RISD Museum

The Rhode Island School of Design Museum on Benefit Street holds one of the strongest small art collections in New England. The 100,000-piece collection runs from ancient Egyptian artifacts and Gorham silver to Impressionist paintings and contemporary art, with particular strength in American decorative arts and textiles. For a design-school museum, the breadth is surprising.

The building is a rabbit warren of interconnected galleries spread across several attached structures, which makes for good wandering. Admission is free on Sundays; otherwise modest. A good two hours here won't feel wasted.

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A story
The museum's collection of Japanese netsuke — tiny carved toggles used to hang pouches from kimono sashes — is one of the finest in the United States, largely because RISD's textile and design programs have long valued the craftsmanship of miniature objects. The museum also holds an ancient Roman mosaic floor, reassembled from fragments and displayed flat on a gallery floor so visitors can walk around it.