The Columbus Museum’s collection of fine and decorative art is a record of the changing artistic tastes of American culture from Colonial times to the present. Located on a 13-acre estate in a 1912 Mediterranean Revival house, with a modern addition, the 89,000 sq ft Museum showcases both permanent and temporary exhibitions on regional history and American art.
Originating as the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, its collecting focus changed to include American art in all mediums and artifacts. The collection includes portraits, still-lifes, everyday scenes and landscapes, as well as furniture and other decorative art. A succession of galleries highlight particular time periods in American art history. These are interspersed with galleries that focus on a particular style, theme or artist. The Museum’s exhibits also include American Indian archaeological artifacts.
Visitors can also enjoy the Bradley Olmsted Garden, designed in the 1920s by the Olmsted Brothers firm, founded by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.