Museum Feature: The Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art

Installation view of The Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art at Fordham University, College at Rose Hill, Bronx, New York.

The Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art is one of the finest collections of ancient artworks in New York. The museum is a staple of the culture of Fordham University, itself an institution steadfastly dedicated to the study of the Humanities. Since the museum’s founding in 2007, this treasure trove of works from Antiquity are housed on the first floor of Walsh Library at the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx.

Over 260 objects encompass the museum’s collection, including: freestanding Classical sculptures, imperial coinage, floor mosaics, elegant glassware, piercing daggers, marble epitaphs, votive figures, and much more.

The museum went on hiatus in 2021 after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office found that several dozen artworks were tied to a duplicitous art dealer, Edoardo Almagià, who was notorious for his trafficking of looted antiquities. More than 60 objects were subsequently repatriated to the Italian government. Despite this controversy, the museum’s respected long-time curator, Jennifer Udell, found this experience to be an eye-opening moment to reinvent the museum and how its objects are displayed.

Since then, she has spearheaded a major renovation program that was completed in 2023, introduced new pedagogies in her courses, and secured invaluable loans from partner institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About two weeks ago, I made a return visit to Fordham University to participate in a Journalism graduate student’s video interview project. Since this video was about my background and work in Art History, it seemed fitting to conduct the interview within the museum (this ultimately doubled as a promotion of The Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art and the equally phenomenal Art History program). Though I had been back on campus several times over the past year, this was my first time stepping foot in the new and improved museum since right before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Though the Art of Antiquity is not my research focus, this space helped me to cultivate a more stringent appreciation of Ancient Art, and I certainly have many a fond memory of utilizing the museum as a study space during my four years as an undergraduate.

After being away from the space for exactly half a decade, I applaud Udell and everyone who was involved in this exceptional revitalization project!