Study Centers

Only a small percentage of the Harvard Art Museum's collections can be displayed in its public galleries. As a central component of the renovation and expansion of its 32 Quincy Street site, the museum will construct a Study Center complex, which will provide access to thousands of art objects in storage. Distinct areas for study and research for each of the three museums — the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Sackler — will offer students, faculty, and members of the public purpose-built environments for learning through close examination of original works of art. Here students will be able to view objects of their choosing, while faculty-guided group learning will take place in the complex's seminar rooms. Visitors will also have access to a user-friendly database of works available for personal study, as well as to an innovative web-based learning resource that will acquaint them with investigative methods for exploring original works of art.

With the help of these tools, and the assistance of study center staff and Art Museum curators, visitors will select works of art to be delivered for examination. Under supervision, visitors will be encouraged to handle these works and analyze and appreciate them from multiple perspectives, investigating their physical properties, techniques, subjects, formal elements, styles, provenance, and the historical contexts in which they were produced. These dynamic explorations will be supported by ready access to the museum's documentary and archival resources, as well as to its collections of artists' tools and materials.