collections policies

Please note, due to limited resources, the Harvard Art Museums have implemented a moratorium for all new requests.  We will continue to support the care and maintenance of works of art currently on campus from our own collections as well as the University Portrait and Clock Collections.  

The Campus Loans program provides opportunities for Harvard students, faculty, and staff to experience artwork in informal settings across campus. For an annual fee, Harvard-affiliated borrowers may request to borrow select artwork from the museums’ permanent collections for display in university-managed buildings.  

To request a loan, or if you are a current borrower with a maintenance request, please fill out the Campus Loan Request Form. 

Campus Loan Collection 

The Campus Loan Collection is an active list of original works of art from the museums permanent collection available to loan to Harvard-affiliated borrowers who meet the conditions of loan noted below. Artwork in the collection has been selected and approved for inclusion in the program by curatorial and conservation staff. The list changes periodically as works are borrowed and returned and new objects are rotated onto the list.  

Conditions of Loan 

• Borrowers must be Harvard-affiliated. Artwork must be installed in Harvard owned or operated spaces. 
• Artwork may not be placed in direct or reflected sunlight or high levels of artificial illumination; near heating or air conditioning units; over a fireplace which is in use; or near sources of possible moisture damage.  
• Artwork will be glazed for protection at Harvard Art Museums' discretion.   
• Artwork may not be installed in areas that are unsupervised and must be locked when not in use.   
• Artwork can only be moved or cleaned by Harvard Art Museums staff.  
• Borrower is responsible for informing outside contractors and building staff of these regulations. 

Cost 

There is an annual loan fee of $250 per artwork. Loan fees are charged via 33-digit billing code at the end of June for the prior fiscal year. The borrower is responsible for paying shipping and installation of the artwork.  The borrower is also responsible for the cost to deinstall and ship the artwork back to the museums upon termination of the loan or as a temporary protective measure, for any type of renovations done in the space, or in case of an emergency such as flooding, environmental changes, etc. 

Harvard University Portrait and Clock Collection 

The museums also steward objects in the Harvard University Portrait and Clock Collection. While there is no annual fee for these objects, borrowers are responsible for installation and deinstallation costs and are subject to the same conditions listed above.  These protocols are set by the Art Museum to safely care for and protect the collections in their care. 

Student Print Rental Program 

The Student Print Rental Program provides current Harvard undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to borrow an original work of art from the museums’ collection for the duration of an academic year. Each fall, prints are made available through a first-come first-serve selection process. Students must live in Harvard owned housing to be eligible. A rental fee of $30 is collected to offset care and conservation costs, ensuring their safe continued availability in the program each academic year. You can learn more about the Student Print Rental Program through Index, the museums’ digital magazine. All news about each year’s Student Print Rental program is shared in the student newsletter. Subscribe today! 

For more information about the campus art programs, contact am_campusloans@harvard.edu.