Romanticism emerged as a response to the fear and promise of the American and French Revolutions, the rigidity of the Enlightenment, and the alienation that grew out of the Industrial Revolution.

This August the museum opens its storerooms to let you encounter the weird and the wonderful as we celebrate 75 years of collecting at the Bowers. Never and rarely-before-seen objects from the museum's diverse collection will be on display.

A Quest for Beauty: The Art of Van Cleef & Arpels was on display at the Bowers Museum from October 27, 2013 through February 15, 2014. Spanning over 100 years of history, the exhibition allowed visitors to view jewelry, watches, and precious accessories, as well as archive drawings and documents of the Place Vendôme High Jewelry Maison.

From the vast holdings of the Vatican Ethnological Museum comes a presentation of indigenous spiritual pieces that will enable visitors to learn about the global significance of the objects and their journey to the Vatican. 

Some gemstones are so rare that only true connoisseurs even know they exist. The Bowers Museum is pleased to present this incredible collection of some of the rarest gemstones in the world in classic jewelry settings.

The Bowers Museum is pleased to host The Tsars' Cabinet, which highlights two hundred years of decorative arts under the Romanovs, from the time of Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century to that of Nicholas II in the early twentieth century.

In the mid-1400s, many celebrated artists, goldsmiths, silversmiths and engravers were attracted by the abundance of wealth in the city of Florence, but the most important factor in this gathering of talent was the presence of the Medici family.

Maurice Sendak: 50 Years ● 50 Works ● 50 Reasons - is a comprehensive memorial exhibition of 50 select works by the late artist supplemented with accompanying comments by celebrities, authors and noted personalities – celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publishing of the universally revered "Where the Wild Things Are".

Lucy's Legacy gives visitors the opportunity to further their understanding and place in the human family. Discovered in the late 20th century by American Paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson in Ethiopia, Lucy is the oldest and most complete adult fossil of a human ancestor that has been found in Africa to date.