Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums, an amalgamation of the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, are among the leading art institutions in the United States. Located at 32 Quincy Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the three collections share a single building at the edge of Harvard Yard, on the Harvard University campus, and admission is free for every visitor.
Admission and Hours
Admission has been free to all visitors since June 2023, funded by a gift from the Estate of David Rockefeller and support from the Office of the President at Harvard University. The museums are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and closed Mondays. On the last Thursday evening of each month, from 5 to 9pm, the museums also host the free Harvard Art Museums at Night program with extended hours and special programming. No advance ticket is required for general admission, though checking in at the Visitor Services desk on arrival is standard practice.
History
The Fogg Museum, founded in 1895, is the oldest of the three and is known worldwide for its Western paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. The Busch-Reisinger Museum, founded in the early 1900s as the Germanic Museum, is the only museum in North America dedicated to art from the German-speaking countries of Central and Northern Europe, and was later renamed in honor of its principal benefactors, the Busch and Reisinger families. The Arthur M. Sackler Museum, opened in 1985, holds Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean art.
For over a century these operated as separate museums. That changed with a six-year, $350 million renovation designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, which brought all three collections under one roof for the first time when it reopened on November 16, 2014. The project preserved the original 1927 Fogg Museum facade and its Calderwood Courtyard while adding a glass roof and increasing total gallery space by 40 percent, spread across more than 50 galleries on three public floors.
What to See
The combined collection holds roughly 250,000 objects spanning ancient to contemporary work, though only a portion is on display at any time. Visitors can move between all three museums' galleries without leaving the building, follow special rotating exhibitions, or watch conservators at work through the visible conservation labs added in the 2014 renovation. At the center of the building, the restored Calderwood Courtyard functions as a social hub, ringed by glass arcades that rise through the upper floors. The ground floor, including the museum shop and Jenny's Cafe, is open to the public even outside gallery hours, though with free admission throughout, most visitors simply head straight into the galleries.
The museums also run public lectures, workshops, and gallery talks throughout the year, aimed at general visitors rather than only students and faculty.
Nearby Attractions
Because the museums sit directly on the Harvard University campus, several other stops on this list are within a few minutes' walk. The John Harvard Statue stands in Harvard Yard just outside the museums' doors, and the Harvard Science Center is a similarly short walk across the Yard. The Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology are also close by and worth combining into the same visit, though unlike the art museums, general admission to those two is not free.
For books, the Harvard Book Store is a few minutes away in Harvard Square, which also has the area's main concentration of cafes, shops, and places to sit down after a museum visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to buy tickets for Harvard Art Museums?
No. Admission is free for all visitors, with no ticket purchase required for general entry.
Where are the Harvard Art Museums located?
They're at 32 Quincy Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the edge of Harvard Yard.
What museums make up the Harvard Art Museums?
Three: the Fogg Museum (Western art), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (German-speaking Central and Northern European art), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean art), all combined into one building since a 2014 renovation.
What are the opening hours?
Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm, closed Mondays, with extended hours on the last Thursday evening of each month.
Does a Boston Sightseeing hop-on hop-off ticket stop here?
No. To visit the Harvard Art Museums with Boston Sightseeing, book the Boston & Cambridge City Tour, which includes the Cambridge and Harvard area
Visiting Harvard Art Museums With Boston Sightseeing
Boston Sightseeing's hop-on hop-off double-decker routes stay within Boston and Charlestown and don't reach Cambridge, so this stop isn't included on a standard hop-on hop-off ticket. The one Boston Sightseeing option that does reach the museums and the rest of the Harvard area is the Boston & Cambridge City Tour ($63), a guided, climate-controlled shuttle tour of about 3.5 hours covering Cambridge highlights alongside Boston's neighborhoods and waterfront
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