Press Releases

The Albany Institute of History & Art and Dr. Kristen Oehlrich have jointly announced that Dr. Oehlrich is leaving the Institute to pursue another leadership opportunity in the arts and cultural sector.

The Institute had a number of extremely successful exhibits during Dr. Oehlrich’s tenure, including exhibits featuring Jan Brett, one of the nation’s foremost authors and illustrators for children, and Gordon Parks, a photojournalist, film director, and twentieth century icon whose images became a potent tool in supporting the post-war struggle for Civil Rights for African Americans. The Institute also received a significant three-year Carl E. Touhey Foundation grant to support the Albany African American History Project. Notable among Oehlrich’s many achievements include her work strengthening regional partnerships, fostering community engagement, and bringing technological advances to the Institute.

The Institute wishes Dr. Oehlrich good luck in her future endeavors. Chief Curator Dr. W. Douglas McCombs will serve as interim director until the Institute hires a new Executive Director.                              

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Albany Institute of History & Art is pleased to announce that Kristen Oehlrich, MBA, Ph.D. has been named by the museum’s Board of Trustees as its new Executive Director. The Buffalo, New York native was most recently the Founder and President of Triumph of Flora, Strategic Art Advising in New York City. Her appointment comes at a pivotal time in the Institute’s history, as it confidently emerges from the pandemic with dynamic exhibitions, engaging programs, and collaborative initiatives.

ALBANY, NEW YORK– The Albany Institute of History & Art, which closed in early spring in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, will re-open its doors to the public on Saturday, July 25, 2020. The museum will re-open with new protocols in place to help create a safe and welcoming environment for visitors, such as mandatory masks for all staff and visitors, plus social distancing and hand-sanitizing stations throughout the museum site. In addition, visitors are strongly encouraged to purchase timed tickets in advance, as a way to manage crowd size and expedite the check-in process once at the museum. The Albany Institute galleries and Museum Shop will be open Wednesday through Saturday 10AM-5PM and Sunday 12PM-5PM. The Museum Café will be open for take-out only Wednesday through Saturday 10AM-3PM and Sunday 12PM-5PM. (No tickets are required to visit the shop or café). Up-to-date information, a link to purchase advance tickets, and a list of frequently asked questions is available on the museum’s website: www.albanyinstitute.org.

ALBANY, NEW YORK—Every year, the Albany Institute of History & Art acquires hundreds of objects that relate to the arts, culture, and history of New York’s upper Hudson Valley and Capital Region. To commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of women’s suffrage in America in 2020, the museum is showcasing Telling Her Story: New Acquisitions presented by Bank of America, an exhibition of objects collected over the past four years that highlight women’s lives. The exhibition is open through June 7, 2020. 

ALBANY, NEW YORK —The Albany Institute of History & Art in Albany, New York will host a limited viewing of a recently discovered oil sketch by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). The sketch, owned by Hudson Valley collector Albert B. Roberts, is sure to make waves in the international art world. The sketch will be on view to the public in the museum’s Christine & George R. Hearst III Gallery from Wednesday, September 18, 2019—Sunday, October 6, 2019. The special viewing will be included with museum admission.

“It is rare, indeed, for a work by a major master to come to light. The oil sketch that Mr. Roberts discovered by Anthony Van Dyck is an impressive and important find that helps us understand more about the artist’s method as a young man,” says Rev. Dr. Susan J. Barnes, Van Dyck scholar and co-author of Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings.

ALBANY, NEW YORK– Museum Day in an annual nationwide event hosted by Smithsonian Magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. The Museum Day downloaded ticket provides free admission for two people on Saturday, September 22, 2018. The Albany Institute of History & Art is one of the participating museums in this year’s event.

ALBANY, NEW YORK– The Albany Institute of History & Art’s Chief Curator Doug McCombs will give a special lecture on Sunday, September 16 at 2PM that will focus on the museum’s remarkable collection of Thomas Cole paper materials. The lecture will draw from the current exhibition Thomas Cole’s Paper Trail, which is open through November 25, 2018. The lecture is included with museum admission. Space is limited for this lecture and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees will receive wristbands at the admission desk on the day of the lecture.

ALBANY, NEW YORK — In 1818, the youthful Thomas Cole emigrated from his native England to begin a new life in the United States. After several years struggling as an engraver and designer for his parents’ short-lived floor cloth and wallpaper manufactories, he finally embarked on a career as painter of landscapes and settled in the thriving port city of New York. There he found patrons and a welcoming audience for his works that were exhibited at the National Academy of Design and other venues. Now, during the bicentennial year of Cole’s arrival in the United States, this naturalized American artist is being publicly recognized once again at museums and historic sites on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Albany Institute is participating in this international celebration by presenting the exhibition, Thomas Cole’s Paper Trail, which looks at this renowned landscape artist mainly through the paper materials he left behind. The exhibition, which opened on June 16, was originally scheduled to close on October 28, 2018. The Albany Institute, however, has decided to extend the run of the show for an additional month.

ALBANY, NEW YORK — On Thursday, July 26 at 6pm, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute Olivier Meslay will be at the Albany Institute of History & Art to discuss the Clark Art Institute’s summer 2018 exhibitions. This free lecture is open to the public. Space is limited. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

ALBANY, NEW YORK — On Saturday, May 19, 2018 from 4PM—7PM, the Albany Institute of History & Art will host the seventh annual Hudson Valley Hops, a regional craft beer tasting. Located in downtown Albany, it’s an opportunity for the community to sample the flavors of Capital Region craft brewers, see brewing and distilling artifacts from the Albany Institute’s collection, meet industry experts, and receive a commemorative glass. This year, the fundraiser will feature a session beer invitational contest and more.

ALBANY, NY — On March 14, 2018, the Albany Institute of History & Art opened Along the Eastern Road: Hiroshige’s Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, a traveling exhibition organized by the Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania. The exhibition, which features over fifty historic wood-block prints, runs through June 10, 2018.

ALBANY, NY— January 2018 marks a moment of new leadership at the Albany Institute of History & Art. Board Trustee F. Michael Tucker, elected by the board in November 2017, became the President of the Board of Trustees at the Albany Institute on January 1, 2018. He first joined the Board in 1997. He has served as the museum’s Treasurer and on several committees and is enthusiastic about his new role. He succeeds long-serving chairperson George R. Hearst, III.

ALBANY, NY— The Albany Institute of History & Art will offer free admission to the galleries on Friday, November 10, 2017 from 10AM–5PM. This free admission day is sponsored by M&T Bank.