While on our epic Road trip vacation this summer, we had the opportunity to tour the Fenimore Art Musuem. This museum in Cooperstown, NY gave us the opportunity to explore the works of Ansel Adams plus one of the most extensive collections of American Indian art. It’s important to us to expose our kids to things that are bigger than our everyday life experiences. Visiting an art museum is a great way to help ensure that we learn to appreciate the valuable works of American heritage.

Hobbies on a Budget received discounts or tickets to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was received.

Visiting Fenimore Cooper Art Museum

When is the last time you visited an Art Museum with your family? It’s not necessarily the first thing that many of us put our on vacation bucket list, but it is such an important way for us to understand and appreciate the history and heritage of our country.

The Fenimore Art Museum is housed in an 1930s neo-Georgian mansion and is located just minutes from downtown Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. You can stay right on Lake Otsego at the Bayside Inn and Marina like we did and then enjoy the whole day in the small but rich community of Cooperstown.

The beauty of the museum setting is matched by the quality of the collections it houses, including some of the nation’s finest examples of American landscape, history and genre paintings, American folk art, photography and American Indian art.

The Fenimore Art Museum is dedicated to integrating history with art history and including under-appreciated genres, primarily American folk art and American Indian art, in a broad and progressive American canon. The Fenimore Art Museum seeks to honor the extraordinary ability of ordinary people to shape American culture.

You can get the highlights of the Fenimore Art Museum in about 1 1/2 hours but could easily spend much more time if you want to really appreciate each of the exhibits and works of art.

One of our favorite exhibits in the museum was the room dedicated to James Fenimore Cooper. You will probably recognize him as the author of the Last of the Mohicans and Leatherstocking Tales.

Find Fenimore Art Museum

Hours and Admission
5798 State Highway 80 (Lake Road)
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Phone: 607.547.1400
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Have you visited Cooperstown, New York? Ever toured the Fenimore Art Musuem? What’s your favorite memory visiting an Art museum with your family? I’d love to hear!