Admittedly, experiencing artwork virtually does not compare to letting curiosity guide you through a museum. But viewing art on a screen is better than no art exposure at all. While you’re stuck at home, browse these collections from your couch.
Note: Be patient when viewing the collections online. They take a while to load.
Grounds For Sculpture
Founded by the late Seward Johnson (he died just last week) in 1992, this outdoor sculpture museum with more than 400 works in wood, bronze, stone and steel is a must-visit on any New Jerseyan’s bucket list. For now, get familiar with the larger-than-life sculptures on this 42-acre property.
Newark Museum of Art
In November, the 110-year-old institution officially changed its name from the Newark Museum to the Newark Museum of Art. This was part of an effort to refresh the museum’s identity under director and CEO Linda Harrison and promote the nonprofit museum’s strongest asset: its collection of 130,000 works of art, ranging from Colonial-era portraits to contemporary mixed-media pieces. The museum’s holdings include Asian, African and American art, as well as a science collection totaling 150,000 objects.
Montclair Art Museum
Opened in 1914, MAM boasts collections of American and Native American art. In 2001, the museum completed a major expansion that more than doubled the size of the space from 20,000 to 42,000 square feet. Currently, there are 12,000 works in the museum’s collection.
Princeton University Art Museum
With a history that extends back to the 1750s, the earliest days of art collecting at Princeton, the museum has collections of more than 100,000 works of art that concentrate geographically on the Mediterranean regions, Western Europe, Asia, the United States, Latin America and Africa.
Physick House Museum
The Physick House Museum in Cape May offers an abbreviated, online version of their 45-minute in-person guided tour. In this Youtube video, your guide John provides an oral history as you “walk” through the 1879 Victorian estate where Emlen Physick Jr., his widowed mother Frances Ralston, and his maiden aunt Emilie Parmentier resided.
Morris Museum’s Murtogh D. Guinness Collection
Founded in 1913, the museum recently became the sole Smithsonian Affiliate in New Jersey. The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection is a wing that displays 150 antique mechanical musical instruments and moving figures—known as automata—from the late 16th through early 20th centuries. Guinness, a scion of the Guinness brewing family, collected and maintained music boxes from Germany, Switzerland, France and even New Jersey throughout his life; his collection was awarded to the museum in 2003 following his death. The automata range from small wind-up figurines to a Poppers “REX” Orchestrion, an impressive piece that contains multiple instruments.
Zimmerli Art Museum
The Zimmerli Art Museum was founded in 1966 as the Rutgers University Art Gallery to celebrate the university’s bicentennial. The gallery was expanded in 1983 and renamed the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in honor of the mother of Ralph and Alan Voorhees, the major benefactors for the museum’s expansion. Today, the museum’s permanent collection totals more than 60,000 works in a wide range of media and includes a survey of Western art from the fifteenth century to the present. A few of the Zimmerli’s American, European and Russian works are included on the Google Art Project.