The Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art on the campus of Cornell University is a great attraction to spend a few hours while in Ithaca. Admission is always free, but you do have to pay for parking on weekdays. The building itself is designed by IM Pei and is meant to let visitors experience art and also view the natural surroundings, as there's several floors from which you can get great views of Cayuga Lake and the Cornell University campus. While it doesn't compare to world class art museums, it's perfect for a college/university art museum with a diverse collection of paintings and ancient artifacts. The lobby is a wonderful gathering place with plenty of space to sit and open windows to admire the views. It's the perfect way to kill some time, so recommend a visit to art lovers visiting Cornell University or those needing a rainy day activity while visiting Ithaca. read more

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Wicked awesome. All of my favorite things. An extensive gemstone collection. Porcelain. Linen tapestries. Dutch Masters. 5000 year old artifacts. An out patio with Twinkle lights with a glorious view of the whole city and lake. Best of all, it's free. read more

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The museum building is beautiful with impressive views of the Cornell campus and Cayuga Lake from the 5th floor windows. There is limited parking available immediately in front of the museum, but we arrived a 1/2 hour before it opening so proved to be not a problem for us. Admission is free, but we found little of interest so we were literally in and out in an hour. read more

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Fabulous museum to check out when you are in Ithaca No admission fee. There are some parking spots out front for visitors. Free on the weekend but you need to pay Monday through Friday for 6 PM. Small but nice permanent collection they usually have outstanding rotating exhibits. Incredible views from the top floor as well as an interesting outdoor viewing area with a light installation. read more

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I enjoyed the collection in this museum. Unlike other museums that are cavernous and packed with both displays and people, I loved the intimate setting here. On my visit, I probably ran into less than 5 other folks. That makes for plenty of time to consider each piece of the collection. I particularly enjoyed the teapots and the Hokusai. IMO , a must visit when in Cornell. There aren;t too many museum that gives you enough time and space to appreciate each piece, but this one certainly does. read more

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Amazing museum. Friendly staff. Excellent education department. Lousy parking on Cornell campus but love live live the museum.

Make time for this amazing museum when you visit the Cornell campus. I only had 1 hour today, and that's not enjoy at all. I can easily spend 2-3 hours in this museum and visit all exhibitions. 1L and 2L are temporary exhibitions. I really enjoyed the Asian art on the 5th floor. The stairs are located in different places from floor to floor. The view on the 5th floor is also very beautiful. You won't regret spending time here! read more

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The architecture of I.M. Pei provides a lovely home for Cornell's Johnson Museum of Art. While a modernist building - one we used to call the 'Sewing Machine' when I was a student - might not seem the logical choice when adjacent to the beautiful stone buildings dating back to the 1800s, the sight lines and positioning of some of the architectural elements of this building ends up quite being quite harmonious with the rest of the campus. If you're into architecture, take some time to walk around the building before going in and you'll see how a lot of thought went into how a modernist building can bring together the old and the new. BTW, there's an entire section of the Museum's web site devoted to the design of the building, for those of you who are architecture geeks (like me). While many go straight to the fifth floor for the sweeping views of the Cornell campus and Cayuga Lake, do take the time to walk through this well-curated collection of artwork that covers a wide range of eras and styles. Asian, African, European, and American artwork make up the permanent collection, which includes not only classic portraiture but also the decorative arts, photography, and prints. Whether your eye goes more towards the classic or the contemporary, there are some beautiful pieces for you to take in and enjoy. Above the second floor sculpture garden is a captivating work of electronic art by Leo Villareal entitled 'Cosmos', in tribute to the late Carl Sagan who was a professor of astronomy at Cornell. The LEDs making up the display present imagery evocative of the cosmos and are quite impressive at night - 'stargazing' at its best. When planning your visit, keep in mind that both hours and parking are limited, but admission is always free. This is definitely one of Cornell's and Ithaca's must-see gems! read more

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Interesting architecture, small collection, nice view on the 5th floor. And always free (now they have a sign on their door)! The collections are smaller than I thought but the artworks are cleverly arranged and didn't get me bored :-) I really like the idea that in between collections you can see some nature. That makes the whole museum more fun. The Ithaca view windows on the 5th floor is definitely the place to go, you can see the cornell campus, one finger lake, many beautiful bridges. The collections are not too impressive but they try to have at least one artwork for each genre and period. The 5th floor Asian collection seems to be the biggest and goes well with the view, but there nobody pays attention to the collection any more lol. Overall, nice museum for a 1-2 hour afternoon refreshing trip. read more

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Do not bother going. There is such limited access that parking is nearly impossible. We are art historians and museum staff-absolutely worst access to any museum we have ever been to-perhaps a shuttle from downtown would help. We drove 2 hrs just to see this museum and I could not be more upset with this lack of access. No excuse. read more

Amazing art gallery... but the view is almost even MORE fantastic! Not to be missed when you're in Ithaca!

Finally stopped by during reunion. Very cool IM Pei-designed space with a manageable collection you can get through in an hour or two. American collections from the 19th century and the modern stuff are p[retty cool. There are short guided tours if you like. Campus views from the top floor are pretty read more

Took my girlfriend here and had a fantastic experience. I really appreciate that it is free and donation-based. There are a lot of different styles of art to look at and you can spend a long time here. The architecture of the building itself is pretty neat and I'd like to return in the summer when the outdoor sculpture garden is open. The staff are helpful and friendly. The best part in my opinion is the absolutely phenomenal view from the top floor (5th). It is essentially a 360-degree observation tower that allows you to see a beautiful view of everything including Cayuga Lake, Cornell University, Ithaca College, the city of Ithaca, and more! I only wish that there was more guest parking. This is obviously not an easy request but there are clearly not enough parking spots for all of the guests that visit. read more

We stopped by the HFJ Art Museum because of extra time while visiting Cornell U. I got a brief look at the Hooper, Rembrandt and Chinese ceramic collection. The view from the 5th floor is fantastic. I can probably have spent 2 more hours in this place. If you like art you'll enjoy an amazing collection housed here. Parking lot is metered in a lot across University Ave. The Cornell Dairy Bar in Stocking Hall is now closed, for their famous ice cream you'll have to go to Trillium Express for cones, sundaes, shakes, malts and ice cream cakes! read more

The Art Museum is great, although, I must be honest; I only visited to look at the view from the 5th floor. I was able to get a great view of Cayuga Lake and of West Campus. Unfortunately, the elevators were down the day that I went (around the end of July), which was fine for me, but folks who may not be able to walk up the stairs wouldn't have access to the great views. Also, it's a bit of a maze! Someone's review mentioned the security guards circling constantly and I found that to be true! It was a bit annoying because I felt like I was being followed! Overall, I give it 5 stars because it's free and has awesome views... My only suggestion for the museum is to be open during sunset hours! read more

Johnson Museum of Art - View of clock tower - Museums Near Me - Ithaca, New York

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Fun! I love this place! You'll get some incredible views of Ithaca and the campus from the "balcony" and there's a really nice collection of art inside. Receptions are always fun to attend because they have free food and sometimes wine or beer. But beware the pretentious art students that go around being obnoxious. Most of them are there by force (for an assignment or class requirement) so rarely do they have anything insightful to say. read more

First class museum located at the top of the hill. Stunning views of the lake from the 5th floor. An excellent cultural experience read more

The Johnson Museum is a nice place to visit at least once a semester. They have a lot of great permanent pieces, and they also get some of the most fascinating traveling exhibitions I have ever seen. I'm an art history minor, and I always walk out of the museum feeling really glad that I took the time to look around. The view from the top floor is absolutely breath taking, and worth seeing even if you aren't interested in art. Anyone just visiting Ithaca should at least make an effort to take in that view on a nice day (good luck finding a nice day in Ithaca, but that's aside from the point...) If you do plan to make a trip to the Johnson, just be aware that parking is hard to find. Also the guards who wander around the museum can be very intimidating -- more so that guards at national museums! They are very strict about bringing bags inside too; they will ask you to leave your stuff off to the side in a closet-like area. read more

I am ashamed to say I never visited this museum before this past weekend. What a waste of an amazing opportunity available to me! I was amazed to see the collection, including works of art by Johns, Kandinsky, Warhol, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Haring, Hopper, Lichtenstein, Matisse, etc, etc, etc. Numerous genres are represented: American, European, Pre-Columbian, Asian, African, among others. The permanent collection includes over 30,000 works of art, and there are numerous special exhibitions annually. There is also an outdoor sculpture garden. The view from the top floor is a work of art as well: depending on what side you are standing, you can see for miles across the hills of Ithaca, across Cayuga Lake, or the campus. The architecture of the building itself is by the noted I.M. Pei. They are about to start building an addition, mostly underground, to expand the museum even further. I cannot wait, I am so excited to see this gem polished even further. I am so proud that my alma mater has such a fine museum and high regard for the arts. Now on my permanent list of things to go see every time I return, and they have a new supporter! read more

They have some awesome exhibits from time to time and their permanent collection is pretty interesting as well, but the real reason I go here frequently is the stunning view of the lake from the 5th floor. Even if you hate museums it's worth it to come here and watch the sunset. read more

Very good gallery on Cornell campus. Has access to some wonderful rotating collections and a particularly extensive Asian art collection.

One of my favorite places in Ithaca. Good collections, a helpful staff, great setting. Hiking up Cascadilla gorge from downtown to the campus is my favorite way to visit the Johnson, and a good way to avoid parking on the campus (always a challenge) read more