The Addison Gallery, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, is free and open to the public. Plan your visit >
Our Mission
Home to a world-class collection of American art, the Addison Gallery, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, presents an adventurous exhibition program, hosts a vital artist-in-residence program, and works collaboratively with students and faculty at the Academy and in neighboring communities. Through our ongoing query What is America?, the Addison seeks to engage with the history of American art and American experience—past, present, and future.
About Our Collection
Comprised of more than 25,000 works in all media—painting, sculpture, photography, drawings, prints, and decorative arts—from the 18th century to the present, the Addison Gallery’s collection of American art is one of the most important in the world.
The museum’s founding collection included major works by such prominent American artists as John Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Maurice Prendergast, John Singer Sargent, John Twachtman, and James McNeill Whistler.
In the nine decades since, aggressive purchasing and generous gifts have added works by such artists as Mark Bradford, Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Marsden Hartley, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Kerry James Marshall, Eadweard Muybridge, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Charles Sheeler, Lorna Simpson, John Sloan, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Frank Stella, Kara Walker, and Stanley Whitney.
Join us TODAY (Saturday, September 21st) for our fall opening reception from 4:00-6:00! We’re hearing whispers that the celebrated Thai pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng may make an appearance!* See you soon!
Join us in celebrating the Addison’s new exhibitions: Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962; Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School; and Figure/Ground. Enjoy great company, light refreshments, and the best of American art! Free and open to the public.
Please note: Main Street from Central Street to Locke Street will be blocked and closed until 4:00 pm for Andover Day festivities. All side streets leading to and from Main Street will be also blocked and entry onto Main Street will be prohibited. Detours will be posted. If using a GPS, enter 3 Chapel Avenue, Andover, MA, as your destination.
*UPDATE: We couldn’t afford to fly Moo Deng out on such short notice.
Join us TODAY (Saturday, September 21st) for our fall opening reception from 4:00-6:00! We’re hearing whispers that the celebrated Thai pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng may make an appearance!* See you soon!
Join us in celebrating the Addison’s new exhibitions: Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962; Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School; and Figure/Ground. Enjoy great company, light refreshments, and the best of American art! Free and open to the public.
Please note: Main Street from Central Street to Locke Street will be blocked and closed until 4:00 pm for Andover Day festivities. All side streets leading to and from Main Street will be also blocked and entry onto Main Street will be prohibited. Detours will be posted. If using a GPS, enter 3 Chapel Avenue, Andover, MA, as your destination.
*UPDATE: We couldn’t afford to fly Moo Deng out on such short notice.
Join us this Sunday (September 22nd) at 1:00 for In Conversation: Kay WalkingStick and Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto!
Join artist Kay WalkingStick and exhibition curator Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto, Vice President and Chief Curator of @nyhistory, for an engaging, informal conversation about the themes presented in Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School. The exhibition, organized by New-York Historical Society, places landscape paintings by WalkingStick in conversation with 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, celebrating a shared reverence for nature while engaging crucial questions about land dispossession and its reclamation by Indigenous peoples and nations. This program is free but space is limited and registration is required (click the link in our bio).
We can’t wait to see you on Saturday (September 21st) from 4-6 for our fall opening celebration and then again on Sunday for this exciting event!
Image: Kay WalkingStick, Wampanoag Coast, Variation II, 2018. Oil on panel in two parts. Collection of Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D., and Oscar Tang. © Kay WalkingStick
#kaywalkingstick
Join us this Sunday (September 22nd) at 1:00 for In Conversation: Kay WalkingStick and Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto!
Join artist Kay WalkingStick and exhibition curator Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto, Vice President and Chief Curator of @nyhistory, for an engaging, informal conversation about the themes presented in Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School. The exhibition, organized by New-York Historical Society, places landscape paintings by WalkingStick in conversation with 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, celebrating a shared reverence for nature while engaging crucial questions about land dispossession and its reclamation by Indigenous peoples and nations. This program is free but space is limited and registration is required (click the link in our bio).
We can’t wait to see you on Saturday (September 21st) from 4-6 for our fall opening celebration and then again on Sunday for this exciting event!
Image: Kay WalkingStick, Wampanoag Coast, Variation II, 2018. Oil on panel in two parts. Collection of Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D., and Oscar Tang. © Kay WalkingStick
#kaywalkingstick
OPENING TOMORROW: Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School!
Organized by @nyhistory, Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School places landscape paintings by the renowned, contemporary Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick in conversation with highlights from New-York Historical’s collection of 19th-century Hudson River School paintings along with selected works from the Addison’s permanent collection. This artistic dialogue showcases the ways in which WalkingStick’s work both connects to and diverges from the Hudson River School tradition and explores the agency of art in shaping humankind’s relationship to the land. The exhibition celebrates a shared reverence for nature while engaging crucial questions about land dispossession and its reclamation by Indigenous peoples and nations and exploring the relationship between Indigenous art and American art history.
Highlights of the exhibition’s more than 40 works include two of WalkingStick’s paintings that are directly inspired by Hudson River School artists; the artist’s sole landscape referencing the Trail of Tears (a journey her Cherokee ancestors were forced to take); examples of her early painted sculptural abstractions inspired by nature; and several of her most recent paintings—like Niagara and Aquidneck After the Storm—which overlay geographically specific abstract Indigenous patterns onto representational landscapes in order to re-assert an Indigenous presence long erased in European settlers’ depictions of North America as a pristine and unpopulated wilderness. Native American objects on loan from the artist and other museum collections, including woven baskets and ceramic jars, offer insight into WalkingStick’s source patterns and artistic process.
Please join us for our fall opening reception from 4-6 on Saturday, September 21st and be sure to sign up for what promises to be a dynamic public conversation between Kay WalkingStick and exhibition curator Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto at 1 on Sunday, September 22nd! Check our website for more information.
This exhibition has been organized by the New-York Historical Society.
#kaywalkingstick #hudsonriverschool
OPENING TOMORROW: Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School!
Organized by @nyhistory, Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School places landscape paintings by the renowned, contemporary Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick in conversation with highlights from New-York Historical’s collection of 19th-century Hudson River School paintings along with selected works from the Addison’s permanent collection. This artistic dialogue showcases the ways in which WalkingStick’s work both connects to and diverges from the Hudson River School tradition and explores the agency of art in shaping humankind’s relationship to the land. The exhibition celebrates a shared reverence for nature while engaging crucial questions about land dispossession and its reclamation by Indigenous peoples and nations and exploring the relationship between Indigenous art and American art history.
Highlights of the exhibition’s more than 40 works include two of WalkingStick’s paintings that are directly inspired by Hudson River School artists; the artist’s sole landscape referencing the Trail of Tears (a journey her Cherokee ancestors were forced to take); examples of her early painted sculptural abstractions inspired by nature; and several of her most recent paintings—like Niagara and Aquidneck After the Storm—which overlay geographically specific abstract Indigenous patterns onto representational landscapes in order to re-assert an Indigenous presence long erased in European settlers’ depictions of North America as a pristine and unpopulated wilderness. Native American objects on loan from the artist and other museum collections, including woven baskets and ceramic jars, offer insight into WalkingStick’s source patterns and artistic process.
Please join us for our fall opening reception from 4-6 on Saturday, September 21st and be sure to sign up for what promises to be a dynamic public conversation between Kay WalkingStick and exhibition curator Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto at 1 on Sunday, September 22nd! Check our website for more information.
This exhibition has been organized by the New-York Historical Society.
#kaywalkingstick #hudsonriverschool
Lackluster weekend plans? Come to the Addison to see Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962! We’re FREE and open to all!
These mediocre iPhone installation shots (I couldn’t wait to have professional shots taken before sharing, sue me) cannot convey the beauty and grandeur of this exhibition—organized by the @nyugrey and curated by @dbbalken and Lynn Gumpert—you’ll just have to see it for yourself.
Americans in Paris is open now through January 5th!
#americansinparis #americansabroad #expats #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Lackluster weekend plans? Come to the Addison to see Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962! We’re FREE and open to all!
These mediocre iPhone installation shots (I couldn’t wait to have professional shots taken before sharing, sue me) cannot convey the beauty and grandeur of this exhibition—organized by the @nyugrey and curated by @dbbalken and Lynn Gumpert—you’ll just have to see it for yourself.
Americans in Paris is open now through January 5th!
#americansinparis #americansabroad #expats #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Brat summer is over (as is “demure” summer/fall) and we’re back! We’re phasing the opening of our major fall exhibitions this year so don’t be surprised if you see lots of activity (and maybe some hammering) going on in our first floor galleries for the next week or so. As of today, Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962 (organized by @nyugrey) is open and looking beautiful! Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School (organized by @nyhistory) will open on September 14th—more on that soon!
As always, we are completely FREE and open to everyone Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 1 to 5. Check us out!
#americansinparis #kaywalkingstick
Brat summer is over (as is “demure” summer/fall) and we’re back! We’re phasing the opening of our major fall exhibitions this year so don’t be surprised if you see lots of activity (and maybe some hammering) going on in our first floor galleries for the next week or so. As of today, Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962 (organized by @nyugrey) is open and looking beautiful! Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School (organized by @nyhistory) will open on September 14th—more on that soon!
As always, we are completely FREE and open to everyone Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 1 to 5. Check us out!
#americansinparis #kaywalkingstick
Dying to see more Americans in Paris now that the Olympics are over? We have you covered…Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 opens September 3rd right here at the Addison! Simone Biles not included.
Contrary to entrenched presumptions that Manhattan became the primary locus of art after World War II, Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 delves into the various circles of artists who made France their home during an era of intense geopolitical realignment. Bolstered by the GI Bill, many artists, such as Norman Bluhm, Ed Clark, Sam Francis, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, and Jack Youngerman, along with lesser-known figures such as Robert Breer, Harold Cousins, and Shinkichi Tajiri, opted for a foreign rather than a domestic learning experience. Seasoned artists, such as Beauford Delaney, Claire Falkenstein, Carmen Herrera, Joan Mitchell, Kimber Smith, and Mark Tobey, like the GIs, were drawn to the storied modernist traditions that still flowed from this fabled City of Light.
Comprising some 135 artworks by approximately 70 artists, Americans in Paris investigates the academies where many of these artists studied, the spaces where their work was exhibited, the aesthetic discourses that animated their conversations, their interactions with European artists, and the overarching issue of what it meant to be an American abroad.
Organized by the @nyugrey and curated by Debra Bricker Balken (@dbbalken) with Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition is accompanied by a 300-page illustrated publication.
Join us for our fall opening reception from 4-6 on Saturday, September 21st!
#americansinparis
Dying to see more Americans in Paris now that the Olympics are over? We have you covered…Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 opens September 3rd right here at the Addison! Simone Biles not included.
Contrary to entrenched presumptions that Manhattan became the primary locus of art after World War II, Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 delves into the various circles of artists who made France their home during an era of intense geopolitical realignment. Bolstered by the GI Bill, many artists, such as Norman Bluhm, Ed Clark, Sam Francis, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, and Jack Youngerman, along with lesser-known figures such as Robert Breer, Harold Cousins, and Shinkichi Tajiri, opted for a foreign rather than a domestic learning experience. Seasoned artists, such as Beauford Delaney, Claire Falkenstein, Carmen Herrera, Joan Mitchell, Kimber Smith, and Mark Tobey, like the GIs, were drawn to the storied modernist traditions that still flowed from this fabled City of Light.
Comprising some 135 artworks by approximately 70 artists, Americans in Paris investigates the academies where many of these artists studied, the spaces where their work was exhibited, the aesthetic discourses that animated their conversations, their interactions with European artists, and the overarching issue of what it meant to be an American abroad.
Organized by the @nyugrey and curated by Debra Bricker Balken (@dbbalken) with Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition is accompanied by a 300-page illustrated publication.
Join us for our fall opening reception from 4-6 on Saturday, September 21st!
#americansinparis
I will not make a joke about French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s recent brush with internet infamy…and a crossbar. I will, however, note that a second Battle of the Bulge befell Western Europe this past Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904). Plate 165. Jumping; Pole Vaulting from Animal Locomotion, 1885. Collotype. Gift of the Edwin J. Beinecke Trust, 1984.6.39
#olympics #eadweardmuybridge #polevault #addisongalleryofamericanart
I will not make a joke about French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s recent brush with internet infamy…and a crossbar. I will, however, note that a second Battle of the Bulge befell Western Europe this past Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904). Plate 165. Jumping; Pole Vaulting from Animal Locomotion, 1885. Collotype. Gift of the Edwin J. Beinecke Trust, 1984.6.39
#olympics #eadweardmuybridge #polevault #addisongalleryofamericanart
People over the age of 35 trying to figure out what “brat summer” means.
It would be so Julia for you to come see our shows before we close for reinstallation in August.
#winslowhomer #addisongalleryofamericanart #brat
People over the age of 35 trying to figure out what “brat summer” means.
It would be so Julia for you to come see our shows before we close for reinstallation in August.
#winslowhomer #addisongalleryofamericanart #brat
Looking for something to do tomorrow (Tuesday, July 23rd) at 3:00? Ever wonder why so many of the Addison’s treasures were given by an “anonymous donor?” Join us virtually for the final public program of the season—a virtual tour of Laying the Foundation: Exploring the Nucleus of the Addison’s Collection. All will be revealed!
Join Gordon Wilkins, Robert M. Walker Curator at the Addison, for a virtual tour and discussion of the exhibition exploring the eclectic mix of works that comprise the Addison’s founding collection, which reflects not just the best of what was available on the market at the time but also the specific tastes and predilections of those who contributed to its creation.
This program is free but registration is required—click the link in our bio.
All of our current exhibitions close on July 31st—get over here before it’s too late!
Winslow Homer (1836-1910). Casting, 1897. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Gift of anonymous donor, 1928.22
#addisongalleryofamericanart
Looking for something to do tomorrow (Tuesday, July 23rd) at 3:00? Ever wonder why so many of the Addison’s treasures were given by an “anonymous donor?” Join us virtually for the final public program of the season—a virtual tour of Laying the Foundation: Exploring the Nucleus of the Addison’s Collection. All will be revealed!
Join Gordon Wilkins, Robert M. Walker Curator at the Addison, for a virtual tour and discussion of the exhibition exploring the eclectic mix of works that comprise the Addison’s founding collection, which reflects not just the best of what was available on the market at the time but also the specific tastes and predilections of those who contributed to its creation.
This program is free but registration is required—click the link in our bio.
All of our current exhibitions close on July 31st—get over here before it’s too late!
Winslow Homer (1836-1910). Casting, 1897. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Gift of anonymous donor, 1928.22
#addisongalleryofamericanart
We can hardly believe it ourselves but you have just slightly over a month to see our current slate of exhibitions! Everything must close on July 31st!
We have A/C. We’re also free. We’re also only 20 miles north of Boston and not, as many seem to believe, in western Massachusetts.
📸: @kathytphotos
We can hardly believe it ourselves but you have just slightly over a month to see our current slate of exhibitions! Everything must close on July 31st!
We have A/C. We’re also free. We’re also only 20 miles north of Boston and not, as many seem to believe, in western Massachusetts.
📸: @kathytphotos
Coming soon! June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart.
The Addison Gallery of American Art, @phillipsacademy and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at @oberlincollege are co-organizing a major exhibition devoted to the artist June Leaf (born 1929), whose enigmatic, beguiling, and often irreverent work is both endlessly experimental and uncategorizable. Drawing from the artist’s vast archive along with loans from select private and institutional collections, June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart will consider the breadth of Leaf’s 75-year career. Arranged thematically, it will be the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work in more than three decades. Leaf’s enchanting and provocative sculptures, both kinetic and stationary, paintings, and works on paper will be intermingled and placed in dynamic conversations across media, revealing the artist’s sustained engagement with such motifs and themes as theater and performance, the human drama, dance, gender, motion, urban life, mythology, and interpersonal relationships.
Accompanied by a publication, the exhibition will debut at the @addisongalleryofamericanart from March 15 through July 31, 2025 before traveling to the @nyugrey (September–December 2025) and the @allenartmuseum (January 27–May 24, 2026).
June Leaf (born 1929). Shooting from the Heart, 1980. Tin plates, rods, spring, and gears. 18 x 8 inches. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, museum purchase, 1995.62. Photograph by Robert Frank/@leaffrankfoundation
#juneleaf #shootingfromtheheart #addisongalleryofamericanart #phillipsacademy #allenmemorialartmuseum #oberlincollege
Coming soon! June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart.
The Addison Gallery of American Art, @phillipsacademy and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at @oberlincollege are co-organizing a major exhibition devoted to the artist June Leaf (born 1929), whose enigmatic, beguiling, and often irreverent work is both endlessly experimental and uncategorizable. Drawing from the artist’s vast archive along with loans from select private and institutional collections, June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart will consider the breadth of Leaf’s 75-year career. Arranged thematically, it will be the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work in more than three decades. Leaf’s enchanting and provocative sculptures, both kinetic and stationary, paintings, and works on paper will be intermingled and placed in dynamic conversations across media, revealing the artist’s sustained engagement with such motifs and themes as theater and performance, the human drama, dance, gender, motion, urban life, mythology, and interpersonal relationships.
Accompanied by a publication, the exhibition will debut at the @addisongalleryofamericanart from March 15 through July 31, 2025 before traveling to the @nyugrey (September–December 2025) and the @allenartmuseum (January 27–May 24, 2026).
June Leaf (born 1929). Shooting from the Heart, 1980. Tin plates, rods, spring, and gears. 18 x 8 inches. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, museum purchase, 1995.62. Photograph by Robert Frank/@leaffrankfoundation
#juneleaf #shootingfromtheheart #addisongalleryofamericanart #phillipsacademy #allenmemorialartmuseum #oberlincollege
The American artist and theoretician Donald Judd was born on this day in Excelsior Springs, Missouri in 1928. The Addison is fortunate enough to hold two significant works by Judd in its permanent collection through the generosity of Frank Stella.
@kimkardashian, as you may recall, infamously claimed to display work by Judd (knock-off tables) in her 40,000-square-foot beige mansion/Scandinavian prison/monastery for millennials. Today, in honor of Judd’s birthday, we explore how the Addisons (Rae and Gallery of American Art) are connected to the Kardashians through the work of this minimalist master. Please follow the slides in order to fully ascertain the significance of this konspiracy.
Slide 1. We begin this sordid tale with the Addison’s Untitled, 1984, a wonderful example of work produced during Judd’s fruitful collaboration with the Swiss company Lehni AG. This work was lent to the Museum of Modern Art’s major 2020 Donald Judd survey exhibition.
Slide 2. October 14, 2020. Famed rocker chick @kourtneykardash (now Barker) and @addisonraee visit MoMA to see Judd. Kardashian posts this masked photograph of herself on her grid standing near a series of additional Judd sculptures from the same series as the Addison’s work with the caption “Art Barbie.”
Slide 3. The aforementioned Addison Rae, a TikTok star with millions of rabid teen followers, discovers the existence of the Addison Gallery of American Art after reading the wall text next to the Addison’s piece. Perhaps Kourtney drew her attention to it—we’ll never know. Rae posts this photograph to her story. Attempts to convince Addison Rae to be the Addison Gallery’s unpaid spokesperson remain unsuccessful.
Slide 4. Everything is connected. Follow the money. Wag the dog. Did this encounter set anything in motion? Probably not. Would Donald Judd have found this funny or interesting? Probably not. Will you? Probably not. Does this change art historical scholarship forever? Yes. Are we going to get sued now? Probably.
Donald Judd (1928-1994). Untitled, 1984. Enameled aluminum. Gift of Frank Stella (PA 1954), 1991.45. Image: Timothy Doyon © Judd Foundation
#donaldjudd #juddfoundation
The American artist and theoretician Donald Judd was born on this day in Excelsior Springs, Missouri in 1928. The Addison is fortunate enough to hold two significant works by Judd in its permanent collection through the generosity of Frank Stella.
@kimkardashian, as you may recall, infamously claimed to display work by Judd (knock-off tables) in her 40,000-square-foot beige mansion/Scandinavian prison/monastery for millennials. Today, in honor of Judd’s birthday, we explore how the Addisons (Rae and Gallery of American Art) are connected to the Kardashians through the work of this minimalist master. Please follow the slides in order to fully ascertain the significance of this konspiracy.
Slide 1. We begin this sordid tale with the Addison’s Untitled, 1984, a wonderful example of work produced during Judd’s fruitful collaboration with the Swiss company Lehni AG. This work was lent to the Museum of Modern Art’s major 2020 Donald Judd survey exhibition.
Slide 2. October 14, 2020. Famed rocker chick @kourtneykardash (now Barker) and @addisonraee visit MoMA to see Judd. Kardashian posts this masked photograph of herself on her grid standing near a series of additional Judd sculptures from the same series as the Addison’s work with the caption “Art Barbie.”
Slide 3. The aforementioned Addison Rae, a TikTok star with millions of rabid teen followers, discovers the existence of the Addison Gallery of American Art after reading the wall text next to the Addison’s piece. Perhaps Kourtney drew her attention to it—we’ll never know. Rae posts this photograph to her story. Attempts to convince Addison Rae to be the Addison Gallery’s unpaid spokesperson remain unsuccessful.
Slide 4. Everything is connected. Follow the money. Wag the dog. Did this encounter set anything in motion? Probably not. Would Donald Judd have found this funny or interesting? Probably not. Will you? Probably not. Does this change art historical scholarship forever? Yes. Are we going to get sued now? Probably.
Donald Judd (1928-1994). Untitled, 1984. Enameled aluminum. Gift of Frank Stella (PA 1954), 1991.45. Image: Timothy Doyon © Judd Foundation
#donaldjudd #juddfoundation
