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Rhode Island School of Design Museum

Providence, Rhode Island | United States
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About the Museum

The Rhode Island School of Design and the RISD Museum were born out of the industrialization of the region in the years following the American Civil War. Rhode Island was renowned as a center for the production of silverware, jewelry, machine tools, steam engines and textiles, and in 1854 it was proposed that a school and gallery be built to complement its numerous factories and workshops. RISD remains one of world’s leading institutions for the study of design, and the museum houses a formidable collection spanning ancient art, costume and design, and works by modern and contemporary artists including Pablo Picasso, Louise Bourgeois and Richard Serra.

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Collection Highlights

  • Repose, c.1870-1871
  • Egyptian, Coffin of Nesmin (detail), c.250 BC
  • Roman, Floor mosaic fragment depicting Bacchus, 325-330
  • Thomas Pairpoint
    Neptune Epergne and Plateau, 1876
  • Japanese, Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), c.1150-1200

Collection Highlights

  • Repose, c.1870-1871
    Bequest of Mrs. Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry. Courtesy of the RISD Museum, Providence, RI
  • Egyptian, Coffin of Nesmin (detail), c.250 BC
    Museum Appropriation and Mary B. Jackson Funds. Courtesy of the RISD Museum, Providence, RI
  • Roman, Floor mosaic fragment depicting Bacchus, 325-330
    Museum Collection, by exchange. Courtesy of the RISD Museum, Providence, RI
  • Thomas Pairpoint
    Neptune Epergne and Plateau, 1876
    The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.Thomas Pairpoint, Neptune Epergne and Plateau, 1876. The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.Thomas Pairpoint, Neptune Epergne and Plateau, 1876. The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
  • Japanese, Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), c.1150-1200
    Museum Appropriation Fund
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Videos and Stories

Type: story
Category: American Art
Great American Art from Maine to Virginia
Type: story
Category: RISD Museum
Lines of Thought Traces the Vital History of Drawings