The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum is one of the oldest teaching museums in the country. Its founding in 1876 was marked by the gift of Albert Bierstadt's majestic painting Hetch Hetchy Canyon. Since then, the collections have grown to approximately 15,000 objects ranging from antiquity to the present. Dedicated to providing firsthand experience with works of significant aesthetic and cultural value, the Museum’s professional staff develops innovative special exhibitions that stimulate inquisitive looking and encourage understanding of the artistic achievements represented by a diversity of cultures.

Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830-1902)
Hetch Hetchy Canyon
Oil on canvas, 1875
Gift of Mrs. E. H. Sawyer and Mrs. A. L. Williston

Primary strengths of the Museum's permanent collection include Asian art, 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings and sculpture, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, Medieval sculpture, early Italian Renaissance paintings, and an extensive collection of prints, drawings, and photographs. Lectures, gallery talks, demonstrations, symposia, and concerts accompany exhibitions, many of which travel nationally. Docent-led tours are available by request. Please call the Museum for details.