Monday Moments for Friends, Fellows, and Partners

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Friends, Fellows, and Partners are invited to enjoy two new exhibitions in a quiet setting while the museums are closed. — We invite Friends, Fellows, and Partners of the museums to explore two fascinating exhibitions at their own pace through a self-guided visit: On Location: Drawing the Outdoors (September 18, 2026–January 17, 2027) and The Way We Never Were: The American Professional Photographers Collection (August 29, 2026–May 9, 2027). In the exhibition On Location: Drawing the Outdoors , discover how an intimate relationship with nature shaped the artistic vision of 19th-century European artists. Featuring approximately 140 sketches, watercolors, and pastels by artists including J. M. W. Turner, Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent van Gogh, the exhibition is organized as a series of thematic journeys through the landscape and explores changing ideas about nature, environmental awareness, and artistic identity. It invites visitors to reflect on why these artists’ experiences of the outdoors continue to resonate today. The Way We Never Were explores how professional photography helped shape Americans’ understanding of life after World War II. Drawn from the Harvard Art Museums’ American Professional Photographers Collection, the exhibition features commissioned photographs of weddings, schools, businesses, and other everyday moments that presented an idealized vision of postwar America. These images not only documented the era but also influenced cultural memory by highlighting certain experiences while leaving others out. Through themes of prosperity, suburbia, conformity, and the struggle for equal rights, the exhibition encourages visitors to reconsider the story these photographs tell about the American past. This special preview is our way of thanking you for your support and dedication to the Harvard Art Museums. To become a Friend, Fellow, or Partner, please visit our Support page . Join today to take advantage of this exclusive opportunity. Funding for On Location: Drawing the Outdoors and related programming was provided by the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund, the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund for the Study of Dutch Drawing, the Melvin R. Seiden and Janine Luke Fund for Publications and Exhibitions, and the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund. The catalogue was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Publication Funds. Additional project support was provided by the Almathea Charitable Foundation. Funding for The Way We Never Were: The American Professional Photographers Collection and related programming was provided by the John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Fund for Photography and the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art.