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Exhibitions

Current Exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
Permanent Collections in the Galleries
Past Exhibitions

Current Exhibitions

First in the Hearts of His Countrymen :

George Washington

Through August 12, 2012

First in the Hearts of His Countrymen explores the impact of America's iconic first president, whose likeness both during life and since his death has adorned and inspired thousands of artists, sculptors, and craftspeople. The exhibit showcases an eclectic array of items from the Albany Institute's collection, including teapots, plates, busts, documents, personal correspondence, lithographs, paintings, and even a walking stick cut from a tree near his Mount Vernon grave site, all paying tribute to this purely American hero. Learn more.
Now booking school groups. For more information, please call Barbara Collins, Education Coordinator, at (518) 463-4478, ext. 405 or by e-mail collinsb@albanyinstitute.org.

St. Peter's Church in Albany

Through May 27, 2012

The distinguished history of St. Peter’s Church, begins in 1704 when England’s Queen Ann founded a “Chapel of the Onondagas” to bring missionaries to North America and granted land in Albany to build an Anglican Church. This first church, a gambrel-roofed, masonry structure, was built in 1715-1717 on State Street near Lodge Street. In 1802 Albany architect Phillip Hooker designed a new Federal Style church at the same location, which Richard Upjohn of New York City, well-known for his Gothic Revival Style replaced in 1860. His son, Richard M. Upjohn added the impressive bell tower in 1876. The richly decorated interiors include work by leading artists designers including windows designed by the English artist Edward C. Burne-Jones and fabricated by the William Morris Company of London in 1880; the chancel windows made by Clayton and Bell of London in 1885; and the rose window over the State Street entrance made by the Tiffany Company in 1892. The exhibition, drawn from the collections of St. Peter’s Church and the Albany Institute, include the rarely seen 1712 Queen Anne Communion Service, land grants, portraits, furniture, drawings, prints, maps, and photographs arranged to highlight the history of the church and its role in the historical events that shaped Albany and the upper Hudson Valley.
More information.

Great, Strange, and Rarely Seen:
Objects from the Vault

Through August 26, 2012

The exhibition Great, Strange, and Rarely Seen places on view the little known but truly magnificent collections from the Albany Institute. Stunning Chinese lacquer, intricately carved Japanese netsuke, and eighteenth-century English porcelain statuettes reveal the cosmopolitan breadth of the Institute's holdings. While other collections like patent models and human hair jewelry demonstrate the ingenious and quirky sides of human creativity. The exhibition also includes panoramic photographs, unusual clocks, a chronology of mirrors, women's bonnets and hats, British and American fortepianos, and riches from the Library.

More information

A Gather of Glass:
Selections from the Museum's Collection

July 30, 2011 - June 17, 2012

Since its invention, glass has been a critical medium for almost every field and purpose, ranging from elaborate fine art work to practical household items and everything in between. A Gather of Glass showcases decorative and functional glassware found in American households over three centuries, emphasizing the variety of process by which objects were formed and decorated. The exhibition includes a selection of blown, molded, pressed, and cut glass pieces from the Institute's collection, many manufactured in the northeast United States. A showcase of colored glass is also featured, which analyzes the American predilection for both clear, "crystal" pieces, and vibrant, experimental glass of many hues. Highlights of the exhibition include examples from the Institute's Corning service of cut glass tableware, Albany Glass Works flasks, and lacy glass saltcellars.