The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is the world's foremost centre for research on sex, gender, and reproduction. Less well known is its Beebe Gallery, which holds a remarkable art collection of about 7,000 objects relating to human sexuality: paintings, sculptures, photographs, and artefacts from ancient Greece to the present, accumulated by Kinsey himself and expanded by later directors.
Public exhibitions in the gallery draw on this collection and are serious, museum-quality shows — not sensational, but frank. Past exhibitions have covered the history of erotic art, the representation of bodies across cultures, and the visual language of desire. The gallery is located in Morrison Hall on the IU campus; hours and exhibitions change regularly, so check before visiting. Entry requires IU affiliation or advance arrangement.
Even if the gallery is not open, the institute building and its role in American cultural history make it worth knowing about. Bloomington is remarkably proud of Kinsey's legacy.