The Museum
Bringing Art
and People
Together
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
We aim to connect people, art, and ideas in creative ways.
Three floors of the Museum are devoted to the permanent collection: Asian art on Floor 5; pre-1800 art on Floor 2; and art from the 19th century to today on Floor 1. The Mallin Sculpture Court on Floor 2, under the Cosmos installation, is open seasonally.
Mission
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University welcomes visitors to experience original works of art across a wide spectrum of global traditions, time periods, and media for education, inspiration, and delight. We connect to the vibrant intellectual and cultural life of Cornell University and a public audience through exhibitions, programs, teaching, and research, with free admission for all.
Vision
We create direct experiences with art and catalyze interdisciplinary learning, opening new doors to lifelong inquiry and exploration.
“I hope that the new museum will serve the students of Cornell, present and future, as a wider window on the world of fine arts, enabling them to add a broader dimension to their lives no matter what their field of study may be.”
—Herbert F. Johnson, Class of 1922, at the Museum dedication in 1973
About the Museum
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art opened in 1973. Designed by I. M. Pei & Partners, it is named for benefactor Herbert F. Johnson, a distinguished graduate of Cornell’s Class of 1922, the late president and chairman of S C Johnson of Racine, Wisconsin, and a Cornell University trustee.
Since its beginning the Museum has been open to all without charge. Given Cornell University’s land-grant status and its mandate to play an important role in the community, the Johnson Museum continually seeks to fulfill its cultural and educational responsibility to serve a broad and diverse audience.
Today, the Johnson Museum’s permanent collection numbers 40,000 works, spanning six millennia and encompassing art from most world cultures. Among the strengths of the collection are the holdings of Asian art; prints, drawings, and photographs ranging from the fifteenth century to the present; modern and contemporary painting and sculpture; European art from ancient times to the present; African sculpture and textiles; and pre-Columbian sculpture and ceramics.
The collections are the foundation for all Museum initiatives in teaching, research, and the development of projects to connect people, art, and ideas in creative ways.
Museum Annual Reports (PDFs)
The Morgan Garden
The Morgan Japanese Garden was built at the Johnson Museum through the generous support of Rebecca Morgan, Class of 1960, and James Morgan, Class of 1960. The exterior garden is always open to visitors (seasonal maintenance closures may be necessary).
The garden abstracts the story of the Three Laughers of the Tiger Glen, with the protagonists represented by three upright boulders and a cleft lined with small stones through a field of moss representing the torrent of the ravine. The sound of running water in the nearby stone basin and the visual illusion of running water in the ravine are intended to mix within the mind of the viewer. The Morgan Garden was designed by Marc Peter Keane, Class of 1979.
