Opening Celebration: Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings

Thursday, September 6, 5–9pm

Join us for a lecture and festive reception in celebration of our new special exhibition, which presents a stunning range of elaborate animal-shaped vessels that span continents and millennia. University of Chicago’s Michael Dietler will deliver the lecture “Liquid Material Culture: Anthropological Explorations of Alcohol and Drinking Vessels.” All galleries will remain open until 9pm. More

Now on View: Ancient Vessels, Géricault, and Adam and Eve

The Animal-Shaped Vesselsexhibition opens Friday, September 7, thanks in large part to a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In our University Galleries, works by the Romantic period’s most influential artist, Théodore Géricault, will be on display in Mutiny: Works by Géricault. Another installation focuses on how various artists, including Dürer, Rembrandt, and Munch, have depicted Adam and Eve.

Time is Now: Photography and Social Change in James Baldwin’s America

Opening Thursday, September 13
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts

This exhibition, inspired by the life and works of James Baldwin, marks the continuation of an ongoing collaboration between the Harvard Art Museums and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. More

Free Admission Days

Welcome back to a new academic year! We wanted to remind you that we always offer free admission for all students, youth under 18, and Cambridge residents. Check our Plan Your Visit page for more info on these and other admission discounts.

Animal-Shaped Vessels: In recognition of the generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we're offering free admission to all visitors on Wednesday afternoons, 1–5pm, and on the first Saturday of each month, 10am–5pm, throughout the run of the show. See the calendar for specific dates. 

Museum Day Live!: We’re offering free admission for two on September 22 as part of Museum Day Live!, an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine.

Music from Montepulciano: Celebrating the Calderwood Courtyard

Friday, September 14, 2:45–4:30pm
Calderwood Courtyard

Listen to a Renaissance concert live-streamed from a piazza in Montepulciano—not far from the canon’s house on which our courtyard is modeled. More

Materials Lab Workshop: Animal-Shaped Vessels

Tuesday, September 18 & Tuesday, September 25, 1–4pm
Saturday, September 22 & Saturday, September 29, 10am–1pm
Materials Lab, Lower Level

Join us for one of our two-part workshops that will allow you to experience firsthand the tradition of making ceramic drinking vessels similar to ancient Greek vessels in our special exhibition. 

Directions in Documentary Sound: A Conversation with Stuart Cody, Sarah Elder, and Ernst Karel

Monday, September 17, 6–7:30pm
Menschel Hall, Lower Level

Stuart Cody, Sarah Elder, and Ernst Karel will discuss how sound technology has progressed, followed by a conversation moderated by Ilisa Barbash. More

Teresita Fernández: Wayfinding

Thursday September 20, 6–7:30pm
Menschel Hall, Lower Level

In connection with her public installation in Harvard Yard this fall, Autumn (. . . Nothing Personal), Teresita Fernández will discuss her practice and ongoing research for this major commission by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts. More

Brides of Christ and Grooms of the Church: Two Concepts of Liturgical Clothing by Hildegard of Bingen and Arnošt of Pardubice

Wednesday, September 26, 6–7:15pm
Menschel Hall, Lower Level

Evelin Wetter, from Abegg-Stiftung, will describe how the rich garments associated with consecration rites have changed over the centuries. More

Art Study Center Seminar: Early Photographs of Japan

Friday, September 28, 11am–Noon
Art Study Center, Level 4

David Odo, from the Division of Academic and Public Programs, will examine photographs created during a tumultuous era in 19th-century Japan. More

In the Press

Following a visit to our labs this summer, Simon Schama profiles our pigment collection for The New Yorker. More

Conservation scientist Georgina Rayner is featured in a New York Times piece on museum conservators working to figure out how to preserve art made of plastic. More 

As our Student Print Rental Collection continues to grow, so does students’ engagement with artists and original works of art. More