The Harvard Art Museums are temporarily closed, but our channels are open and refreshed frequently. On this Harvard Art Museums from Home page, you will find stories and activities that reflect the power of art to soothe the mind, inspire conversation, and bring people together.

We invite you to explore the materials below—from Art Talk videos to special tours to family-friendly resources—and check our calendar for a schedule of free online live events, which are open to everyone.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch! 

Newest
Discover the latest offerings, including articles, videos, and events.

In Index, conservator Leonie Müller guides readers in an examination of paper’s material qualities and explains how its structures reflect the process of paper making.

On Friday, May 14, don’t miss the latest Art Study Center Seminar with curator Makeda Best, who will explore how photographers from the Civil War era constructed landscapes of slavery.

Through a series of conversations, check out the various jobs people hold in the Harvard Art Museums as we seek to demystify the museum world and share some surprising career paths.

The recently postponed Art Talk on ancient Egyptian textiles has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 15. Register today to learn more about the artistic processes behind these elaborately designed objects.

Watch Our Videos of Art Talks, Lectures, and Seminars 
Explore videos from our Art Talks series, which offers an up-close look at works from the collections, as well as our lectures and seminars.

Haiku and You: Painting Edo and the Arnold Arboretum
Learn about haiku in the Edo period and explore haiku as a creative practice, inspired by the Arnold Arboretum and the Painting Edo exhibition.

The Abject Object—Decay and Irreverence in Dieter Roth’s Multiples
Explore Dieter Roth’s use of nontraditional materials in his works.

The Botany of a Buddhist Sculpture: Hinoki Cypress and Prince Shōtoku at Age Two
Get up close with the extraordinary sculpture Prince Shōtoku at Age Two and discover new insights gained from collaborative research with the Arnold Arboretum.

Picturing the Modern Home—Lucia Moholy’s Bauhaus Living Room
Learn about the historically overlooked role Lucia Moholy played in promoting a Bauhaus vision of modern living.

Designing Painting Edo
Go behind the scenes with lead designer Elie Glyn as he reveals how traditional and modern Japanese aesthetics inspired the unique built environment of the Painting Edo exhibition.

Feeling Funny—Picasso in 1918
With supreme economy and enviable elegance, Pablo Picasso’s drawing Pierrot speaks about the purpose of art in a time of crisis.

Object Lessons: The Bauhaus and Harvard
Hear from The Bauhaus and Harvard curator Laura Muir with a special preview of our new publication Object Lessons: The Bauhaus and Harvard.

Troubling Images: Curating Collections of Historical Photographs
Curators discuss how to approach photography collections that depict colonial violence, racist stereotypes, or other difficult imagery.
 

Check out the Art Talks channel on Vimeo for the full series.

Experience More
Dive deeper into the world of the museums and our collections through immersive tours, a podcast series, special digital resources, and more. 

In this episode of A Closer Look, meet Karen Gausch, manager of exhibition production and collections care at the museums.

Head of the objects lab Angela Chang talks about her training and experience, including working on murals by John Singer Sargent, in this episode of A Closer Look podcast.

In this episode of our podcast, A Closer Look, we talk to director of safety and security Nilton Barbosa about leadership skills, collaboration, and peaceful moments after-hours in the museums.   

Learn how a love of photography led curatorial assistant Heather Linton to museum work in this second episode of our podcast, A Closer Look.

Explore our world-famous pigment collection, narrated by Narayan Khandekar and Alison Cariens.

Take a multipart tour of our stunning exhibition of Edo period Japanese paintings, hosted on Google Arts and Culture. 

Make and Create
Make art at home, taking inspiration from select artworks in the collections of the Harvard Art Museums.

Download our Planting Edo Field Guide and take a walk in the Arnold Arboretum to pair up flowers and trees with those featured in works from our Painting Edo exhibition.

Watch this demonstration of the relief aquatint technique that artist Dan Flavin used to create three incredible prints now in the collections of the Harvard Art Museums. 

Download the Coloring Ancient Egypt activity book, available in Spanish, English, Chinese, and Arabic. 

Learn how to create cyanotypes at home and discover the science behind it.

Use these prompts for thinking, drawing, and other creative exercises inspired by sculpture.

Read the Latest on Index
Browse our online magazine to dive into the collections and discover what makes up this vibrant 21st-century laboratory for the arts.

Understanding Paper: Structures, Watermarks, and a Conservator’s Passion
Paper conservation fellow Leonie Müller guides readers in an examination of paper’s material qualities and explains how its structures reflect the process of how it’s made.

Painting Edo and the Arnold Arboretum
Painted plants come to life through an ongoing collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum inspired by the exhibition Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection.

Curator Makeda Best speaks with photographer Mariette Pathy Allen about her artistic process and her groundbreaking portfolio on crossdressers.

In their collaborative effort to reconstruct the base of an ancient vessel, conservator Haddon Dine and curator Susanne Ebbinghaus make unexpected discoveries.

Our perception of time, sense of order and stability, and feelings of belonging depend on repetitive actions. Art supports, reflects, and reinforces these rituals and routines.

Charlene Briggs, receptionist in the Art Study Center, delves into the story behind one of the most famous materials in the Forbes Pigment Collection.

View more articles on Index.