European and American Art at the Arnot Art Museum

There are many great art museums outside of the major cities in the state of New York. For example, we highly recommend visiting the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art in Clinton, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, and the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown. There is one more art museum in New York that is definitely worth your time – The Arnot Art Museum in Elmira. You will love its amazing selection of European and American art!

The Arnot Art Museum

The Arnot Art Museum is a municipal art museum that was opened in 1913. Housed in the historic Greek-Revival mansion, which was built by John Arnot, Sr. in 1833, it is a landmark in downtown Elmira and the best place in the region to enjoy European and American art.

The Arnot Art Museum was founded by Matthias Hallenback Arnot, the son of John Arnot, Sr., who bequeathed his family home and collection of art to the City of Elmira. Arnot’s collection is still preserved in the original 19th-century Picture Gallery that was added to the mansion in the 1880s. Among the highlights of the Museum’s permanent collection are Egyptian and Asian artifacts, European paintings of the 17th-19th centuries, and also a fabulous selection of 19th-20th-century American art. In particular, the Arnot Art Museum features works by Jan Brueghel the Elder, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Thomas Cole, Robert Henri, James Carroll Beckwith, William Stanley Haseltine, Charles Warren Eaton, and many other prominent artists. Besides, the Museum hosts very interesting temporary exhibitions with works of art from around the world. Highly recommended!