Williams College Museum of Art

This was an excellent experience. The staff here were very friendly and helpful. I appreciated all the exhibits and I am looking forward to when they complete the renovation. There is plenty of street parking right outside. I am looking forward to going back again soon.

An eclectic gallery geared toward the college's art students. Beautiful pieces in a beautiful building, though they are moving to a new building soon. Well worth the trip.

Great art museum with some really inspiration exhibits. Such a great campus to walk around. The eye sculptures near museum of art were my favorite. Also the art museum was free but always trying to make little donation if you could! Check out if in area!

Wonderful art exhibits by the graduating class inspired my family! Can't wait for the new location.

Best time in the college. Friendly staff, and I was amazed to hear from them that the professors of different disciplines would leverage art to embody ingenuity in these young souls.

It is an amazing exhibition inside. Many valuable expositions are simply put on the display with no security. You can touch, feel, take a picture, enjoy, and review all of them.

An exemplary jewel whose collections stand toe to toe with its neighbor The Clark, and while I will miss its intimacy I am excited to see what the reimagined new edition will make available. Very much worth a visit

Phenomenal museum. The layout 8s spectacular. The exhibits are outstanding. Highly recommend. Come see the Shared Waters exhibit.

Nice little college Museum apparently they are building a new museum. Looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.

Good small museum that only shows a fraction of holdings. Eclectic; show we saw was related to courses and paintings, objects, sculptures related to them. Because it's smaller, don't get "museum fatigue." Good complement to the much bigger Clark nearby!

This little museum really wants you to visit. Louise Bourgeois' large metal sculptures of eyes dot the green grass out front calling out, hey, look at me. This museum competes for attention with MassMoca to the east and the Clark Institute just down the road to the west. You should visit because their small permanent collection has some very good surprises. One large gallery devoted to an exhibition of Meleko Mokgosi's large-scale paintings with a theme of African democracy was visually powerful. Medardo Rosso's 1906 'Behold the Boy', one of his signature wax over plaster heads, was my compelling takeaway. His work is haunting and this is an exceptional example.

A little slice of culture in this quintessential Massachusetts town. The museum in on Williams College campus and is open seven days a week. There is no charge for entry. It's two floors including a current exhibit on Jacob's Pillow. You can spend about 30minutes here. There is also a nice gift shop.

Out of the three local art museums, The Clark, Mass MoCA, Williams College Museum, this museum is the smallest. It is located very close to The Clark, so if you're visiting that museum I recommend hitting this one afterwards. If you're crunched for time and are forced to pick one of the two then I recommend The Clark. MassMoCA is on a whole different level because it is very different than the other two museums. It's quite contemporary and the old mill site is very interesting. Or you can be like me and hit all three in one day. It's very possible. Just start early (and plan for an hour lunch in the cute center of Williamstown). If you buy the combo 3-museum pass you'll save 6 bucks. I like that's it free and somewhat small. Nice tiny gift store. Oddly, it reminded me very much of the Bowdoin College's Art Museum. It's about the same size and contains similar art styles.

We were visiting Williamstown during school vacation week and decided to pop into the museum. We were welcomed by a friendly staff member who not only explained what exhibitions were on view but also how to navigate the museum and where the coat room and restrooms were located. We especially loved the Object Lab galleries to see which objects faculty were using in their courses and the Sol Lewitt print and Japan Repro exhibition. We were also warmly greeted in the galleries by Gladys, who later helped us out in the gift shop. The museum is small enough to navigate in an hour but engaging enough for an entire afternoon. Even my 11 y.o. found it interesting!

Stopped in for another visit yesterday. Always a joy. Temporary exhibits are often a mixed bag, but usually thought provoking and worth a look. Permanent collection is interesting for a small school. Enjoyed the special, chronologically arranged exhibition of acquisitions from 1960-1962. Made me think a bit. This museum is always our first stop when in Williamstown.

I drove slowly along Route 2, looking for the Clark Institute. I saw a sign that said "art museum." I quickly turned into the driveway, parked in front of the building and was halfway through the Williams College Museum of Art when I realized I wasn't at the Clark. Typical of me: Back in 1994, I was at BU for about three weeks before I figured out that BU was not the same as BC. Seriously. But my three years at BU turned out OK (Go, Terriers!) so I decided to stick with WCMA and see where the afternoon led. It led me straight to the second floor exhibition on American founding documents. There, I paid obeisance to John Dunlap's original printing of the Declaration of Independence, one of only a handful known still to exist; contemplated a Committee of Style draft of the Constitution, with annotations by George Mason, a delegate from Virgina; compared an early draft of the Bill of Rights to that which was eventually ratified; and gazed wistfully at an official British response to the Declaration of Independence, wondering how to get it out of the case and into my living room. As far as small college museums go, WCMA had enough to hold my interest. I saw a gallery full of paintings by Charles and Maurice Prendergast, whose family, I believe, had some connection to Williams College. I'd never heard of the brothers Prendergast, who, I suppose would be considered American Impressionists (or maybe post-Impressionists), and I was excited to see their paintings of places I knew in New York and Massachusetts. WCMA also had on display quite a few medieval and Renaissance religious paintings, a bunch of antiquities and, back to the Americans, a Hopper, a Homer, a Wood, and a nice cross-section of other Twentieth Century American artists. I considered my ninety minutes or so at WCMA time well-spent, especially since admission was free. When I left WCMA, I resumed my trip to the Clark, just up the road. When I arrived, however, I decided that my unknowing detour left me all museumed out. There's just so much culture a guy can take, after all, so instead, I took a short hike through the woods and, refreshed but sticky, set forth on the slow road back to Boston. Unless you live in the area, I don't know if it's worth going out of the way for WCMA but if you plan to be in Williamstown or North Adams for a weekend, you can definitely hit WCMA, MassMOCA and the Clark, as well as take a side trip up to Bennington, Vermont. In fact, I might do this myself next summer. Anyone want to come?

I just walked out of the museum after spending four and a half hours there, absorbed in the art. Their collections are great, and the information provided is thought provoking and enables you to look at the art in a new way. Their temporary exhibit, 'What is Art?' was hands down the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time. It's free, but I'd be willing to pay to go in there! Fantastic.

Nice small space w lovely permanent collection and large space for visiting shows. Warhol show emphasized his books and drawings for books; kids ones were the most charming. Easy to get around if disabled too.

After more than ten years of coming to this museum, I thought it was time to rave about it. Located between two neighboring powerhouses, MASS MoCA in North Adams and The Clark in Williamstown, this gem is often overlooked, and it should not be. The curatorial efforts are always original and well executed. Even if you don't care for the art in a particular exhibit, you have to admire the panache and intelligence behind its organizing principals. An additional benefit is the general emptiness of the place which allows one to concentrate more intently on what is being shown. Finally, there is no admission fee! Plus, parking is free.

Went to the museum October 9. My wife fell off their very dangerous and poorly designed stairs and suffered a serious head injury. Was in hospital for two days. Security took my number so they could inquire. None called. Very poorly designed stairs. No safety railing and the cashier for the gift shop is right at the stairs. Will never attend this museum again.

As college art museums go, WCMA is definitely one of the better ones. Thoughtfully curated exhibitions, an impressive permanent collection, and rotating seasonal shows make WCMA a treat. Did I mention it's free? Stop by WCMA while visiting the Clark Art Institute MASS MoCA (or both!) for an art-filled day in North County.

Very little art there, and what was there was totally uninteresting/uninspiring. I understand they were getting ready for a new exhibit but wow, don't bother coming here. I'm an art lover and I spent more time in the gift shop (and still didn't buy anything). There are no clear signs for the entrance (had to ask a passing student). Thankfully there is no admission price or I'd be unhappy and asking for a refund. And even less parking - just a few spots...unless you want to park in the lot across the street, behind the building, down the hill, etc...basically a 10 minute walk which would be no fun and potentially problematic. When I went, there was lots of snow, bitter cold (5 or less degrees F), and lots of slippery ice. All in all, not worth going.

On July 4th,I visited this fine relatively small university art museum.i appreciated its fine small collection of quality European paintings by Claude Lorrain,Francesco Solimena,Jean Francois de Troy("Gallant Conversation"),Jean Ingres("Michaelangelo's Face and Hands").Jean Corot,Camille Pissarro("Banks of Oise,Pontoise".wonderful French Impressionism),Maximillian Luce("London",excellent Pointilism),and Emile Bernard,among others.I also liked the wonderful paintings that I saw by John Copley,Gilbert Stuart,John Kensett("Lake George").and Edward Hopper("Morning in the City",splendid American Regionalism).Their temporary exhibit of works by Robert Rauschenberg was also very impressive,as well as wonderful sculpture by Louise Bourgeise in front of this art museum.I also appreciated the interest the staff displayed in the works of Art on display.This art museum is free,but your donations will help it to maintain its high standards.

Great free museum on campus - the curation is good, and there are often interesting exhibits. Parking can be hard, but the museum is never crowded so there's space to actually appreciate the art rather than muscling through crowds.