Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
600 Main St, Hartford, CT, 06103
Founded in the mid-19th century, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the oldest continually operating public art museum in the United States. It boasts close to 50,000 artworks spanning a whopping 5,000 years of history. See Greek and Roman antiquities, colonial American furniture, contemporary installations, and paintings from the likes of Caravaggio, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró.
The basics
A standard visit to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is self-guided, but the museum also offers various tours. Docent-led visits are available by advanced reservation. The highlights tour hits the museum’s blockbuster displays, while other themed tours focus on more niche areas, from the history of hair to rococo interior design. If you do visit independently, you can access a mobile guide, which includes various audio tours and an American Sign Language video tour, on your phone. The museum also frequently hosts special events.
Things to know before you go
Be sure to check the calendar ahead of your visit, as the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art regularly schedules artist talks, film screenings, demonstrations, and concerts.
Interested in making some art yourself? Visitors may obtain sketching passes from the Information Desk, which also lends out pencils on request. Sketching is only allowed within the permanent exhibits.
The museum is accessible to both visitors using wheelchairs—including motorized wheelchairs—and strollers. Wheelchairs are available as free loans on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Light refreshments can be purchased from BMUSE Salad & Sandwich Café, which is open from Thursday to Sunday. On Thursday, light dinner offerings are also available.
Students and seniors receive discounted admission, so bring a form of ID. Hartford residents, veterans, and visitors aged 17 or under can enter for free.
How to get there
The museum is located right on Hartford’s swinging Main Street, reachable from I-91 if traveling from either New Haven or New York. Parking is available in two nearby lots (ask the Information Desk for validation) and on nearby streets. CTtransit buses stop at various locations down Main Street, while commuter rail lines connect Hartford with New Haven, Berlin, Springfield, and many other Connecticut cities.
When to get there
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is typically open from noon until 5pm, Thursday through Sunday. During the last hour of each day, visitors get pay-as-you-wish admission. During the second Saturday of every month, families who arrive between noon and 2pm can enter at no cost. The museum also offers evening lectures that are open to the public for free.
More great art at the Yale University Art Gallery
Reachable by car from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in under an hour, the Yale University Art Gallery is located right on campus in downtown New Haven. Housed in a unique building designed by architect Louis Kahn, the gallery is free for all visitors and owns well over 180,000 artworks, from ancient Greek urns to German expressionist paintings.
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