Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, known locally as The Jule, is the art museum of Auburn University. It sits on South College Street at the southern edge of campus in Auburn. The museum serves both as a teaching resource for students and faculty and as a public museum open to anyone, with free admission for every visitor. Its mission encourages curiosity, and the museum aims to be a welcoming place for first time museum visitors as well as experienced art lovers.

The museum opened in 2003. It is named for Jule Collins Smith, and its construction was funded by her husband, Albert Smith, an Auburn graduate from the class of 1947, who made the gift to mark the couple’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. In the years since, the museum has grown into an accredited institution, earning recognition from the American Alliance of Museums in 2013 and reaccreditation in 2022. The museum also participates in reciprocal museum networks, which extend benefits to members of participating institutions elsewhere. Accreditation places it among a select group of American museums recognized for meeting national professional standards in collections care and public service.

The collection holds roughly 3,300 objects with a focus on nineteenth and twentieth century American and European art. One of its best known holdings is the Advancing American Art collection, a group of paintings by artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence and Ben Shahn. The museum also holds the Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection of prints by naturalist John James Audubon and the Bill L. Harbert Collection of European art, which includes work by Picasso, Matisse and Dali. Exhibitions rotate regularly, and recent shows have drawn on the University Art Collection to explore color in fashion, textiles and painting.

The building and grounds are part of the appeal. A large amber chandelier by glass artist Dale Chihuly hangs as a permanent installation inside the museum. Outside, landscaped walking paths lead around a pond and past outdoor sculpture, and the grounds remain available for strolling beyond gallery hours. The setting makes the museum a calm stop for families, students between classes and visitors in town for university events.

The museum works closely with the Auburn student body, engaging thousands of students each year through class visits, a student advisory board and a team of student guides. Those guides lead drop in tours on every day the museum is open, and group tours can be arranged in advance. Public programs include artist talks, lectures by visiting scholars and literary events, and all programming is free to attend. The museum also produces a podcast, and its permanent collection can be explored through an online collection database, which allows visitors to look up works before or after a visit. Self guided visits are equally welcome for those who prefer to explore at their own pace.

The Jule is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10am to 6pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. It is closed Sundays and Mondays, on Auburn University holidays and on fall football Saturdays, and it may close for weather or emergencies. General admission and all programs are free. Visitor parking is located on the north and east sides of the building, including 16 accessible spaces near the front entrance; on game days the lot is shared with university game day parking.