Art and Music
Visual Arts
University Art Collection
Art Properties
Low Library, MC 4331
Phone: (212) 854-6800
Columbia maintains a large collection of art, much of which is on view throughout the campus in libraries, offices, and outdoors. The collection includes work in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts. The objects range in date from ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals of second millennium B.C.E. to contemporary prints and photographs.
In the collection are numerous portraits of former faculty and other members of the University community. Among the most distinguished portraits are those of the Reverend Myles Cooper, the second President of the College, painted by John Singleton Copley, and of the noted physician and botanist David Hosack, painted by Rembrandt Peale, both of which are on display in the King’s College Room, 210 Low Memorial Library. Chinese ceramics and bronzes from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University, which encompass works from the ancient Near East as well as from East Asia, are on view in the Faculty Room in Low Memorial Library.
The University also has the largest single collection of paintings by the American Florine Stettheimer, a selection of which is always on view in the Classics Reading Room of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library.
Several notable sculptures are displayed on the Morningside campus. Among them are Daniel Chester French’s Alma Mater, on the steps of Low Memorial Library; Three-Way Piece: Points by Henry Moore, on Revson Plaza, near Jerome L. Greene Hall; Bellerophon Taming Pegasus by Jacques Lipchitz, on the facade of Jerome L. Greene Hall; a cast of Auguste Rodin’s Thinker, on the lawn of Philosophy Hall; The Great God Pan by George Grey Barnard, on the lawn of Lewisohn Hall; Thomas Jefferson, in front of the Journalism Building, and Alexander Hamilton, in front of Hamilton Hall, both by William Ordway Partridge; and Clement Meadmore’s Curl, in front of Uris Hall.
LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies
310 Dodge Hall
Phone: (212) 854-7641
The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies was founded to promote printmaking through education efforts and the production and exhibition of prints. The Center provides students, as well as established artists, a rich environment to investigate and produce images through a myriad of printmaking techniques. The Center’s gallery hosts a wide array of exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing the work of invited artists, Visual Arts faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and professional printshops.
Low Memorial Library Rotunda
Phone: (212) 854-6800
Exhibitions organized by various departments and divisions within the University and relating to Columbia's history, programs, and activities, are held in the Rotunda throughout the year.
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery
826 Schermerhorn Hall, 8th Floor
Mail Code 5517
Phone: (212) 854-7288
Web: www.columbia.edu/cu/wallach
Operating under the auspices of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, the gallery serves to complement the University’s educational mission by mounting exhibitions that contribute to its scholarly endeavors and at the same time are of interest to a broad audience. Three or four exhibitions are held during the academic year, with most of them originating at the gallery and organized by graduate students or faculty members on topics relating to their current art-historical research. Each exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue. For current and recent exhibitions, please visit the gallery Web site.
Performing Arts and Music
Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre
2960 Broadway, Mail Code 1801
116th and Broadway (Dodge Hall)
Box Office: (212) 854-7799
Administration: (212) 854-1633
Fax: (212) 854-7740
E-mail: miller-arts@columbia.edu
Web: http://www.millertheatre.com/
Columbia University is home to one of Manhattan’s most celebrated centers for the performing arts — Miller Theatre, a 688-seat concert hall at the gates of 116th and Broadway. The Theatre’s diverse programming is designed to capture the broad spectrum of New York City’s culture through an exploration of the performing arts, challenging and engaging the Columbia community as well as the larger community of Manhattan culture seekers.
In the 1940s, Columbia was often the chosen stage for premieres of new music. Expanding on this tradition, Miller Theatre specializes in the presentation of recent classical works. The Composer Portraits series focuses on one or two contemporary composers at each performance, giving audiences a chance to form a complete picture of living, working composers such as Elliott Carter, Ned Rorem, György Ligeti, and John Zorn.
As a platform for literary events, Miller has welcomed Nobel and Pulitzer Prize–winning writers in its Theatre of Ideas series, which has included Nadine Gordimer, Joseph Brodsky, Susan Sontag, David Mamet, and Kenzuboro Oe. In addition, the Theatre has showcased both emerging and established voices on questions of culture, including Edward Said, Wei Jingsheng, Annie Dillard, John Ashbery, Gil Shaheen, E. Annie Proulx, Oscar Hijuelos, and Edmund White.
Ticket Information:
Miller ticket prices are among the cultural bargains in New York City, and Columbia University faculty and staff with a valid CUID receive a 40 percent discount on single tickets. Ticket prices and detailed event information are published in the season brochure, which is available at the box office.
Music at St. Paul’s
Phone: (212) 854-0480
E-mail: sw651@columbia.edu
Web: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/earl/music.html
St. Paul’s Chapel, with its wonderful acoustics, is a landmark treasure of Columbia University and is an ideal place for diverse musical programs. Music at St. Paul’s provides an opportunity for Columbians and members of neighboring communities to hear sacred music outside of the context of a worship service. Performances range from small recitals to large community orchestras. The artists are as varied as the program and include both amateurs and professionals from Columbia University, New York City, and around the world.
Postcrypt Coffeehouse
St. Paul’s Chapel, Basement
Phone: (212) 854-1953
E-mail: postcrypt@columbia.edu
Web: http://www.postcrypt.org/
Fall/Spring Hours: Friday–Saturday: 9 pm–12:30 am
Established in 1964, the Postcrypt Coffeehouse is one of the country’s longest running campus coffeehouses. It is the home of diverse music—including and extending beyond blues, folk, jazz, rock, country and a capella—as well as performance art, poetry, comedy and storytelling. Performances are acoustic—there are no microphones—and some of the more well-known artists to have graced Postcrypt’s stage include: David Bromberg, Jeff Buckley, Shawn Colvin, Ani DiFranco, John Gorka, Patty Larkin, Lisa Loeb, Ellis Paul, Martin Sexton and Suzanne Vega.
Postcrypt serves coffee, tea, regular and mulled cider, cold soda and beer, as well as home-made brownies and fresh fruit in season. Please visit the web site for a schedule of performances and for more information.