Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, University art museum at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, United States.
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is the art museum of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and holds a collection ranging from ancient times to the present day, covering paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and photographs. The building was designed by César Pelli and joins an older 19th-century wing to a newer addition that features large windows and open gallery rooms.
The museum was founded in 1864 alongside Vassar College itself, making it one of the oldest university art museums in the country. It took its current name in 1993 following a major gift from the Lehman Loeb family, and at the same time moved into the César Pelli building that stands today.
The art center is woven into daily campus life and draws students, faculty, and local visitors throughout the week. The collection brings together works from many parts of the world, so it is possible to move from ancient Egyptian objects to twentieth-century American paintings within a single visit.
The museum sits on the Vassar College campus and is free to enter without any reservation. Allow enough time to go through all the rooms, as the collection is spread across several floors and sections of the building.
The collection holds prints by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn that are kept in storage and only accessible on request or during special displays. Asking the staff about them gives visitors a chance to see the works at very close range under good light, something rarely possible in larger institutions.
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