Albany Institute of History & Art — Attraction in City of Albany

I passed two blissful hours engaging over one hundred paintings, mostly major paintings, of the Hudson River School. What a signature achievement for the Albany Institute, which the museum chose to exhibit salon style with numbers keyed to a book. Although flipping through the book made a minor burden, I sat on a bench and read the book entirely before touring the paintings. I delighted when reading and the experience of standing before the work meshed, and I feel I understand this movement far better than ever.

A few paintings were on loan for major exhibitions, such as the Gifford exhibition. It helps only a little when one has just a print of the original to engage. What if a reproduction was painted?

We must applaud the choice to exhibit Abby's American Girl paintings on the same floor as the superb show of eighteenth century gowns recently curated. Abby's mother worked as a seamstress. In a final American Girl painting, Abby pictured standing reverently by Abraham Lincoln's casket worked well exhibited near a collection of Lincoln items, including an engraving.

In an ultimate moment of serendipity, a portrait of Thomas Cole, dressed as a dandy because his paintings were selling, introduced the collection of Cole and his Hudson River peers. The Cole portrait was included in a show of portraiture that one encountered on the way to the Hudson River show, a pleasant introduction.

A lovely building constructed of glass panels connects two mansions, a great architectural solution to making two buildings one. However, I got a little lost trying to reach the third floor shows and my conversations showed that I was not alone. We all wound up in the Rice Building area before we...

I must say, this museum was an extremely pleasurable experience! From the minute we walked in the doors, the workers were sweet and welcoming. They gave us all the information we needed to navigate the museum: a little map and a description pamphlet and sent us on our way!

The museum was not crowded, although this could be more to do with COVID-19, but either way I found this to be excellent. It allowed us to make our way through the museum at our own pace, without feeling a social pressure that we were clogging up foot traffic.

Unfortunately, the cafe was closed at the time in which we went so I cannot speak to the quality of food that they serve. However, the gift shop was open -- although I opted not to purchase anything. The items in there were cool, but expensive (although that is pretty much the status quo at any museum).

Also, if you're like us and the museum was your first stop on a little excursion in downtown Albany, this museum does not allow backpacks. Having said that, the gentleman at the front desk informed us that they had bins for me to put my backpack in (and to take my camera out). On our way out, he remembered me and had the bin with my bag ready to go!

I really liked this museum, I would definitely recommend it (especially for the price -- even moreso with the...

One of the best museums in Albany. The Albany Institute of History & Art is actually one of the oldest museums in the United States. They have a vast collection of artwork from the Hudson River School. Many of the paintings depict local spots along the Hudson River, Adirondack Mountains, Catskills, Albany, or Lake George. Some paintings were on loan from Thomas Cole. Also, interesting is the collection of artifacts and paintings from the Mohawk Valley region featuring a portrait of Sir William Johnson. The Egyptian gallery is captivating as it features two mummies. Ancient Egyptian objects ranging from hairbrushes, jewelry. canopic jars, and artwork are featured. The Gordon Parks exhibition "I, too, am America" was an important look at the sad history of segregation in the US. The Jan Brett exhibition of art in children's books was unique. The museum does attract many different exhibitions throughout the year. Admission price was reasonable for such a nice museum. Gift shop featured art prints of artwork in the museum at...