Massachusetts has a rich heritage of making and collecting art; this heritage is on display across the state in museums of all kinds.
The world-renowned Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has an encyclopedic collection that ranges from French Impressionists to ancient Egyptian art. The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) showcases contemporary art in its striking new building overlooking Boston Harbor.
Across the Charles River in Cambridge, the Harvard Art Museums are home to works by Matisse, Picasso and Italian Renaissance masters in intimate galleries. And travelling north of metro Boston, Salem's Peabody Essex Museum exhibits connections between art, architecture and culture.
Large-scale American scuplture is sited throughout the 35 acres of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln. Worcester's Art Museum, acknowledged as one of America’s leading small art museums, includes works by Cassatt, Gauguin, Goya, Monet, Sargent and Whistler.
At the gateway to the majestic Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts, the Norman Rockwell Museum houses the largest collection of the illustrator’s original art, many from the Saturday Evening Post.
For more information visit The New England Museum Association. A list of more than 400 museums from the New England region and their current exhibits.
The Provincetown Art Association and Museum documents the P'Town artists' colony with a collection of works by more than 400 Provincetown artists...MASS MoCA presents cutting-edge contemporary art installations and performance art in the Berkshires...The Eric Carle Museum in Amherst focuses on picture-book art.

Bread & Roses Festival
September 6, 2010Celebrating Lawrence's diversity and its labor history named for the "Bread and Roses" textile strike of 1912. Numerous family events.
Spencer Fair
September 3, 2010Through September 6. Classic country fair with agricultural shows, entertainment, midway and more.
Tanglewood Jazz Festival
September 4, 2010Through September 5. Talented, well-known jazz artists perform on the beautiful grounds of Tanglewood.
Free Fun Fridays
September 3, 2010Through September 4. The Free Fun Fridays program invites everyone to visit a designated museum or attraction for free over Labor Day Weekend (Friday & Saturday)