PARKING:
A lighted parking lot, with parking attendant, is located directly across from the Walters at Centre and Cathedral streets. A discounted rate is provided when the parking ticket is validated inside the museum.
HOURS:
Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Hours may vary during special exhibitions.
ADMISSION:
General admission is free. Prices are subject to change and may vary for special exhibitions.
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Walters Art Museum brings art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning. We strive to create a place where people of every background can be touched by art. We are committed to exhibitions and programs that will strengthen and sustain our community.
HOTEL:
Peabody Court is the official hotel of the Walters Art Museum. This historic property is just around the corner from the museum and features George’s, a full-service restaurant. For hotel reservations, call 1-800-292-5500 and ask for the special Walters discounted rate.
Founding Date: 1934
The Buildings:
- The Charles Street Building
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- Henry Walters' original Art Gallery, built between 1904 and 1909, was influenced by Italian Renaissance and Baroque palaces. The palazzo-like structure is modeled after the interior of the early 17th-century Collegio dei Gesuiti (now Palazzo dell' Universita) in Genoa built by the Balbi family for the Jesuits after the plans of architect Bartolomeo Bianchi.
- The Centre Street Building
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- Originally opened in 1974, this building's 1998-2001 renovations include a 4-story glass atrium, a Family Art Center, an enlarged Museum Store, a new Museum Café, and expanded laboratories for painting, object and manuscript conservation as well as new manuscript exhibition space.
- Hackerman House Asian Art Gallery
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- A grand staircase with a Tiffany skylight caps this beautiful Greek-revival mansion, built in 1850. Opened as a part of the Walters in 1991, the building now provides magnificent galleries for Asian art including Collectors Rooms of 19th-century period-style installations.
Collection Overview (33,800+ items)
- Ancient Art
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- This collection encompasses Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Near Eastern art including mummies, sarcophagi, sculpture, vases and ancient jewelry.
- Medieval Art,
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- Early Christian, Byzantine, Migration Period, Romanesque, Gothic and Late Gothic art provide an exciting view of the Middle Ages.
- Illuminated Manuscripts
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- Changing exhibitions highlight the Walters' celebrated collection of 900 illuminated sacred and secular manuscripts from all over the world, as well as 1,300 books printed before 1500.
- Arms and Armor
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- Armor and weaponry range from prehistoric times to the 19th century, including medieval armor, swords and daggers, crossbows, spears and halberds, flintlocks and muskets installed in context throughout the museum.
- Old Master Paintings
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- Masterpieces by Raphael, Veronese, Pontormo, Van Dyck, Reni, Tiepolo, El Greco and many more are on permanent display.
- Renaissance and Later Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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- Highlights include Limoges enamels, Sévres porcelains and Baroque ivories. The Treasury houses the Walters' renowned collections of jewelry and precious objects, including fabulous Fabergé Easter eggs and jewelry by Tiffany and Lalique.
- 19th-Century Painting, Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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- Renovated galleries showcase works by Monet, Pissarro, Manet, Degas, Gérôme, Daumier, Delacroix and Corot, among others.
- Asian Art
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- Hackerman House displays over 1,000 works of Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian and Indian art in a beautifully renovated 1850 townhouse. Highlights include Japanese arms and armor, Chinese and Japanese porcelains, lacquers and metalwork. On display in its own second floor gallery is the oldest surviving wood image of the Buddha, dating to the 7th century A.D.
Special Exhibitions
The Walters presents major exhibitions in the Centre Street Building and smaller exhibitions and temporary installations throughout the museum. Exhibitions from the museum's permanent collection are also presented on a rotating basis.
Education
Voted Best Art Museum for Kids by Baltimore Magazine in 2004, the museum provides an array of educational programs for families, including free drop-in art activities every Saturday in the Family Art Center; interactive ArtCarts equipped with Discovery Quilts, costumes, puzzles, books, drawing kits and more; three free family festivals yearly and a variety of fee-based programs including birthday parties and workshops for pre-schoolers to Girl Scouts. The division serves over 30,000 students yearly on tour and in studio experiences, and provides teachers and students with curriculum resources relating to the Walters collections and school curriculum.
Adult Programs
The Education Division also develops an extensive schedule of programs for adults, which include lectures, symposia, mini-courses, seminars, concerts, films and in-gallery performances.
Library
The Library's collection of research materials mirrors the museum's art collection in scope and exists to support the scholarly research of the museum's art objects. One hundred twenty thousand volumes of scholarly monographs and periodicals are available to the public for use in the library by appointment only.
Museum Store
The Museum Store offers merchandise inspired by the Walters collection, including a fine selection of art books, note cards, posters, art-patterned scarves, jewelry, childrens toys and other unique gifts.
Museum Café
The Museum Café is a casual restaurant serving light fare and refreshments during museum hours.
Mummified
November 15, 2008–November 2010
In spring 2008, the University of Maryland and the Walters Art Museum performed a CT scan on the museum’s mummy to conduct a “virtual autopsy,” discovering more about the person’s age, possible illnesses and cause of death. The virtual autopsy also provides insight about the mummification technique, the kind of wrappings used and the possible presence of amulets (objects worn because they were believed to have magical powers). More importantly, this process might be able to disclose part of the mummy’s original identity. During Mummified, Walters’ visitors can experience the virtual autopsy and learn more about ancient Egyptian mummification at two computer stations in the Level 2 lobby. The exhibition displays 20 ancient Egyptian objects, showing images of mummified persons, animals and deities—such as Osiris and Ptah—while explaining the resurrection symbolism of ancient Egyptian mummies.
Palace of Wonders: Renaissance & Baroque Galleries
Ongoing
Permanent Installation
The Walters celebrated the 100th anniversary of its original Palazzo Building with the reinstallation of over 1,500 objects largely from the museum's Renaissance and Baroque collection, one of the largest troves of Italian paintings in North America. This original Walters art gallery was modeled after Renaissance and Baroque palace designs with the Sculpture Court a replica of Genoa's 17th-century Palazzo Balbi. Paintings from the 14th through the 18th century, some of which have never been on view before, are displayed with sculpture and decorative arts of the period. In this reinstallation, beloved Walters' masterpieces by Raphael, El Greco, Bernini, Veronese, Pontormo, Lievens and Cranach are joined by recent acquisitions and works that have undergone dramatic conservation treatments. The installations take advantage of the character of the collections and the Palazzo Building to present art as it was displayed in domestic settings of the 16th to 18th centuries, providing the Walters visitor an unexpected and exceptional art experience. A highlight is the re-creation of a Collection of Art and Wonders as it might have been assembled by a 17th-century nobleman in the Southern Netherlands: his entry hall of arms and armor, a private study and a Chamber of Wonders encompassing curiosities of nature and human creativity.
Art of the Ancient Americas
Occurs every week on Saturday, Sunday
October 14, 2009 - October 14, 2012
Time: 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Long-term Loan
All of the major civilizations of Mesoamerica are featured in this installation, including the Olmec, Maya and Teotihuacan. The exhibition focuses on small sculpture from these cultures' enigmatic figures and animals that probably served a ritual function. These pieces are complemented by larger ceramics from West Mexico, intricate gold objects from Colombia, elegant ceramics from Peru and Ecuador and works from the Caribbean and Alaska. The bulk of the exhibition is on a 10-year loan from the Directors of the Austen-Stokes Ancient Americas Foundation. The exhibition is enhanced by pieces from the Walters' own permanent collection and loans from local collectors.
Checkmate! Medieval People at Play
July 17, 2010 - October 10, 2010
Neither stodgy nor perpetually pious, medieval people found time for amusement in the margins of their lives and their manuscripts. From peasant boys shirking their winter duties in order to lob snowballs at each other to monkeys gleefully dancing to "Ring around the Rosie," their antics have come down to us in art.
Great Illustrations: Drawings and Books from The Walters’ Collection
July 31, 2010 - October 10, 2010
This focus show unearths treasures of illustration hidden in the permanent collection of the Walters Art Museum. Featuring preparatory drawings for Gustave Doré’s Bible and Paul Gavarni’s lively sketches of the London underworld, the exhibition explores the variety of ways in which 19th-century artists approached the art of illustration.
August Events:
