The Ackland Art Museum was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855-1940) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Today, the museum exhibits come from a permanent collection of more than 14,000 works of art from around the world. The Ackland's holdings are particularly rich in Old Master paintings and sculptures by artists such as Degas, Rubens and Pissarro; Indian miniatures; Japanese paintings; North Carolina folk art; and prints, drawings and photographs. In addition, the museum exhibits four to six temporary loan exhibitions annually.

Eagle Eye, Nam June Paik, 1996, video with mixed media and neon, Ackland art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ackland Fund 99.8, (c) 1996 Nam June Paik

Head of Buddha, Thai, 15th century, gilt bronze, Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ackland Fund 91.2

Cleopatra and the Peasant, Eugene Delacroix, 1838, oil on canvas, Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ackland Fund 59.15.1

Students in the gallery.