Albany Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Albany museums supplies classes your area

Anyone that wants to learn about art in Albany has definitely found the right blog and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and we are also including a Albany art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

To find more of our posts on all kinds of artistic endeavors in the Northeast click that link.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Albany

If you want to visit the best art galleries and museums in Albany you can go to:

Albany Institute of History & Art is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Saturday and starting at noon on Sunday and is one of the oldest museums in America as they have collected art and historical materials from the Upper Hudson Valley for over 200 years and are still going strong today. Every year over 10,000 students, teachers, adult learners, and families gain from their education programs.

The New York State Museum is open from 9:30am to 5pm every day but Monday when they are closed and has been a leader in the development of the fine arts for a very long time offering a wide variety of public education programs for all ages including daily after school art classes and programs.

You can find work-only studios and local summer art classes at Albany Barn.

Those who would like to rent some art can do so at the Center Gallery which is open from noon to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday and every February or early March they hold the Annual Winter Art Fest.

There are over 3,000 pieces from over 50 years of modern and contemporary art at the University Museum that you can check out from 11am to 4pm Monday through Friday.

The Permanent Collection at the Mandeville Gallery has nearly 3,000 works of art that are viewable from 10am to 6pm daily.

Materials & Supplies Near You

There are quite a few stores to buy art supplies and materials in your area like:

At Arlene’s Artist Materials you can choose from over 40,000 art supplies and materials plus they will try to special order anything they don’t have in stock while custom picture framing, art classes, and workshops are all available.

Dollar Tree is where you can go to find cheap art supplies near you.

Michaels, Joann, and Hobby Lobby also can do picture framing.

Shows & Events

Framing art supply stores Albany lessons near you studios

Some of the best local art shows and events held here are:

Fallbany Art and Craft Market is a showcase for local art, music, and culture held downtown every September.

For a fun art event that is held every first Friday of the month at various locations around the city don’t miss 1st Friday Albany.

Troy River Fest is a three-day long event in downtown Troy with twilight shopping, a huge sidewalk sale, and family-friendly activities.

As we mentioned earlier every February or early March you can head to the Albany Center Gallery for their Annual Winter Art Fest.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

If you want to add a new piece to your collection or find out how much a piece is worth you can go to art dealers and appraisers near you like:

Mark Lawson Antiques offers art appraisal services, holds auctions, buys and sells pieces, and provides oil painting cleaning and restoration.

You can also buy art at the Albany Center Gallery and Seven Cats Galerie from our main list.

Walking Tours

If you are reading this on a sunny day why not go on a local art walking tour at:

Capital Walls Mural Tour is a public art endeavor by Albany Center Gallery, Albany Barn, and Albany Parking Authority which is held occasionally.

Troy Makers Market usually happens during the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market which take place on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm in the heart of Downtown Troy.

Sculptures & Statues

You can also find some really cool sculptures and statues in your area like:

  • General Philip Henry Sheridan Statue at 143 State St
  • George Washington Statue at 71 S Swan St
  • Moses Statue at Washington Park Rd
  • Robert Burns Statue at Washington Park Rd & Hudson Ave
  • Harriet Tubman & William Seward Statue at Seward Pl, Schenectady
  • Uncle Sam Statue at River St, Troy

The General Philip Henry Sheridan Statue was designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and created by Daniel Chester French and it was dedicated in 1916.

The George Washington Statue was unveiled in West Capitol Park on Armistice Day, November 11, 1932, cast by the Gorham Company.

In 1893 the Moses Statue was unveiled in Washington Park and it was created by John Massey Rhind.

In Washington Park you can also find the Robert Burns Statue which was put up in the early 1900’s.

In 2019 the Schenectady County Public Library dedicated the Harriet Tubman and William Seward Statues which were created by Benedict Dexter.

Around River Street and Fulton Street you can find the Uncle Sam Statue which was created by George Kratina and was dedicated in 1980.

Albany Art Classes

We are all at different levels and sometimes a lesson or two can give us the boost that we need. Some of the best Albany art schools and classes can be found at:

Albany Art Room provides art classes for all ages and levels of experience, an open studio, art parties, private lessons, and home school groups.

An expressive open art studio for all ages as well as summer art camps for kids and teens plus night classes can all be enjoyed at Art in Mind Creative Wellness Studio. It is also a good place to go for private lessons and they can help if you have special needs.

Canvas, Corks & Forks has really good painting classes in your area day or night plus their paint and sip parties are some of the best you will find in Schenectady or Troy.

You can even find more art classes in Albany at Arlene’s Artist Materials from our art supplies list.

Studios For Rent Near You

Those of you who are ready to start a big project can find local art studios like:

Albany Barn, Albany Art Room, Art in Mind Creative Wellness Studio, and Arts Center of the Capital Region also have studios for rent.

Framing

A frame can take a normal looking picture a long way, and some of the best places for art framing in Albany are:

Certified Framing & Art Gallery has thousands of sample frames and are the only frame shop in your area to offer French matting plus they can handle and preserve art and antiques.

Frame refinishing as well as restoration of art and frames can be done at The Art Associates Gallery.

Arlene’s Artist Materials, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Joann from our local art supplies list also do framing.

By the way in the past we have already discussed other nearby cities like:

Have Fun Enjoying the Albany Art Scene

Well guys, we tried to cover the full art scene near you to the best of our abilities. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.

If you made it all the way to the end then you probably love the local art as much as we do. You can let us know about any of your own tips and tricks in the comments at the end of the post, or please also let us know if we got anything wrong or if anything we posted has become dated.

Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies, or doing anything that has to do with art in Albany!

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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