Yale University Art Gallery

Yale University Art Gallery Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest college art museum in America. FREE and open to the public. Free membership!
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The Yale University Art Gallery was founded in 1832 as an art museum for Yale and the community. Today it is one of the largest museums in the country, holding more than 300,000 objects and welcoming visitors from around the world. The museum’s encyclopedic collection can engage every interest. Galleries showcase artworks from ancient times to the present, including vessels from Tang-dynasty China

, early Italian paintings, textiles from Borneo, treasures of American art, masks from Western Africa, modern and contemporary art, ancient sculptures, masterworks by Degas, van Gogh, and Picasso, and more. Exhibitions present new scholarship and offer thematic perspectives on the collection. Spanning one and a half city blocks, the museum features more than 4,000 works on display, multiple classrooms, a rooftop terrace, a sculpture garden, and dramatic views of New Haven and the Yale campus. The entrance building, which was designed by renowned architect Louis Kahn and was completed in 1953, is a masterpiece of modern architecture. The Gallery’s mission is to encourage an understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art. Programs include exhibition tours, lectures, and performances, all free and open to the public. Learn about membership benefits and join online at: https://artgallery.yale.edu/support/membership

Conservators at the Gallery are preparing objects, including this lid of a basket, or “iquthu,” for display in the upcom...
08/27/2026

Conservators at the Gallery are preparing objects, including this lid of a basket, or “iquthu,” for display in the upcoming exhibition “Nguni: Migrant Nations of Southeast Africa.” It has been a privilege to closely examine the materials and techniques used in these exquisite works. Come see them for yourself when the exhibition opens September 11!


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Object information:
“Lidded Basket (Iquthu) with Handle,” 19th century. Ilala palm and brown pigment from Natal gurry root (isizimane). Bequest of Paul F. Walter

Is this scene tranquil, or is there something ominous brewing in the background? 🌋 American artist Charles Caryl Colema...
08/24/2026

Is this scene tranquil, or is there something ominous brewing in the background? 🌋

American artist Charles Caryl Coleman spent much of his adult life on the sun-drenched Mediterranean island of Capri, near Naples, Italy. From his house, he could admire the eastward view toward Mount Vesuvius on the mainland. The volcano grew active again at the turn of the twentieth century—illustrated by the plume of rising smoke in this view—and recalled for many the ancient eruption that entombed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Here, that sense of poignant history is counterbalanced by modern stylistic influences, including the recent developments of French Impressionism, evident in the painting’s broad expanses of color, effects of light and atmosphere, and steep perspective. Vesuvius would continue to fascinate Coleman as it became increasingly active in the following decade, forming a leading subject of his late work in both oil and pastel.

See the newly acquired "View of Vesuvius from Capri" on view in our 2nd floor American art galleries. The Gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday–Sunday. To plan your next trip, visit: https://artgallery.yale.edu/visit


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🖼️: Charles Caryl Coleman, "View of Vesuvius from Capri"; 1896. Oil on canvas. Gift of Marc B. Porter, J.D. 1987, in memory of James R. Hennessy.
📷: View of Charles Caryl Coleman, "View of Vesuvius from Capri" in the American art galleries.

Today, in honor of World Photography Day, we’re celebrating the four photographers behind the camera at the Yale Univers...
08/19/2026

Today, in honor of World Photography Day, we’re celebrating the four photographers behind the camera at the Yale University Art Gallery! 📸

Our team includes three studio photographers, who create high-quality images of works throughout our collection, and one documentation photographer, who captures exhibitions, classes, public programs, staff portraits, and the many moments that bring the Gallery to life.

Slides 1–3: Meet Al Harding (Al Harding), Senior Photographer. Al has been with YUAG for 15 years and photographs an incredible range of two- and three-dimensional objects. Featured here is “Tea Scoop (Chashaku), named Okiagari (Roly-poly) with Case” by Oda Urakusai (late 16th–early 17th century).

Slides 4–6: Milan Russell (Milan), Digital Photographer, has been at YUAG for three years. Milan photographs artworks across the collection and is shown here documenting a work on paper using the copy stand. (Featured work: “Untitled [Officer and suspect facing an official at police station]” by Leopoldo Méndez, 1950)

Slides 7–9: Rich House (Rich House), Senior Photographer at YUAG for 18 years, specializes in conservation photography. Pictured here, Rich is working on Multi-Band imaging including infrared and ultraviolet techniques. Ultraviolet light induces fluorescence in ways that help conservators identify materials and Infrared wavelengths may reveal details not visible to the naked eye. (Featured work: “Ragini Basant from a Garland of Musical Modes (Ragamala) manuscript,” early 19th century).

Slides 10–11: Jessica Smolinski (Jessica Edith Smolinski), Documentation Photographer, has been in the Visual Resources department for 17 years. Jessica photographs a wide range of activities and exhibitions at the Gallery and especially enjoys capturing the moments when people connect with art in meaningful and unexpected ways.

Slide 12: Our photography team, standing together in the iconic Louis Kahn stairwell.

Happy !

Today, in honor of World Photography Day, we're celebrating the four photographers behind the camera at the Yale Univers...
08/19/2026

Today, in honor of World Photography Day, we're celebrating the four photographers behind the camera at the Yale University Art Gallery! 📸

Our team includes three studio photographers, who create high-quality images of works throughout our collection, and one documentation photographer, who captures exhibitions, classes, public programs, staff portraits, and the many moments that bring the Gallery to life.

Slides 1–3: Meet Al Harding (), Senior Photographer. Al has been with YUAG for 15 years and photographs an incredible range of two- and three-dimensional objects. Featured here is "Tea Scoop (Chashaku), named Okiagari (Roly-poly) with Case" by Oda Urakusai (late 16th–early 17th century).

Slides 4–6: Milan Russell (.photo), Digital Photographer, has been at YUAG for three years. Milan photographs artworks across the collection and is shown here documenting a work on paper using the copy stand. (Featured work: "Untitled [Officer and suspect facing an official at police station]" by Leopoldo Méndez, 1950)

Slides 7–9: Rich House (), Senior Photographer at YUAG for 18 years, specializes in conservation photography. Pictured here, Rich is working on Multi-Band imaging including infrared and ultraviolet techniques. Ultraviolet light induces fluorescence in ways that help conservators identify materials and Infrared wavelengths may reveal details not visible to the naked eye. (Featured work: “Ragini Basant from a Garland of Musical Modes (Ragamala) manuscript,” early 19th century).

Slides 10–11: Jessica Smolinski (), Documentation Photographer, has been in the Visual Resources department for 17 years. Jessica photographs a wide range of activities and exhibitions at the Gallery and especially enjoys capturing the moments when people connect with art in meaningful and unexpected ways.

Slide 12: Our photography team, standing together in the iconic Louis Kahn stairwell.

Happy !

The Marquis de Lafayette was a hero of the Revolutionary War. His return visit to the United States in 1824 was a caus...
08/16/2026

The Marquis de Lafayette was a hero of the Revolutionary War. His return visit to the United States in 1824 was a cause for huge celebration, sparking the manufacture of all kinds of commemorative souvenirs. The French general was so popular that everything from dinner sets, watch ribbons, belt buckles, and even ladies’ gloves with buttons bore his portrait. The image on this platter shows Lafayette’s arrival at Castle Garden in New York aboard the steamship "Chancellor Livingston". The ship was escorted by the "Robert Fulton" while six cannons fired a salute from the shore

The source of the view is a copper-plate print drawn and engraved by Samuel Maverick, a member of a dynasty of New York engravers. The manufacturer faithfully copied the original design, merely changing the shape and positioning of the clouds to fit the more elongated surface of the platter.

Visit the Gallery to see this stunning decorative platter on view in the exhibition, "Keeping Alive the Remembrance: Commemorating America's Founding, 1776–1876" through October 18.


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🍽️: James and Ralph Clews, "Platter, “Landing of Gen. Lafayette at Castle Garden, New York, 16 August 1824”" 1824-34. Blue, transfer-printed earthenware. Mabel Brady Garvan Collection
📷: Views of the exhibition "Keeping Alive the Remembrance: Commemorating America's Founding, 1776–1876"

✨A new installation is on view in the Asian art galleries—spotlighting cultural heroes and the natural world. 👀🖼️ “Cultu...
08/13/2026

✨A new installation is on view in the Asian art galleries—spotlighting cultural heroes and the natural world. 👀

🖼️ “Cultural Heroes in East Asian Painting” features famed poets and celebrated figures, including three 17th-century Chinese hanging scrolls of the revered “Eighteen Scholars of the Tang dynasty” (advisors to Emperor Taizong, r. 626–49 C.E.) on view for the first time after years of conservation.

🐦🌸“The Natural World in Indian and Islamic Art” explores how artists used nature to stage religious and historical stories, frame royal portraits, and celebrate birds and flowers as subjects in their own right—especially in 17th-century court workshops across Iran and India.

🏛️ On view on the museum’s second floor through November 8, 2026.


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Image details:
1. Ali Naqi, "A Wryneck on a Branch" (detail), 1700-1701. Ink and opaque watercolor on paper. The Vera M. and John D. MacDonald, B.A. 1927, Collection, Gift of Mrs. John D. MacDonald
2. View of three prints of birds, including "A Wryneck on a Branch" in "The Natural World in Indian and Islamic Art.”
3. "The Eighteen Scholars of the Tang"(detail of the scroll where imperial advisors are playing chess while an attendant prepares a zither), 17th century. One of three hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk; with ivory rollers. Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore
4. View of the three scrolls of "The Eighteen Scholars of the Tang" in “Cultural Heroes in East Asian Painting.”
5. View of “Cultural Heroes in East Asian Painting” and “The Natural World in Indian and Islamic Art” in the Asian art galleries on the 2nd floor.

Did you know the Gallery consists of not only one building, but three unique structures that together span one and a hal...
08/12/2026

Did you know the Gallery consists of not only one building, but three unique structures that together span one and a half city blocks in downtown New Haven?

The Gallery was founded in 1832 when patriot-artist John Trumbull sold over one hundred of his paintings to the University. Opening to the public on October 25, 1832, the Trumbull Gallery became the first college art museum in the United States. While the Trumbull Gallery is no longer standing, today’s Gallery is housed in three historic structures.

Street Hall was designed by Peter Bonnett Wight and opened in 1866 as the Yale School of the Fine Arts. Built in the neo-Gothic style that would come to define Yale’s campus by the early 20th century, the building recalls the look of 13th-century Venetian palaces, characterized by its angular outline and polychrome stonework.

In 1926, construction began on a new building, the Old Yale Art Gallery, which would unite the University’s art collections. Designed by Egerton Swartwout, the Old Yale Art Gallery building borrowed elements from such Florentine structures as the Bargello and the Davanzati Palace. A bridge over High Street was constructed to connect the building to Street Hall.

The Louis Kahn building opened in 1953 and was Kahn’s first significant commission and is considered his first masterpiece. The building included open spaces for the exhibition of art and studio spaces for use by art and architecture students. Constructed of masonry, concrete, glass, and steel, and presenting a windowless wall along its most public facade, the Kahn building was the first modernist structure at Yale.

On your next trip to the Gallery, be sure to explore the museum’s diverse architectural styles and rich history. To accompany your visit, click the link in our bio to listen to the History and Architecture Tour in our free digital guide.


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Image 1: Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery. Left to right: the Louis Kahn building, the Old Yale Art Gallery building, Street Hall. © Christopher Gardner, 2012
Image 2: Photograph of the Trumbull Gallery, 1865. Manuscripts and Archives, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University
Image 3: Yale University Art Gallery, Street Hall. Photo: © Jessica Smolinski, 2021
Image 4: Yale University Art Gallery, Old Yale Art Gallery building. Photo: © Jessica Smolinski, 2015
Image 5: Yale University Art Gallery, High Street bridge. Photo: © Jessica Smolinski, 2021
Image 6: Yale University Art Gallery, Louis Kahn building. Photo: © Elizabeth Felicella, 2006

Happy National Book Lovers Day! 📚 At the Gallery, we love how museum books let you keep looking at art—long after you’ve...
08/09/2026

Happy National Book Lovers Day! 📚

At the Gallery, we love how museum books let you keep looking at art—long after you’ve left the galleries. To mark the day, we asked our Publications team: If you could hand someone one book we’ve published, which would it be—and why? Swipe for staff picks and the behind-the-scenes reasons, from beloved packaging and production to standout texts. Then tell us your favorite in the comments!

Mary Ellen Wilson, Assistant Editor, shares: “As someone who loves secrets and artistic ways of showing affection, I couldn’t help but adore ‘Love and Loss: American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures’—a book whose elegant design and petite size perfectly suit its poignant content.”

Annika Fisher, Assistant Editor, chose “Munch and Kirchner: Anxiety and Expression:” “I love this beautiful catalogue, with its thick matte paper and soft binding, since it provides some of the tactile and intimate contact I craved when I saw the woodblocks and illustrated books in the 2024 exhibition.”

Tiffany Sprague, Director of Publications and Editorial Services, selected the first volume of “Italian Paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery” and notes that she’s currently working on Volume 2: “The texts in this massive catalogue are well written and deeply researched; it’s the kind of book that doesn’t just document the collection, it advances our understanding of it.”

We may be on break, but our collection never is! Even from the comfort of home, you can explore the Gallery's exceptiona...
08/05/2026

We may be on break, but our collection never is! Even from the comfort of home, you can explore the Gallery's exceptional collection online. 🏛

Now available on our free digital app, this 30-minute mouthwatering audio tour, “Movement of Food across Cultures,” explores how food and beverages traveled throughout the Atlantic World, shaping the objects people made and the ways they gathered to eat and drink.

Join curators Bryan Just, Jessie Park, John Stuart Gordon, and Miranda Saylor as they discuss a selection of objects, ranging from ancient Maya vessels used to serve cacao to a rare colonial American silver chocolate pot and still-life paintings of everyday provisions. Together, these works reveal how ingredients, recipes, and dining traditions moved through trade, exploration, and cultural exchange.

🎧 Hungry to learn more? Click on the link: https://app.smartify.org/en-GB/tours/movement-of-food-across-cultures

We look forward to welcoming visitors back on Saturday, August 8!


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🏺️: “Cacao Vessel with Floral Design,” Guatemala, A.D. 750–800. Ceramic with pigment and added stucco. Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903, Fund.
🫖: Edward Winslow, “Chocolate Pot,” ca. 1700–1710. Silver. Mabel Brady Garvan Collection
🖼️: Raphaelle Peale, “Still Life: Basket of Peaches,” 1816. Oil on wood. Estate of James W. Fosburgh, B.A. 1933, M.A. 1935
🖼️: Simon Luttichuys, “Still Life,” 1649. Oil on canvas. Dr. Herbert and Monika Schaefer Fund.

Announcement:The Gallery is observing a brief summer closure from Tuesday, August 4, through Friday, August 7. We will r...
08/04/2026

Announcement:

The Gallery is observing a brief summer closure from Tuesday, August 4, through Friday, August 7. We will reopen on Saturday, August 8.

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1111 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT
06511

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Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

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