Open Access to Art

Student study centers in the renovated Fogg Museum...

In this rendering of Renzo Piano’s plan for renovating the Fogg Art Museum, the study centers are visible on the fifth and sixth floors. Also shown are the museum’s two entrances: the existing one from Quincy Street on the left, and a new entryway from Prescott Street on the right.

Of the $30 million that David Rockefeller has donated to arts education, $25 million will underwrite study centers on the fifth and sixth floors of the new Harvard Art Museum. These three rooms (one for each of the named collections) will allow students and faculty members to request artworks from storage and study them at close quarters.

The present study centers, in the Mongan Center of the Fogg Museum and on the third floor of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, are primarily for works on paper. The new rooms will offer not only access to more of Harvard’s collection (though some pieces, such as large paintings, will probably remain off-limits), but also a chance for visitors to compare works of art from all three museums in a single room. “It’s almost like people can come in and curate their own little show,” says Emily Hankle, a study-room supervisor in the Mongan Center.

Thomas W. Lentz, Cabot director of the Harvard Art Museum, describes the study centers as integral to the museum’s educational mission, on a footing with the gallery space itself. “The prominence we’re giving study centers is going to make this museum different,” he says. Lentz knows from experience just how valuable the opportunity to see art up close can be. As a Harvard doctoral student in the early 1980s, he decided to specialize in Persian art in part because, on visits to the Islamic department, he was able to scrutinize the paintings he studied. He kept those experiences in mind when planning the new museum. “With great works of art, and through great works of art,” he explains, “we can teach in ways that others can’t.”

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard President Alan Garber Helps First-Years Move In

As a potential settlement with the Trump administration looms, Garber gets students settled. 

Harvard’s New Online Orientation Emphasizes Intellectual Paths

A summer course for first-years focuses on academic success, diverse viewpoints.

Motherhood and Ambition in a Pronatalist World

Gen Z is confronting the age-old question of balance—with a new twist.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Five Questions with Peter R. Girguis

A Harvard professor of evolutionary biology on what lurks in the deep sea  

A Harvard Constitutional Scholar on Star Wars and the Supreme Court

The Harvard Law professor and constitutional scholar on what Star Wars can tell us about today’s Supreme Court

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustrated world map showing people connected across countries with icons for ideas, research, and communication.

Why Harvard Needs International Students

An ed school professor on why global challenges demand global experiences

James Muller in white lab coat leaning on railing in hospital hallway.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio smiling beside the pink cover of her novel "Catalina" featuring a jeweled star and eye.

Being Undocumented in America

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing aims to challenge assumptions.