Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Art museum · Ithaca

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Art museum · Ithaca

114 Central Ave, Ithaca, NY 14853

Highlights

Nestled in an I.M. Pei-designed tower, this museum boasts a vast collection from ancient sculptures to contemporary works, all with stunning views of Ithaca.

114 Central Ave, Ithaca, NY 14853 Get directions

museum.cornell.edu

@thejohnsonmuseum

@onthegrid

"The Museum was designed by I.M. Pei in 1968, and the building takes advantage of its perch on Cornell's slope by providing a spectacular view of the city and the lake from the fifth floor. Hosting a collection of more than 35,000 works (view them through their online database!) the Museum hosts over 80,000 visitors annually. With free admission, great public programs (including events for kids) – we couldn’t miss putting the Johnson on the must see list. Artist lectures and Art for Lunch where curators, educators or special guests lead a tour of new exhibits at the lunch hour, are more great reasons to make room for the Johnson when touring Ithaca. Keep a close eye on their temporary exhibit space – wonderful shows coming through – including a drawing exhibition from Kurt Vonnegut’s collection that we’re still talking about!" - St. John Design Group

On the Grid : Cornell's Johnson Art Museum

View Postcard for Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

@onthegrid

"Cornell's Johnson Art Museum, The Hills East South West. The Museum was designed by I.M. Pei in 1968, and the building takes advantage of its perch on Cornell's slope by providing a spectacular view of the city and the lake from the fifth floor. Hosting a collection of more than 35,000 works (view them through their online database!) the Museum hosts over 80,000 visitors annually. With free admission, great public programs (including events for kids) – we couldn’t miss putting the Johnson on the must see list. Artist lectures and Art for Lunch where curators, educators or special guests lead a tour of new exhibits at the lunch hour, are more great reasons to make room for the Johnson when touring Ithaca. Keep a close eye on their temporary exhibit space – wonderful shows coming through – including a drawing exhibition from Kurt Vonnegut’s collection that we’re still talking about!"

Ithaca

View Postcard for Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Nicky No Stacks

Google

Definitely a must see while in Ithaca for 4 reasons: 1. It's free! Donations always welcome. 2. Diverse collection of works. BC to modern! 3. Stunning views of Ithaca, the lake, and the surrounding area from the 5th floor 4 . The architecture! Clean and elegant concrete facade and interior. The design actually took into consideration not to block the views of others not in the building. My favorite was the spiral staircase! 2 issues: 1. Parking close by might pose a problem. 2. No gift shop. I would have loved to have purchased books and prints of some of the featured collections.

Brian Mittelstaedt

Google

Small but diverse museum. One complaint would be their display of Dawoud Bey’s series, “Night Coming Tenderly, Black”. The museum has a series of nine of the images, which depict and evoke the feeling of traveling on the underground railroad. The images are intentionally dark to evoke traveling under the cloak of darkness. They’re displayed very poorly. They’re located in a bright room, on a white wall, and the works have wide white mats. All of this makes seeing the images very difficult. I believe the same works were displayed in Philadelphia to better advantage with black walls, small white mats and spotlighting. Most of what you saw while at the Johnson Museum of Art was your own reflection on the glass in front of the images.

Jordan Mathews

Google

This museum is spectacular. There's art of all types. The view is spectacular. I definitely recommend visiting here.

Ean Moody

Google

Really beautiful small museum. The light show on the roof of the deck is awesome, though I'm not sure what time of year to visit so they're open to view it after dark (which I think was the artist's intent). Wonderful collection all around, definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

Mike Z

Google

Wish I had more time exploring museum’s collections, but I was within 20 mins of closing time. Grateful to the stuff they still let me in. I have rushed to 5th floor to check out Cornell’s surroundings from wraparound galleries, gorgeous views of the lake and campus. The floor has beautiful collection of Asian art. Note that suspension bridge path over Horseshoe Falls starts almost next to museum. Hence, that’s where I headed after the museum. Review would have been 5 stars if museum closing times were at 5pm.

Kirk Swan

Google

It's free and open to the public. If you pay for parking during your visit, make sure to register your vehicle on the iPad at the information desk. There are great views of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake from the 5th floor gallery. I recommend going on a weekend or duing summer break to avoid the student crowds

Scott Archdekin

Google

Wonderful museum. Has many different art pieces from different eras, locations, and made out of different mediums. Free to see, but must pay to park. It takes about 2 hours to look, but if you read everything, obviously longer. There is an elevator to take you to different levels. Several employees standing around prepared to help.

Sala Merida

Google

Very cool museum. Perfect to spend 2-3 hours wandering into a wide range of global collection, mostly donated by alums. What’s more special is a spectacular panorama view of Cornell campus and surrounding, even the BB lake/creek if you go around the museum. The second floor has an outdoor lounge area where you can enjoy fantastic view, a breeze and a light project overhead which I think is one of the best spots on campus.