Top Things to do in Hampshire County
Top Hotels in Hampshire County
- 1. Homewood Suites by Hilton Hadley Amherst
- 2. Hampton Inn Hadley-Amherst Area
- 3. Inn on Boltwood
- 4. Courtyard by Marriott Hadley Amherst
- 5. Fairfield Inn & Suites Springfield Northampton/Amherst
- 6. Homewood Suites by Hilton Hadley Amherst
- 7. Hampton Inn Hadley-Amherst Area
- 8. Amherst Inn
- 9. Old Mill Inn
- 10. Daniel Stebbins House
The 5 Best Art Museums in Hampshire County, Hampshire County
Discover the best top things to do in Hampshire County, United States including Brown Fine Arts Center, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Mead Art Museum, Smith College Museum of Art, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.
Restaurants in Hampshire County
1. Brown Fine Arts Center
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
College museum that displays major 19th- and 20th-century works.
2. Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
3. Mead Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
Reviewed By Carmelo352 - Amherst, United States
I have visited the Mead Art Museum over three dozen times in the past 39 years and I have never been disappointed. The art collection is outstanding and ever changing. The museum is located on the Amherst College Campus and I have often combined my visits there with a relaxing walk on the campus. There are sweeping views of the Holyoke Range at the top of the hill near the museum.
4. Smith College Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 162 reviews
This museum features work by a number of art greats.
Reviewed By kzsull01 - Windsor, United States
My husband and I visited the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts, on Sunday, December 30, 2018. It was definitely worth visiting. The museum had four floors of a very nice mixture of various types of high quality art organized by time period and type of art, all well laid out and well curated. Both the overviews describing the art on display in each gallery and the detailed descriptions of each individual item on display were nicely done, quite informative, and comprehensive, representing a good lesson in art and history. We enjoyed our visit finding both the permanent and special exhibits to be interesting and educational. We recommend the museum and we hope you have the opportunity to enjoy it as well. We spent about an hour and a half at the museum, based on the amount of time available to us, but we could easily have spent at least two hours there. We parked on the street in front of the museum, on the opposite side of the street from the museum. The metered parking on Sunday was free with respect to where we parked. Special Exhibits: We started our visit with the special exhibit on display on the first floor titled ‘Becoming a Woman in the Age of Enlightenment: French Art from the Horvitz Collection’. This exhibit was quite exquisite and comprehensive, illustrating the distinct stages of women’s lives during the eighteenth-century and the defined roles that they played during each stage, based on cultural, social and political norms with a scientific perspective. It was broken down into multiple unique sections that very nicely addressed the fundamental questions about a woman’s life in the eighteenth-century’s ‘Age of Reason’. Beautiful artwork from this period provided examples of a woman’s role in each stage and how it varied based on her status and class. This exhibit entailed a lot, was nicely done, and quite impressive, definitely worth seeing. It told a very nice story through the artwork on display and detailed write-ups describing the artwork, providing a good lesson in history. . The works on Paper Gallery, a separate gallery on the second floor, exhibited a special exhibit entitled ‘No Man’s Land: Prints from the Front Lines of WWI’. This included very historical etchings and prints of WWI which illustrated how artist’s perceptions of the war and their role changed from the start of the war to the end of the war based on their wartime experiences and the hardships that they faced during the war. The changes included documenting battles as they happened on the ground where the artists experienced the true devastation of war, rather than after the fact, as was done in the past. This exhibit was quite interesting and a good tribute to those who served in this war. The special exhibit on the third floor entitled ‘Object Histories: From the African Continent to the SCMA Galleries’ traced the unique histories of over twenty of the museum’s most important works of African Art. It interestingly illustrated a variety of different types of objects, including those that served as status symbols, personal objects and objects related to performance. The cultural histories and meanings of the objects were examined along with the role of their collectors and donors. This exhibit was quite unique. Permanent Exhibits: The permanent exhibits on both the second and third floors were quite impressive and very educational. We really enjoyed them. Below are more details about these exhibits. The second floor permanent exhibit displayed art created before 1800 from America, the Ancient World and Europe. The major theme was ‘Sacred and Secular’ artwork. The artwork included beautiful ceramics, dishes, plates, bowls, figurines, jewelry, coins, sculptures, and paintings. Topics on beauty in Ancient Greece, the new Egyptian kingdom, gardens in Ancient Rome, ceramics and stone working in the Ancient Mediterranean; materials and techniques of Medieval Art; and private and public devotion in Western Europe were illustrated through artwork and nice informative write-ups. Art reflecting teachings and traditions of the Christian Church from 1150 – 1650, paintings during the Dutch Golden Age showing a strong realist approach to art, 18th Century Anglo-American Portraits, and transatlantic influences were also illustrated. The third floor permanent exhibit had new and innovative forms of artwork created after 1800 from Africa, America, and Europe in three galleries with the theme of ‘Tradition and Transformation”. Multiple topics were very nicely illustrated and explained through write-ups and specific artwork. This included ‘French and American Landscape Traditions: The Barbizon School and Hudson River School’; ‘American Art from 1800 -1850, Being a Self-Taught Tradition’, expressing an American identity; ‘The Two Traditions of Neoclassical and Romanticism in French Art’; and ‘Impressionism in France and in the United States’. Details on the French Artist Edgar Degas were nicely displayed in ‘Degas: From Tradition to Innovation – the Evolution of an Artist’ exhibit. Pablo Picasso’s fractured image of reality and ruptures in representations through multiple viewpoints were also nicely depicted. In addition, the Arts and Crafts Movement, American Realism (1875 – 1915) and Modernism (from 1929) Movements were also addressed. This museum definitely has much to offer, much more than what I mention here and is worth visiting.
5. Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 253 reviews
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a stunning, 40,000 square-foot facility in the heart of the Five College area of Western MA is loved by families, art aficionados and book lovers alike. The Museum houses three Galleries with rotating exhibitions of picture book art from around the world, and a permanent collection which includes works by artists such as Maurice Sendak, Leo Lionni, and Rosemary Wells. A hands-on Art Studio allows visitors to create their own masterpiece any time the Museum is open. The Auditorium hosts regular live performances, daily films, and frequent lectures and guest appearances by renowned authors and illustrators. The comfortable Reading Library is the perfect spot to settle in with a book and a friend, or take in Storytime. The Museum Shop, called by Parent's Choice "the very best bookstore for picture books in the entire world," is stocked with unique gifts and a beautiful array of picture books.
Reviewed By MyKidzBookshelf
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is a fantastic destination for fans of all ages that enjoy illustration! This wonderful museum features not only gorgeously curated exhibits, but also an art room for kids to create, an auditorium for programs, speakers and performances, a library, oversized photo-op props and a gift shop! We’ve visited this museum four times in the past four years and will absolutely be returning! The exhibits are definitely not just for kids—the art is fantastic—and there are always plenty of hands-on parts to the exhibits to round out the experience for the younger set! In the nicer weather, venture out to enjoy the outdoor gardens that were designed and dedicated to Eric Carle’s wife and co-founder, Barbara, or Bobbie as she was affectionately known. For fans of illustration, this is the museum to visit. Located near Amherst, MA, - it is about 20 minutes off of the highway and is a must-see destination for those who love art, illustration and a good museum!
