With John Ruskin’s guidance, Harvard’s Fine Arts instructor Charles Herbert Moore established drawing and the practice of copying as the foundation to the study of art history in the United States.
Looking for inspiration for your next visit? In this series, we highlight three recently installed objects in our permanent collections galleries.
By Tara Metal
In her print series Carving Out Time, LaToya Hobbs references works by seven Black American artists; Harvard graduate student Nora Rosengarten shares a reading list for visitors to learn more about the artists that inspire Hobbs.
By Nora M. Rosengarten
When Harvard introduced art history into the American academic curriculum in 1874, by way of Charles Eliot Norton, John Ruskin’s scholarship and teaching provided the model. This is the first of two articles about the foundation of art history as a discipline in the United States.
By Marjorie B. Cohn
German expressionist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff included a clay pipe bowl (Ki-kuet pue) from the Bamum Kingdom (modern-day Republic of Cameroon) in his painting. How did this object become part of his private collection?
By Clemens Ottenhausen
Why is there a ❤️ on an ancient Roman wall painting fragment? Former graduate student intern Vivian Jin takes a deeper look at a series of objects at the museums that trace the symbolic evolution of the heart symbol.
By Vivian Jin
Welcome to the Harvard Art Museums! We are three museums—the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler—all in one building. Have fun exploring our galleries; just ask any staff member for help finding your way.
Objects of Addiction explores the entwined histories of the opium trade and the Chinese art market between the late 18th and early 20th centuries.
Questions about the materials of the opium pipe on view in Objects of Addiction led to a collaborative investigation by curatorial, objects conservation, and conservation science staff.
By Nicole Ledoux
We are delighted to present a selection of 40 works from the Busch-Reisinger Museum’s collection that reflect 40 years of meaningful, generous support.
Objects conservation fellow Adrienne Gendron shares the story of Nydia, a sculpture representing a heroine from a 19th-century novel, and the thoughtful considerations behind her conservation approach.
By Adrienne Gendron