arthur m. sackler museum

The Sackler was closed for a long time, but it re-opened in November as part of the combined Harvard Art Museums. The Sackler has a very fine collection, particularly its Asian Art.

This museum boasts one of the finest collections of Chinese jades and archaic bronzes. But, alas it is currently closed. But, it should reopen in late 2014.

Since Harvard's Fogg Museum, just across the street, has been under renovation, most of its contents were moved to the Sackler. The renovation is almost complete and very handsome. Meantime the Sackler boasts all types of exhibits and artifacts and should be definitely viewed by passing visitors to the Harvard complex.

While the Fogg and the Busch-Reisinger Museums are closed for renovation, many of their greatest hits are here at the Sackler. With a wide ranging selection of art works ranging from beautiful Islamic manuscripts to thousand year old Buddhas to Jackson Pollack, Max Beckmann, Moholy-Nagy and Monet to David and Copley...it's all here. You'll wish you were a student again and had this kind of resource for your studies. A real find!

My interest is in Asian art, so I was looking forward to the Sackler. Unfortunately, the other Harvard musuems (Fogg) are under construction, so their collections have been put in the Sackler, displacing much of the Sackler collection. The works we did see were outstanding and photography is allowed. A return visit will be needed to see more!

This was a bit too much modern art for my tastes. The staff was friendly and the layout was open and inviting. The subject matter was just not my cup of tea. As a summer adult student I did get a discount but still had to pay unlike some of the other museums on campus. I actually thought this was where the FA Museum was displaying items while they were renovating but I don't believe that is actually the case at least for most of the collection.

A box of great works and fascinating objects just outside Harvard Square. At the moment, the Sackler is displaying pieces from two other Harvard art museums, the Fogg and the Busch-Reisinger, as they are being renovated. Consequently, you'll see a vast range of works from many periods, continents, and styles on the Sackler's three gallery floors. On the first floor are modern and contemporary works, including some thought-provoking and genuinely startling pieces. I tried the cell phone tour for one piece and thought the audio quality was a little distorted, but still interesting.Asian art is on the next gallery floor. I was looking for Islamic art and they do have a few pieces on display. On the top floor with European art are recent acquisitions and a Jasper Johns exhibit (summer 2012).I felt a little like a time traveler, going from Arabic script on a 14th century Persian brass pen box to 2006's blinding white Courier-typeface neon "Negro Sunshine" piece in the space of an hour. Worth an afternoon's visit. It will be amazing to see the new building which will house all three museums in one, when construction is completed.