The Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington delivers a direct experience of the art of our time.

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The Henry Art Gallery engages diverse audiences in the powerful experience of artistic invention and serves as a catalyst for the creation of new work that inspires and challenges. Exhibitions, collections, and public programs stimulate research and teaching at the University of Washington, provide a creative wellspring for artists, students, and educators, and reveal a record of modern artistic inquiry from the advent of photography in the mid-19th century to the multidisciplinary art and design of the 21st century.

Founded in 1927 when business leader Horace C. Henry donated funds and a collection of 19th- and early 20th-century paintings to the University of Washington for creation of the facility, the Henry Art Gallery was the first public art museum in the state of Washington.

The museum’s major renovation and expansion, completed in April 1997, quadrupled the museum’s size – from 10,000 square feet to over 40,000 square feet. Increased size allowed for the addition of a 154-seat auditorium, a multimedia gallery, a café, and an outdoor court. We also gained improved facilities for art handling, art storage, and collections research. An architectural collage of glass, textured stainless steel and cast stone, designed by Charles Gwathmey, complements the original red-brick, collegiate-Gothic structure designed by Carl Gould in the 1920s.

The Henry’s James Turrell Skyspace, Light Reign, was unveiled to the public in July of 2003. Combining architecture, sculpture, and atmosphere, the work is not only a spectacular addition to the museum’s permanent collection, but it is also an important part of the building’s architecture.