Tours

Guided tours of the Museum and Sloane Collection are conducted daily by our knowledgeable docent staff. Tours last approximately 45 minutes and include fifteen galleries on the first floor filled with the Sloane family art collection, furniture, and history.

The second floor of the Museum contains four self guided galleries. Two permanent galleries house part of the Sloane collection. The Florence K. Sloane Painting Gallery contains an impressive collection of paintings by contemporary American masters, featuring work by a variety of significant 20th century artists, including Helen Turner, Sir Edward Poynter, and Nicholai Fechin. The West Gallery exhibit emphasizes Mrs. Sloane’s exceptional taste in all areas of fine and decorative art – not just paintings. This space is anchored by a display of bronzes by American sculptor Harriet Whitney Frishmuth.

The other two galleries on the second floor, the Changing Galleries, are host to rotating exhibits throughout the year including works by contemporary artists, local arts groups, and pieces in the Sloane Collections that are not on permanent display.

Tours begin promptly on the hour with the last tour starting at 4:00 p.m. Admission includes the guided tour as well as access to the upstairs galleries.

Specialty Tours

Through the Garden Gate (Garden Tour):

Through the Garden Gate is a walking tour of the gardens led by Yolima Carr, Curator of Gardens & Grounds. This tour will introduce you to our site’s garden history and many varieties of plants that have a home at The Hermitage. The cost for Through the Garden Gate is $6 for non-members and $4 for members.

2011 Garden Tour Dates: June 11, 13, 27; July 9, 11, 25; August 8, 13, 22
Reservations are required and walkups are not accepted.  Reservations will be taken until 5:00 p.m. the Wednesday before the scheduled tour.

Architectural History of the Hermitage Estate:

This is a one hour walking tour of the Hermitage estate. We will tour the rooms of the house, to include the private rooms, as well as some of the ancillary buildings on the twelve-acre site. During the tour we explore how the Hermitage expanded and transformed from a five-room vacation home into the forty-two room structure it is today. The tour is lead by Melanie Mathewes, Executive Director, and is offered at noon on the second Friday of the month.

The cost of tour is $10 for non-members and $5 for members.Comfortable walking shoes are required.  Please note that we will climb stairs as the structures have no elevators. Reservations are required and walkups are not accepted.