Admission Now Free At All Harvard Art Museums

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Harvard Art Museums announced Friday that admission will be free for all visitors effective immediately.

"The new policy represents a significant expansion of free access to the museums’ collections, exhibitions, and research for public audiences," according to a statement.

The new initiative was made possible by a contribution from the estate of David Rockefeller and support from the Office of the President at Harvard University.

“Art is for everyone, and the Harvard Art Museums will now be free to all visitors,” Lawrence S. Bacow, president of Harvard University, said in a statement. “This initiative ensures that every visitor to our campus will now have the opportunity to view and engage with the phenomenal collections in our care at the Harvard Art Museums.”

The museums are open to visitors Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for major holidays, and during monthly Harvard Art Museums at Night programs on the last Thursday evening of each month.

The museums have previously offered free admission to a number of visitors, including the Harvard community, university students, youth under 18, Cambridge residents, Massachusetts residents on Saturday mornings, and others.

The museum created two new initiatives to offer additional free admission opportunities over the last 18 months. In September 2021, the museums began to offer free admission to all visitors on Sundays, and in April 2022, the museums began the Harvard Art Museums at Night program, granting free admission to all visitors on the last Thursday of each month from 5 to 9 p.m. except for holidays.

The museums have seen a dramatic increase in visitors in the last two years as a result of the Sunday and Thursday evening initiatives and following the lifting of Covid-related policy restrictions in spring 2022.

The number of visitors has been consistently increasing at an average of 20 percent per month, with a notable 40 percent increase in August 2022, according to a statement.

Harvard Art Museums were established in 1895 and are home to "one of the largest and most renowned art collections in North America," with three museums—the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler Museums—in one venue.

For more information, go to Harvard Art Museums' website.