Art Museums Celebrate Official Opening to the Public

The Harvard Art Museums invited schoolchildren, seniors, and other Cantabrigian art lovers to celebrate the opening of its newly renovated facility over the weekend.

“It’s like visiting old friends,” said longtime Cambridge resident Ellen Kramer as she viewed the museum’s old collections rearranged in remodeled galleries during a community reception Saturday. The event featured remarks from the museum’s director and the superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools as well as musical performances from Harvard student groups and local musicians.

By John Y.C. Wang

“I think [the renovated museum] brings Harvard to engage in better dialogue with the Cambridge community,” said Peter J. Atkinson, a facilities director for the museums.

The high-profile architect of the renovated museum brought many locals to the event, including Judy Townley, who earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1973 and still lives in Cambridge. “I am very interested to see how Renzo Piano integrated the components of this building,” she said, referring to the renowned Italian architect who led the redesign of the museums.

Many of the attendees expressed enthusiasm not only for the architecture, but also for the promise the new space offers community members of all ages, especially because admission is free to Cambridge residents.

“I have no doubt that this space will become a community hub,” said Jeffrey Young, the superintendent of the city’s schools.

“We wanted to thank Harvard for building a really nice annex to our high school,” laughed Young, referencing Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, which sits just down the street from the museum.

The proximity of the museum to several local schools makes it an attractive destination for field trips, noted Judy Clapp, a volunteer math tutor. “My little kids in first and second grade would really have their eyes opened by seeing art like this,” she said.

Ancient Mediterranean Reliefs - Two relief sculptures from the ancient Mediterranean.

Buddhist Sculpture - A Buddhist sculpture currently on display.

Medieval Heads - Heads from wooden medieval European sculptures.

Gold Scroll - Scroll currently on display in the museum galleries.

Rothko Painting - One of several Mark Rothko paintings on display in the museum.

Modern Sculpture - One of the sculptures in the Harvard Art Museums' collection of modern and contemporary art.

In addition to attracting Cambridge educators and schoolchildren, the museums’ opening drew visitors from Greater Boston, including Sophia Martinez, a second-grader from Belmont who made the trip with her mother to see the museum’s collection of Impressionist paintings.

“I think everyone who knows even just a little bit about art is excited that the environment is a little better for the pieces,” said April D. Edrington ’91, Martinez’s mother, who works at the Harvard School of Public Health.

On Sunday, crowds gathered for the official opening of the renovated museums, which had been under construction for years. The museums, which are now open to the general public, had offered Harvard students a preview of the new space at a Nov. 6 soiree.