wcma

Animals, Art, and Philosophy

Detail from “Circus,” 1950. Tempera and gold leaf on incised, gessoed masonite. By Charles Prendergast.

What does it take for a being to have moral standing in the universe? That’s the question philosophy professor Joe Cruz ’91 posed to his students on the first day of his course, Philosophy of Animals. As a supplement to the course, the Williams College Museum… Continue reading »

Art and Inclusion

Clarence Otis ’77 didn’t become an art collector to try to correct the historical record, but he acknowledges that the art he and his wife Jacqui Bradley collect helps to tell a truer story about this country’s past and its politics. “When museums exhibit art that is not diverse, it… Continue reading »

WCMA’s Summer School

What do you imagine when you hear the word “archives”? Could it include seeds? Or scents? Or colors? Or perhaps artists’ sketchbooks? If not, it should, and much more, according to the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), which is hosting its annual Summer School. This year’s theme, “The Library… Continue reading »

Rauschenberg: Art & Archives

Close up of Rauschenberg lithograph called

The Williams College Museum of Art’s (WCMA) exhibition of the work of Robert Rauschenberg, one of the most influential artists of the late 20th century, draws on his art as well as on his life—and students were involved in the exhibition process every step of the way. “The Rauschenberg Foundation recently… Continue reading »

Accession Number: 1960-62

The 290 objects in Accession Number, a new exhibition at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), line the gallery walls in the order in which they were acquired by the museum between mid-January 1960 and mid-December 1962. They represent about three-quarters of the 396 objects acquired in those years. Continue reading »

Ghana ThinkTank

By Julia Munemo Don’t be surprised when you see a trailer around campus this fall with the words “Ghana ThinkTank” emblazoned on the side. The international artist collective, invited by the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), is one of the many elements of this year’s campus-wide initiative Confronting Climate… Continue reading »

Museum Lends Art to Students

Student hold a Jim Dine at WCMA

Imagine this: You’re a student in your second semester at Williams, and you check out a Cézanne from the Williams College Museum of Art, the way you might check out Moby Dick from the library. Now you can. Continue reading »

Bringing Medical History to Life

Imagine holding in your hands a piece of the rope used to hang the man who assassinated President James A. Garfield in 1882. Or a handwritten letter Ephraim Williams’ sister wrote after his death in 1755, describing her brother’s wounds in great detail and decrying the French and Indian War. Continue reading »