Taft Museum of Art

Address:	316 Pike St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA
Phone:	+1 513-241-0343
Site:	taftmuseum.org
Rating:	4.3
Working:	Closed Closed 11AM–4PM 11AM–4PM 11AM–4PM 11AM–5PM 11AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 14

A Private User

Wow. I thought it would be great to take 4 teenage girls to the Taft Museum so that they could get a greater appreciation of the arts and history. What a better place than some of the historical artifacts and paintings at the Taft Museum, right? Wrong. Though the girls were whispering throughout the museum as they went from room to room, the museum staff were nervous wrecks and there were 1-2 staff standing right over our shoulder at all times and made us very uncomfortable. As a parent, I did not appreciate the heightened sense of security that there were teenages (gasp!) in the museum trying to appreciate the arts. I am reminded that this may be why so many of the people in the paintings look unhappy and arent smiling -- kind of like the staff. Unfortunately, this was my first and last visit to this museum, but luckily there are other museums that welcome families and children so that there continues to be appreciation and support with the arts.

A Private User

If you havent made it down to the Taft to see this years Duncanson artist in residence, Brian Joiner, youve only got 5 days left. Duncanson is the African-American landscape painter responsible for the murals in the front hallway, completed in the 1840s. Brian Joiner, one of the preeminent black interpreters of contemporary American experience, has reinterpreted those murals in a way that made them meaningful to me for the first time. His work makes me nervous. My chest gets tight and I want to cry. Thats what art is supposed to do, nudge us out of our everyday complacency. This is what the Taft Museum does best - special events that are truly special and well worth the price of a membership that also gets you into other art museums all across the country. ($40 for an individual membership - and if thats not cheap enough, Wednesdays are free!) Go. Go now. Change your life.

Ryan Riddell

The Taft Museum is a gem in the heart of Cincinnati. It punches way above its weight for a small museum. In the past it had a Dutch Masters exhibit which was exceptional. Recently, they had the Daubigny exhibit which is the first of its kind... anywhere. This wonderful exhibit took 14 years to put together and will only run in 3 locations. Taft is the only museum to get it in North America. We went to the Daubigny exhibit this last weekend. And we stopped in the cafe for lunch. I expected average fare and was I wrong. I had the Daubigny Crepes. They were amazing and if I ordered them at a normal restaurant Id give that restaurant 5 stars. A wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

james rustler

horrible experience here, the staff followed my brother and i through the entire place and harassed us the entire time we were there, even to the bathrooms. and when we were in there for a few minutes they knocked and asked if everything was ok. their policies are too strict such as(you cant drape your hoodie over your arm, you either have to wear it or take it to coat check, you have to stay over 12 inches from paintings, and no pens in the galleries). staff made us very uncomfortable, almost like they didnt even want you to enjoy the art. do not support this place, only about three pieces worth seeing anyway. if you have to go, free days are sundays.

Mykie Curtis

This museum is housed in a historic home once owned by the Taft and Longworth families. Its crowning gem is the foyer, where several original murals were completed by Robert S. Duncanson (the pics below really dont do them justice). They also hold the only Rembrandt in Ohio and have a lot of beautiful and unique pieces in their collection. We also enjoyed the British collection currently on loan which was primarily portraiture spanning from the 17th-20th centuries. Its easy to see the museum in 3-4 hours and is free to the public on Sundays. All photos are from their regular collection.

Hebatalla Ghanem

Not worth the admission fee. I visited a little before lunch time, and thought I was in the wrong place because you enter into the cafeteria in order to get to the museum. There was a prominent cafeteria sign "wait to be seated" and no signs directing to the museum lobby. There were only two or three people looking at the exhibits, but as I exited, again through the cafeteria, it was swarming with lunch clients with no spare table to be found. It felt like a restaurant with an art museum attached, rather than an art museum with a cafeteria

Beth Szymanski

Amazing place. Could not appreciate it in my early 20s but am very much into studying the styles now. Really not my kind of art but very valuable knowledge to be gleaned. The gift shop is often filled with REALLY cool stuff. The café always smells heavenly but no one I go with wants to eat there. What a shame. The Christmas exhibit is great for the history and worth bringing friends to.

S. T.

Great museum. So much to see! Make sure to plan your visit around lunch time, so that you can eat there. Their food is DELICIOUS. Great history about the Charles and Sarah Taft, and great history about Cincinnati itself. We visit on Sundays, when admission is free. Parking is free as well, and in a garage right underneath, so you have no reason to not visit the Taft Museum!

John Briggs

Its okay, plus. The collection is excellent for a city like Cincinnati, and the leadership is very good, but it isnt well-run administratively especially the security and the cafe. The Daubigny exhibit is superb but this museum is at its best at times like that, and just average the rest of the time. It doesnt need better leadership but everyday management is a question.

Joe Wehry

World-class art brought into a home-scaled setting. Youll not only discover works of the masters and new rotating exhibits (like the costume displays from Downton Abbey) but also that fine art is not only for a gallery wall, but also a way to bring beauty into the home. A terrific cafe and gift shop, too, with hand crafted local art that deserves your time browsing.

A Private User

I went to the dutch eutopia exhibit for an assignment for my human diversity class. I found the security gaurds to be not nice or welcoming at all. I luckily got in on a free day, but if I had paid for this visit I wouldve wanted my money back and left shortly after entering. I would never go back to this museum. I never been violated at a museum before this one.

Arthur Hurlburt

This is a great museum. My daughter attended a girl scout function here and had a wonderful time. The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and very engaging. I walked around on my own and had a fascinating time just soaking up all of the artwork. The architecture alone is worth the trip. The fee to enter is well worth it.

Diedre Morris

Loved this gem. We went on a Sunday which turned out to be free. We got to participate in a free tour with a great tour guide. They had a British art gallery on display. Allot about 3 hours to tour everything. We didnt get to try out the cafe but it looked quaint. We found some great gifts in the gift shop.

Susan Karr

Went for a lecture on Tudor/Staurt England-- it was inaccurate at its best and pure fiction otherwise. This was my first visit to Taft and given how problematic this talk was I dont have a lot of confidence that I will be back for a lecture again. Maybe I will stop in at some point to see the collection.