The Mead is the art museum of Amherst College and holds about 19,000 works ranging from antiquities to contemporary photography. The American and Mexican collections are particularly strong — there is fine work by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Thomas Eakins, and Winslow Homer — and the museum is small enough that you can see it properly in an hour or two.
Special exhibitions are well curated and rotate two or three times a year. Free admission, closed Mondays. Combine with the Beneski Museum next door for a strong half-day on the Amherst College campus.