Rhode Island School Of Design Museum Of Art
Rhode Island School Of Design Museum Of Art
Rhode Island School Of Design Museum Of Art
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
This innovative and internationally renowned museum showcases more than 80,000 works of art from Paul Revere's silver and caricatures of 18th century Europe, to French Impressionists and the avant-garde works of recent alumni. A 12th-century Japanese Buddha has its own room with benches for meditating.
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: College Hill
How to get there
- Providence Station • 7 min walk
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934 within 3 miles
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421 within 6 miles
See what travelers are saying
- HIZ24 contributionsConfusing, enjoyable, and Well worth the trip,This is actually an extraordinary museum, both in the breadth and extent of its collection. To avoid the potential crowds of Sunday (when admission is free) , we went on a cold Saturday afternoon for $15 per head for seniors; this seemed to be a good call, since we never shared any gallery with any more than a handful of other patrons. This is a confusing collection of interconnected buildings; rather than detracting from the the experience, it allows wonderful transitions from one collection to the other. And that range indeed needs some transitions: Contemporary, colonial and modern American; ancient Egyptian, Greek, Asian, Egyptian; Textiles, sculpture, paintings. We kept a good pace throughout, and it still took us three hours, without taking a coffee break at the cafe. Having been to many of the majors: the Louvre, New York Metropolitan, Philadelphia, Smithsonian, I would still include this facility as a well worth the visit. A tip re parking: the museum is within the RISD / Brown University campus area. It has no no parking area of its own and much of the surrounding street parking reserved for the schools, or is 2hr limit Monday thru Saturday. there are enough pay lots to the north and across the river to the northwest and west several blocks away. We found plentiful free street parking 8 minutes' walk to the southeast on Power street east of Benefit. Hills are steep in that area, and to avoid some challenging effort, If you park on the southeast side, you can enter the museum directly from Benefit street, through Cafe Pearl; though their map mentions this entrance clearly, there is virtually no signage indicating this as a museum entrance from the street; look for the cafe at 224.Visited February 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten February 24, 2024
- lmphillyPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania271 contributionsTerrific!This was awesome. Went on a Sunday so admission was free. Spent about 3 hours. Includes modern art, European masters, ancient Egypt, Asian art and more. Don’t miss 6th floor. The museum is deceptively large. We parked for free on street. Well worth a visit.Visited May 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten May 26, 2024
- Jane PRegion of Waterloo, Canada512 contributionsTerrific museum.Wonderful museum with a great variety of exhibits. Museum has reciprocal agreements with some other museum, so bring museum membership card(s) with you for possible free admission. Nice gift shop. Small cafe onsite. No dedicated parking lot; paid lots available nearby.Visited July 2024Traveled with friendsWritten July 18, 2024
- jason l9 contributionsbest experience at the RISD museumHello my experience going to the RISD museum with my family was amazing is because just seeing the art work in person is breath taking. The different artists who present their creative art work to the public to see is one of the best way to experience it. My favorite art work is the painting and when I see the painting I immediately explore the area and see the style of the painting. It is just one best way to see the art work and this is one of the best way to do it. I would definitely recommend people to visit this place.Visited June 2024Traveled with familyWritten July 25, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
986 reviews
Excellent
708
Very good
232
Average
35
Poor
11
Terrible
0
Dexter A
Somerset, KY35 contributions
Jun 2024 • Couples
The contemporary exhibits we saw were of artists who seemed filled with hate, rage, and racial animus. We decided to take a break before seeing other, perhaps better exhibits but learned the cafe closed an hour before the museum closes. So we left in search of a cooling drink, having wasted our combined $30 admission fee feeling disappointed. Not recommended.
Written June 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joey V
1 contribution
Feb 2023 • Business
I came in with my clients I had disabilities the front desk was very unpleasant. When I had asked for a separate transactions instead of one big lump sum it seemed to me that she,he was irritated. I'm also very displeased to find that there is no disability discount. Even though there are accessible ways of getting throughout the museum stairs, elevators, it fell as we were touring that there were no accommodations for this type of community. The museum is wonderful but I was very disappointed with some of the encounters while touring by staff with an exception of a few individuals.
Written February 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kate R
Warwick, RI4 contributions
Aug 2021
We've visited many times and enjoy this museum. There are small exhibit spaces for the most part that have a wide variety of offerings. The space is used well and lends itself to meandering about. There are many famous artists from throughout art history represented it the collections along with contemporary artists and oftentimes RISD graduates, which is fantastic to see.
Written August 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SNM
Manila, Philippines358 contributions
Jun 2023 • Friends
I went to risd and was shocked at the size of this museum! So many hidden gems and beautiful art. Pro tip: the security there know so much about the art and furniture & design of the place, it’s worth chatting with them about it. They will tell you about the competition to design a museum bench, or how they acquired one of the pieces of Van Gogh. A perfect way to spend an afternoon in providence!
Written June 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rhiannao
Kenosha, WI34 contributions
Jul 2021
Great art museum, especially for a university. Lots of unique pieces. The layout was a little confusing and there were areas where we weren't sure if we missed a room or not, but I feel like that in a lot of art museums. I appreciate that they have free Sundays.
Written July 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jeffrey k
Needham, MA560 contributions
Feb 2022
the museum is a hodge-podge of buildings and can be difficult for people with disabilities to manage, but the elevators work and all the areas are accessible. this is a very significant collection, worth a deviation of a journey to see. very strong in American decorative arts, some fine impressionist paintings. much art from RISD alumni/ae.
nice museum store, but it is across the street and on the far side of the store -- the side on main st has the art supplies.
nice museum store, but it is across the street and on the far side of the store -- the side on main st has the art supplies.
Written February 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John M
New York City, NY827 contributions
Oct 2021
This is a world-class museum located in the heart of Providence. One of the most unique aspects about it is that there is a custom built house within the museum itself designed to showcase early American art and design. Highly recommended for art lovers and free on Sundays.
Written November 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg G
Portland, OR100 contributions
Nov 2021 • Friends
I loved seeing the student art exhibits. But was wowed by the extent of the museum’s other collections. The Impressionist paintings were plentiful, well curated, and representing a deep cross-section of artists. The Egyptian and Asian collections were a favorite floor.
The guards and guides were so helpful and friendly. It was fun to see how proud they were of their museum.
Recommend this one.
The guards and guides were so helpful and friendly. It was fun to see how proud they were of their museum.
Recommend this one.
Written November 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MidwestKathM
Detroit, MI1,125 contributions
Sep 2023 • Couples
For a museum associated with one of the most prestigious design schools, our visit to the RISD Museum was not what we expected. First it would be helpful if the signs for the main entrance (North Main Street) were more clearly marked. After parking in a surface lot a couple blocks away, we walked much further to get into the museum than was necessary. The printed map available at the front desk is somewhat helpful. There are three interconnected museum buildings with stairs leading to and from each floor. Logistically it can be difficult to see the whole museum without missing something. Going vertical to see both floors of the Pendleton House messed up the horizontal layout of the floors. That said, we did enjoy some of the galleries and the works within. But we were hoping to see far more works of iconic American design from designers like Michael Graves, Charles & Ray Eames, and George Nelson. Guess I should have done more research before our visit.
Written September 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chittendenb
9 contributions
Jan 2022 • Couples
Eclectic museum with a wide-ranging collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass—you name it. We enjoyed the contemporary section the most, but there are paintings by familiar artists (Picasso, Monet, etc.) mixed in as well. Appetizer-sized portions of medieval and Renaissance Europe, 18th century America, ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and China. In some sections they mix the very old with the nearly new which was an enjoyable and different perspective. Manageable size is nice. Coffee shop is excellent. Great place to spend an afternoon when it’s too cold to be outdoors.
Written January 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Other than free on Sundays what donations are required other days???? What are the hours open per days?
Written February 8, 2018
I believe we went on a Tuesday, it was a few months ago. I believe it was 15.00 to get in. There were donation boxes along the way if you were inclined to offer to donate more money. There was also a student section that just displayed there new creations and I believe you could offer some money for them too. There website will help you in making your trip to RISD.
Written February 9, 2018
If you're looking for free parking, there's not any for the museum. The best option, if you're up to walk a few blocks, is probably to park on Congdon St. I believe it was after 10am you could park free for the entire day, or something like that. Otherwise the metered or time-limited street parking surrounding the museum that other folks have mentioned.
Written October 14, 2016
How long would you say that a casual visit to see most of this museum would take? I've read that it's fairly small; could it be done in, say, 2-2.5 hours?
Written April 8, 2015
I agree with CavKa who responded that it depends upon the type of museum-goer that you are. But generally speaking, I'd say that 2 - 2.5 hours will give you enough time to see most of the museum.
Written April 9, 2015
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