Skip to content

William Benton Museum of Art

William Benton Museum of Art is a museum in Connecticut, at a modelled elevation of 187 m. Paulk Hill stands 294 m to the northwest, 8.5 miles off. The nearest named place is Harvest Joy, a artwork less than a tenth of a mile away. Connecticut State Route 169 passes 15 miles off.

The story

The William Benton Museum of Art is a public fine arts museum located on the University of Connecticut's main campus in Storrs, Connecticut. The Benton houses a permanent collection of over 6,500 artistic works and hosts special exhibitions, concerts, campus art walks, and other events. The museum is named in honor of the prominent U.S. senator and university trustee William Benton. The Benton has a cafe (The Beanery) and a gift store. In 2024 the museum opened a new education center. Admission to the museum is free for all. Constructed in 1920 and used for twenty years as University's main dining hall, the Benton opened officially as an art museum in 1967. The museum building is designed in the Collegiate Gothic style and is one of the core campus buildings in the University of Connecticut Historic District-Connecticut Agricultural School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Benton's collection originated with former Connecticut Agricultural College president Charles Lewis Beach, who began the college's art collection, bequeathed his personal collection of American art to the college in 1933, and left a trust fund for the college to continue acquiring art. Developed over the ensuing decades, the museum's permanent collection includes works by Childe Hassam, Henry Ward Ranger, Emil Carlson, Charles Harold Davis, Ernest Lawson, Ellen Emmet Rand, Guy Wiggins, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Hart Benton, Fairfield Porter, George Bellows, Gustav Klimt, Rembrandt Peale, Georges Braque, Edward Burne-Jones, Reginald Marsh, Käthe-Kollwitz, Arthur Bowen Davies, Maurice Prendergast and Kiki Smith. The collection is strongest in modern and American art, but some works date to the Renaissance, and exhibits are highly diverse.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dates from 1967.

Wikidata Q24183682, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What to expect

Operated by
University of Connecticut
Fee
No
Step-free access
Yes

Official site

How to reach it

Coordinates41.80855, -72.25280

Named places within 25 miles

Parks
  • The Thomas and Bette Wolff Family Park: 0.2 mi
  • Mansfield Town Square: 0.5 mi
  • Pine Lake Community Club: 2.2 mi
  • Eagleville Pond Boat Launch: 2.2 mi
  • Spring Hill Fields: 2.3 mi
Peaks
Historic sites
Artworks: 57
Gardens: 41
  • Schwenk Family Garden: 0.1 mi
  • School of Pharmacy Medicinal Garden: 0.2 mi
  • Horticulture Garden: 0.2 mi
  • Mansfield Community Garden: 1.0 mi
  • Mansfield Community Garden: 2.2 mi
Waterfalls: 37
  • Cascades: 1.6 mi
  • Cascades: 1.6 mi
  • Codfish Falls: 1.7 mi
  • Diana's Pool Falls: 6.6 mi
  • Hockanum Falls: 10.6 mi
Attractions: 36
Beaches: 7
Cliffs: 5
Rest areas: 3
  • West Willington Rest Area Eastbound: 6.2 mi
  • West Willington Rest Area Westbound: 6.3 mi
  • Rest Area I-395 (South Bound): 24.2 mi
Ghost towns: 3
Picnic sites: 2
  • Picnic: 16.9 mi
  • Rivers Edge Picnic Grove: 24.5 mi
Springs: 1
  • Windham Spring: 6.2 mi

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 10.2 miles of William Benton Museum of Art. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Paulk HillNW 306°294 m8.5 mi
Whifford HillN 357°291 m5.7 mi
Westford HillNNE 23°290 m7.8 mi
Kendall HillNW 324°290 m9.6 mi
Grant HillW 275°284 m6.9 mi
Sugar HillNW 314°282 m8.5 mi
Parker MountainN 0°275 m7.0 mi
Reed HillWNW 288°275 m8.1 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox06:5318:2519:01
June solstice05:1519:4620:28
September equinox06:3718:1118:48
December solstice07:1415:3716:22

Local time (America/New_York).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F272936485866727063524233
Precip in3.63.04.44.23.74.54.04.34.54.63.94.5

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Storrs, 2 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOfficial site

OpenStreetMap element way/31549133

More museums in Connecticut

Day trips start here

Drive to it

Byway plans a real route around stops like this one.

Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to William Benton Museum of Art.

Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens