Museums & Collections

Discover treasures from Harvard’s museums and special collections, from ancient artifacts to modern art.

A vibrant composition of flowers, a bird, and butterflies with a distant manor under a moody sky.

Rachel Ruysch’s Lush (Still) Life

Now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Dutch painter’s art proved a treasure trove for scientists.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Football Coach Murphy, retiring

News in Brief

Education dean and football coach step down, a significant art acquisition, and more

Peabody Museum

Peabody Museum Removes Native American Funerary Objects

Responds to federal rules requiring tribal consultation and consent

by Lydialyle Gibson

Image of a bat depicting the love-hate relationship associated with the creatures

Curiosities: Bats, In Fact

Peabody Essex Museum dispels negative myths around these nocturnal creatures 

by Nell Porter-Brown

Large tapestry featuring colorful woven saris and metal bells

Fresh Takes on the Caribbean

The ICA/Boston's exhibit offers views from the diaspora  

by Nell Porter-Brown

Wintry Portsmouth at sunset

No Sleepy Coastal Town

Visiting Portsmouth in winter

by Nell Porter-Brown

Portrait of Zelia Nuttall, 1880

Zelia Nuttall

Brief life of a remarkable anthropologist (1857-1933)

by Merilee Grindle

restored interior of the African Meeting House

The Good Fight

A Boston museum highlights historic black activism.

by Nell Porter-Brown

Marla Frederick and David C. Parkes, new divinity and engineering and applied sciences deans

News in Brief

New Divinity and Engineering and Applied Sciences deans, Kennedy School and Art Museums departures, and more

Harvard Art Museums

Sackler—and Beyond

The “Objects of Addiction” exhibit explores Harvard’s opium ties.    

by Max J. Krupnick

Martha Tedeschi

Martha Tedeschi to Step Down from Harvard Art Museums

Director, appointed in 2016, plans to retire in June 2024.

by John S. Rosenberg