The Fairfield University Art Museum, formerly the Bellarmine Museum of Art, is an art museum located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The museum features Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Celtic and Asian art and artifacts in three distinct galleries totaling 2700sqft of space. CollegeRank.net ranks it the 37th Most Amazing College Museum in the United States noting that "with an incredibly rich and broad collection of paintings, sculpture, and plaster casts, the Bellarmine Museum of Art is a must-see for art enthusiasts."HistoryThe Fairfield University Art Museum opened as the Bellarmine Museum of Art in October 2010. It was built at a cost of $3.2 million and was designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners. The museum's main gallery, The Frank and Clara Meditz Gallery, is named in honor of the parents of the lead donor to the project, University Trustee and alumnus John Meditz '70.The museum is located on the renovated lower level of Bellarmine Hall which was designed in 1921 in the English manorial style. Formerly known as Hearthstone Hall because of its many fireplaces and chimneys, this forty-four room mansion was built by Walter B. Lashar, owner of the American Chain and Cable Company. The Jesuits purchased Bellarmine Hall from the town of Fairfield in 1942 to serve as one of the foundational building for Fairfield University.
