Bridging Time and Place: The 150th Anniversary of the University of Notre Dame Art Museum // News // Medieval Institute // University of Notre Dame

February 17 – June 14, 2026

Notre Dame, IN: With origins dating from 1875, the art collection at the University of Notre Dame is one of the oldest and most esteemed academic collections in the United States. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the collection, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art is hosting a major exhibition that highlights many of the recent gifts it has received to commemorate the anniversary. The gifts range from single works of art to entire collections, including highlights from the Ernestine Morris Carmichael Raclin Bequest.

Virtually every part of the permanent collection has benefited from the generosity of devoted alumni, supporters, and friends from across the country and worldwide. Iconic paintings from Thomas Gainsborough to John Singer Sargent, Georges Rouault to Julie Mehretu are included, as are prints and drawings ranging from Martin Schongauer to Pablo Picasso to Elizabeth Catlett, among many others. Works from across the Indigenous Americas are represented by Veracruz sculptures and Cuzco altarpieces, as well as recent work by Diego Romero and Jaime Okuma. Photographs by such canonical figures as Ansel Adams, Andreas Gursky, and Marilyn Minter will also be exhibited.

This monumental exhibition, on view from February 17 to June 14, 2026, will be presented in the temporary exhibition galleries and sited in select permanent collection spaces across the Museum and in the Charles B. Hayes Family Sculpture Park. Bridging Time and Place is a highlight of a sesquicentennial celebration of exhibitions and events that will run from August through December 2026.

The Exhibition and Sesquicentennial Celebration are made possible by the Sesquicentennial Fund and The Friends of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Additional support comes from the Marilynn and James W. Alsdorf Endowment, the Ashbaugh Endowment, the Alice Tully Endowment, and the Susan and Justin Driscoll Endowment.

A pointillist painting depicts Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, its golden Gothic facade, towers, and spire rising above trees. An arched stone bridge crosses the Seine in the foreground under a dotted blue sky. — Hippolyte Petijean (French, 1854–1929), *Notre Dame*, 1895, Oil on canvas, 21 3/4 x 28 in. (55.25 x 71.12 cm), Bequest of Ernestine Morris Carmichael Raclin, 2024.008.025

Ancient Mayan ceramic figure seated cross-legged, with a thoughtful expression, resting its chin on its right hand. The light brown and gray figure features a ridged headdress and large ear spools, showing a weathered texture. — Unrecorded Veracruz artist, 250–550 CE, *Seated Figure*, Clay and chapapote, 10 5/8 (26.99 cm), Gift of TeriAnn Mahoney Miller and Nicholas Miller, 2025.007

Aerial view of a winding mountain road with numerous switchbacks. Thousands of spectators, RVs, and cars line the road's edge on the green and brown slopes. Two helicopters fly over the peak. — Andreas Gursky (German, b. 1955), *Tour De France I*, 2007, Chromogenic print, 120 7/8 x 85 7/8 x 2 1/2 in. (307 x 218 x 6.2 cm), Gift of Ricki Gail Conway, Rebecca Martinez, and Caroline Conway, in memory of Robert Conway, ND ’66, 2023.021

About the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. With origins dating to 1875, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (formerly Snite Museum of Art) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded university art museums in America. The renowned permanent collection contains more than 31,000 works that represent many cultures and periods of world art history.

Through its collections, exhibitions, and programs, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art serves and welcomes all to engage in wonder, spiritual reflection, inquiry, and research. For more information, visit raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

Media contact:
Gina Costa
Communications Program Director
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
574-631-4720
gcosta@nd.edu

Originally published by Gina Costa at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu on February 03, 2026.