7 Great Art Museums To Visit In New York State Outside Of NYC

New York City is the home to many art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim.

But there are world-class many art museums in Upstate New York, most of them within driving distance from Central New York.

Here are seven great arts museums to visit in New York State outside of New York City:

THE MUNSON WILLIAMS PROCTOR ARTS INSTITUTE, UTICA

It's hard to believe that many people who lived in Central New York their whole life have never visited the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica.  What are you waiting for?  MWPAI was founded in 1919.  The Museum of Art features a renowned permanent collection, with paintings by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church and Asher B. Durand, among others. The Museum's annual Sidewalk Arts Festival, featuring the works of lolocalartists, will be taking place in July.

THE EVERSON MUSEUM OF ART, SYRACUSE

The Everson is a museum of firsts. It was the first museum to dedicate itself to the collection of American art, to create a permanent collection of ceramics, to collect video art, to create a docent program. The Everson is home to over 10,000 works of art

THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY, BUFFALO

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is one of the oldest museums dedicated to the art of our time, and the sixth oldest public art institution in the United States. It was founded in December 1862 as the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy with former President Millard Fillmore among its incorporators

FENIMORE ART MUSEUM, COOPERSTOWN

Cooperstown is more than just the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  The Fenimore is named for the property on which it stands, land once owned by the novelist James Fenimore Cooper.. The Museum occupies a 1933 mansion built by Edward Severin Clark, an heir to the Singer Manufacturing Company fortune.

ARNOT ART MUSEUM, ELMIRA

The Arnot Art Museum was founded with the bequest by Matthias H. Arnot of his collection, home, and an endowment in 1910.  Housed in its original showcase, the Founding Collection was bequeathed by Matthias Arnot to the community and includes his collection of seventeenth-through nineteenth-century European paintings and sculptures, works on paper, and ancient artifacts. Master works in thE collection include paintings by Gerome, Murillo, Breton and Brueghel.

THE ARKELL MUSEUM, CANAJOHARIE

Bartlett Arkell, the first president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company founded the Canajoharie Library for the people of the village of Canajoharie. 1927, Arkell broke ground on our original museum building, and we became the Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery. The American painting collection includes seven oil paintings by Winslow Homer and significant paintings by many distinguished artists including; Thomas Benton, William M. Chase, Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, Albert Bierstadt, and Gilbert Stuart.

THE ALBANY CENTER GALLERY, ALBANY

The Albany Center Gallery is dedicated to the exhibition of regional artists within a 100-mile radius of Albany.  Since the gallery’s doors opening in 1977, thousands of the area’s finest contemporary artists have exhibited at Albany Center.