

Vassar College, Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, New York

Washington University in St. Louis, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. While there, visit the nearby Pulitzer Arts Foundation, designed by architect Tadao Ando.

Williams College, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts. While in the area visit The Clark Art Institute with another Ando building addition.

Yale University, Yale University Art Museum, and Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut