Davison Art Center

The Davison Art Center is a university art museum at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. It holds a collection of more than 25,000 works of art on paper, chiefly European and American prints and photographs, and is widely regarded as one of the finest print collections at any university in the United States. The collection spans over six centuries of art, from the fifteenth century to the present. Beyond its public exhibitions, the institution is deeply integrated into academic life, supporting teaching, learning, and scholarly research across disciplines through object-based study in its dedicated study room.

The origins of the collection date to 1928, when the Davison Art Rooms opened within Olin Memorial Library as a tribute to George W. Davison, a lawyer, art collector, and Wesleyan alumnus from the class of 1892, and his wife Harriet Baldwin Davison. The Davisons had gradually begun donating parts of their print collection to the university, and these gifts formed the basis of the earliest exhibitions held in three dedicated rooms on the third floor of the library. In 1952, the Davison Art Rooms were closed, and their contents were transferred to the newly constructed Davison Art Center, which opened that same year after the Davisons donated their Georgian-style brick residence and its contents to the university. By 2020, the gallery was closed to the public as staff moved the collection to new facilities and planned a new gallery, shifting the main exhibition space to a newly constructed building.

The Davison Art Center is focused primarily on graphic art and photography, with smaller numbers of works in other media. Its publicly accessible collection spans the fifteenth century to the present, with particular strength in European and American prints. The holdings include rare early engravings, strong collections illuminating the early histories of mezzotint and lithography, and roughly 600 Japanese ukiyo-e woodcuts. A distinctive feature of the collection is the inclusion of multiple states of many prints, which provides a historical window into printmaking techniques and artists' creative processes. The collection also encompasses a small number of paintings and three-dimensional objects.

The collection is distinguished by exceptionally fine impressions of early modern Dutch and Flemish prints, including works by Rembrandt van Rijn, Master IAM of Zwolle, Hendrick Goltzius, and Lucas van Leyden. Other historical highlights include works by Albrecht Dürer and other Northern and Italian Renaissance artists, Francisco de Goya, and nineteenth-century French painter-printmakers such as Edouard Manet and Jean-François Millet. American modern and contemporary art is strongly represented by artists including Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, and Kara Walker. The small painting collection features works by American artists such as Alfred Thompson Bricher, Elihu Vedder, and Alice Neel, alongside Europeans like Jean-Léon Gerome, Jules Dupré, and David Teniers the Younger. Three-dimensional works include pieces by Marcel Duchamp and Louise Nevelson.

From 1952 until its recent relocation, the Davison Art Center was housed in the former residence of George W. Davison, a Georgian-style brick building constructed in 1910 and designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. The exterior features white trim and a prominent portico, while the interior spaces were designed for exhibitions with controlled lighting. In 2021, Wesleyan University broke ground on a new Davison Art Gallery designed by Peterson Rich Office in collaboration with Newman Architects. Located at 252 Church Street, the 5,550 square foot building is nestled between the Public Affairs Center and Olin Memorial Library. The contemporary design features Indiana limestone, a sweeping roof, a glass-walled lobby, and a teaching courtyard. The facility incorporates sustainable features such as a green roof, radiant floors, displacement ventilation, and solar panels, with a targeted completion date of summer 2023.

The Davison Art Center is located on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The new gallery space is situated at 252 Church Street, while the previous historic building was located at 301 High Street. The gallery presents public exhibitions during the academic year and is free and open to the public. Access to the permanent collection for teaching, learning, and research is facilitated through a dedicated study room. Visitors can reach the center via Middletown Area Transit bus routes, and parking is available in designated university lots and on surrounding streets. The museum hosts rotating exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs related to its holdings.