Williams College Museum of Art

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.

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.

Nice small collection.

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.

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.

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.

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?