Albany Institute of History & Art
Founded in 1791, one of America's oldest museums — the place to see Hudson River School paintings and two actual Egyptian mummies.
Facade of the Albany Institute of History & Art on Washington Avenue
What to expect at Albany Institute of History & Art
The Albany Institute has been collecting since George Washington was president, and it shows: the permanent collection covers 400 years of Hudson Valley art, silver, furniture, and everyday life. The star attractions for most visitors are the two Egyptian mummies acquired in 1909 — Ankhefenmut, a priest of Mut, and an unnamed woman — displayed alongside their painted coffins in a dedicated ground-floor gallery. Upstairs, the Hudson River School room holds significant Thomas Cole and Frederic Church landscapes painted just down the river from Albany.
It's a small, walkable museum you can genuinely finish in ninety minutes, which makes it a perfect pairing with the Capitol tour or a Washington Park stroll. Start with the mummies before school groups arrive around 10:30, then work upward through the American silver gallery to the Hudson River School room on the top floor. The gift shop stocks Albany-specific books you won’t find elsewhere in town.
Questions about Albany Institute of History & Art
$10 for adults, $8 seniors and students, $6 children 6-12, free for kids under 6.
Free every first Friday of the month from 17:00 to 20:00.
About 90 minutes to two hours covers the mummies, Hudson River School gallery, and decorative arts.
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays year-round, plus Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
No, walk-ins are fine. Groups of 10 or more should call ahead to arrange.
CDTA route 10 stops on Washington Avenue one block south; routes 12 and 22 stop at Lark and Washington, three minutes' walk.
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