Fenimore Art Museum

The renowned Fenimore Art Museum houses a rich collection of American Indian art and American folk art in its elegant 1930s neo-​Georgian mansion. In addition to its permanent collections, Fenimore also offers seasonal exhibitions. This fall, you can view the still life and figurative paintings by American painter Raymond Han, outlandishly vibrant costumes and masks designed and hand-​painted by Marc Chagall in his production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and autopsy and physician’s notes from President Abraham Lincoln’s assasination to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of his death.

First-​class museum tucked away in this upstate NY vacation getaway. The physical space is immaculate, the views of the lake are spectacular, and the eclectic exhibits are as professional as anything you’ll experience in Manhattan, London or Paris, particularly the permanent exhibit of Native American artifacts. Especially enjoyed Emily, our Native American story-​teller in the outdoor Amphitheater. She had youthful enthusiasm and unabashed, creative gumption.
Advisory: Purchase the discounted combo ticket for the BBHOF and Art Museum, and take the trolley out to the Fenimore. Great views of Cooperstown and Otsego Lake.

This place is certainly worth a visit, particularly if you get a discount combo ticket with the Hall of Fame. I think everyone should appreciate the beautiful Native American artifacts & art, even kids. And there is so much of it on display.
There are a variety of other historical gems any history buff in your group would enjoy, like the folk art on the first floor. The building itself is impressive & the campus is also a historical spot with some interesting history about the Fenimore family. Don’t be an uncultured tourist and skip it if you have the time to check it out.
The gift shop is great too, adorable stuff ideal for gifts!

I went here many years ago as a child who didn’t particularly care for art and for whom a museum without a dinosaur exhibit is not worth visiting, and I actually had fun. They had an exhibit of Native American ceremonial outfits that were so beautiful and almost like something from a fantasy movie. I vaguely remember some paintings, but I think it’s safe to say it must have been a very good museum to keep the interest of ten-​year-​old me.

This is a goldmine. I loved learning about the history of the Cooper Family and Fenimore was the maiden name of William Cooper’s wife. They have a large section dedicated to Native American art (James Cooper was fascinated by Native Americans). Right now Dorthy Lange exhibit is in here. Must see.
The house is divided into 4 floors. The top floor is not open to the public.
You can walk to the lake and see the beautiful lake and put yourself in James Cooper’s shoes when he looked out to the open lake.

This is a wonderful museum, hands down, and is a must-​see if you’re visiting Cooperstown. Several galleries populate the historic estate of James Fenimore Cooper, the famous American novelist and son of Cooperstown founder William Cooper. The Fenimore has a wonderful collection of folk art — which in my opinion is one of the most honest and approachable fine art forms, as its messages are easily conveyed to the viewer. That’s not to say that there aren’t boundless layers to unravel as you stare at, say, a near life-​sized stature of Abraham Lincoln carved from the memory of a «no-​name» woodworker in his spare time.
And don’t forget the expansive collection of Native American pieces. While the majority of these artworks and artifacts on display are from the indigenous people of northwestern U. S and British Columbia, there are also items representing many other cultures from all across North America.
There’s also a regular rotation of touring exhibits. I was lucky enough to be there for a mini-​retrospective of the paintings and watercolors of Winslow Homer. Add in a fantastic green space behind the museum that will stroll you down to lake Otsego, and you have, without a doubt, a very well-​curated museum that is perfectly in synch with the family-​friendly vibe and historic charm that is Cooperstown, New York.

Beautiful building for an art museum located on Otsego Lake.
Museum is small and I spent time on what interested me. Only one Grandma Moses but the glass framing was detracting. Collection of Hudson River painting was interesting also folk art.
My favorites were the beautifully rendered paintings of early NY history by contemporary artist, Len Tantillo. Nice gift shop.

This is really a 3.5 star review. The museum is pretty good for what it is — a small art museum in a small town. The building is beautiful and is on the shore of Lake Otsego (just down the road from the Otesaga hotel and across the street from the Farmer’s Museum). The museum has a nice collection of American art (some from the Hudson River School), which were my favorite paintings here. They also have a decently-​sized collection of American Indian artifacts that are pretty interesting and a bunch of rotating exhibits, which were fairly poor and definitely the weak parts of the museum (aside from the exhibits of Len Tantillo, which were great!). The store is very small and not well-​organized and I can’t comment on the café as we didn’t eat there.
It’s a decent museum for the size of the town and it’s worth an hour or two to stop in and check it out. You can get a combination ticket for this, the Farmer’s Museum, and the Baseball Hall of Fame for about $ 35-​$ 40 a person, which is a great deal too!

Excellent museum for a smaller town.
We found the staff and docents to be friendly and helpful, willing to provide information about the traveling exhibits and permanent installations. We visited specifically for the Hudson River School exhibit they currently have, which is breathtaking. There is quite a lot else to see here, and I think the admission fee is a great value. Kids 12 and under get in free, as well as military personnel.
The building itself is quite interesting to walk around. There is a tree-​lined path you can walk down to see the lake, an interesting cupola, and some other historical buildings they have on the property. As with the inside of the museum, there are docents around to answer questions and give presentations about the history. I got the impression they are all very proud and passionate about their work.
We did find the gift shop to be a disappointment. There are some interesting things, but there are also a lot of commercial items that aren’t related to the exhibits. We had hoped for some Hudson River School prints, but they didn’t have anything like that.

On our second visit to the Fenimore (our first was the summer of 2011 for ‘A Window Into Edward Hopper’), we found the museum to be as wonderful as we remembered. Today’s visit was to see ‘The Wyeths: A Family Legacy’, and it was stunning. If you’re at all a fan of the Wyeths (N.C., Andrew, Henriette, Carolyn and Jamie), N.C.‘s mentor Howard Pyle (the father of American illustration) or Henriette’s husband, Peter Hurd, then hurry and get yourself to the Fenimore to see this exhibit. It closes September 2^nd.
My only disappointments were (1.) there is no catalog for the Wyeth exhibit, and (2.) the overpriced crabmeat salad from the café; but neither will deter me from visiting again. :)

We had to leave the Fenimore Museum in the middle of the afternoon for a performance, but didn’t worry because surely we could return the following day to finish the traveling exhibits without paying another entrance fee. We had the dated receipt. So we were shocked the next morning when they insisted we pay again. This is mean-​spirited and unfair. My one star is not for the collection — it’s for the policies of the museum, a museum which I will now always think of with jaundice. How can the museum administration rationalize treating patrons like this for a policy so patently unfair?

Cooperstown = baseball, no question about that. What does one do when in Cooperstown and could care less about baseball? Head to their art museum!
The Fenimore is located in a grand manse on the shores of Lake Otsego. The collection focuses mostly on 19^th century American art with an emphasis on New York. Their folk art collection was wonderful as were the paintings by Grandma Moses. There is a beautiful gallery highlighting their native American collection as well as two galleries with rotating exhibits. The museum has enough stature to host an exhibit featuring the work of the great portrait artist John Singer Sargent. Although their gift shop is small, their café is divine! Most of the seating is on an outdoor terrace with magnificent views of the Lake.
The museum is worth a side trip to Cooperstown. My next visit, I promise, will be baseball focused!