Exhibitions
Explore What's On View and Coming Soon
Visit the museum again and again to experience changing exhibitions.
Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking
October 4, 2025–January 11, 2026 | Fifth Third Gallery
Indigo, an ancient botanical pigment, produces shades of blue from pale sky to inky midnight. This exhibition presents twenty quilts created between the early 1800s and 2015. Each one incorporates fabric dyed with indigo and showcases a range of indigo dyeing techniques as well as the skill, design sensibility, and artistry of the women who made them. Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking is organized by the International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Steeped in Artistry
November 5, 2025–January 4, 2026 | Duncanson Foyer
This year, the Taft Museum of Art asked ten Cincinnati-area artists to create teapot-shaped works of art to decorate a tree in the museum’s Duncanson Foyer, beginning a new holiday tradition. The tree’s tea-inspired theme is a tribute to museum founders Charles and Anna Taft, who celebrated New Year’s Day with an annual tea reception. The Tafts also acquired nearly 200 Chinese porcelains—including 12 teapots, now a significant portion of the museum’s collection.
All Set for Afternoon Tea
November 5, 2025–January 4, 2026 | Dining Room
Do you often find yourself taking a break in the afternoon, perhaps for a cup of tea? Museum founders Charles and Anna Taft hosted an afternoon tea reception annually on New Year’s Day. According to a local newspaper, they provided their guests with “hot temptations” and “a delicious brew of eggnog.” In the museum’s dining room, you will find a few must-haves for the occasion, including tea and coffee services and a variety of dishes waiting to be filled with sweet treats.
Teatime: Chinese Enamels from the Taft Collection
November 15, 2025–March 22, 2026 | Sinton Gallery
“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” —Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living (1937)
Where do you find comfort? Like the Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang, it might be in a cup of tea. Once used to store, serve, and drink this beloved beverage, the twenty-four 18th-century Chinese painted enamels in Teatime have been selected from a larger grouping donated by Compton Allyn in 2014. Although made in China, these works of art were probably intended for Western buyers, as the passion for tea spread from China to Europe and America in the 1700s.
Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White
February 7–May 17, 2026 | Fifth Third Gallery
The innovation, creativity, and influence of Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606–1669) are evident not only in his paintings but also in the more than 300 etchings he made during his career. Filled with delicate lines and velvety shadows, the works in Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White present the depth and breadth of the master’s etching subjects, including portraits, self-portraits, scenes from daily life, landscapes, narrative scenes, and still lifes. Organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam.
Beyond the Picturesque | Duncanson Artist-in-Residence: Ayana Ross
April 11–July 26, 2026 | Sinton Gallery and Duncanson Foyer
The Taft Museum of Art proudly welcomes Ayana Ross as the 40th Duncanson Artist-in-Residence by presenting seven of her figural paintings. Known for her emotionally resonant portraiture and narrative-driven compositions, Ross captures the quiet strength and complexity of Black life. Her paintings often center Black women and children in poignant everyday moments she encounters among her own family and community in suburban Georgia, granting her subjects the dignity and depth they have long been denied in the art historical canon.
The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore
June 13–September 20, 2026 | Fifth Third Gallery
Escape to the storied lands of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore. Organized by The Frick Pittsburgh, this is the first exhibition to examine the entangled notions of home and homeland that were central to the art of each nation in the second half of the 19th century. From enchanting landscapes and portraits to exquisite furniture and decorative arts, The Scandinavian Home offers a singular opportunity for a comprehensive and multimedia exploration of this seminal period in Nordic culture.
Edie McKee Harper: Modernist at Play
October 17, 2026–January 24, 2027 | Fifth Third Gallery
Cincinnati artist Edie McKee Harper (American, 1922–2010) developed a distinctive modernist vision across a wide variety of media, including photographs, paintings, enamels, weavings, illustrations, and prints. Edie McKee Harper: Modernist at Play highlights Harper’s exploration of these diverse materials through more than 100 works of art, re-examining her minimalist—and often playful—style to reveal a sophisticated artist who expanded the possibilities of mid-20th-century art and design.
Copyright © Charley and Edie Harper Art Studio, All Rights Reserved
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