Information

The Spencer Museum of Art explores the capacity of art to spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and create connections among people. The Museum, located on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, houses an internationally-known collection that is deep and diverse, currently numbering nearly 36,000 artworks and artifacts in all media. The collection spans the history of European and American art from ancient to contemporary, and includes broad and significant holdings of East Asian art . Areas of special strength include medieval art; European and American paintings, sculpture and prints; photography; Japanese Edo-period painting and prints; 20th-century Chinese painting; and KU’s ethnographic collection, which includes around 10,000 Native American, African, Latin American and Australian works.

Through its collection, exhibitions, and public programming, the Spencer presents distinctive opportunities for dialogue, scholarship, and reflection. Public programs offer many possibilities for students, faculty, and the community to engage with artists and thinkers from around the world. Varied programs for schoolchildren, KU students, and the public include guided tours, gallery conversations, children’s classes and gallery activities, lectures, workshops, films, and music and dance performances. The Student Advisory Board, a multidisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students, offers one of many opportunities for volunteer involvement.

Objects not on view in the galleries are available by appointment. Works on paper are accessible for viewing in the Print Room every Friday during the Spencer’s “Walk-ins Welcome” program, from 10 a.m. to Noon and 1-4 p.m.

Mission:
The Spencer Museum of Art sustains a diverse, global collection of art and visual culture to encourage interdisciplinary inquiry and to explore the ways in which people make and express meaning at the intersection of art, ideas, and experience. Engaging with these collections, the context of their creation, and their evolving cultural relevance, SMA sparks curiosity, inspires creativity, and creates provocative connections involving art, artists, scholars, students, alumni, staff, and the public. The Spencer strengthens the academic research and teaching of the University of Kansas and is committed to serving communities of learners across Kansas and beyond.

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Spencer Museum of Art
The University of Kansas
1301 Mississippi St.
Lawrence, KS 66045-7500
phone 785-864-4710
fax 785-864-3112
spencerart@ku.edu

Gallery hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10-5;
Thursday 10-9;
Sunday 12-5;
Monday closed

Closed January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving Thursday and December 25.

Admission to the Spencer Museum of Art is free; donations are welcome.

Office hours:
Monday-Friday 8:30-5

Links to our friends in the local arts community: