In addition to the Museum's galleries of original works, the Museum also hosts a remarkable collection of casts of major works. The Cast Gallery is located on the Museum's first floor, facing historic Francis Quadrangle on the University's celebrated Red Campus.
The collections were part of the Museum's predecessor, the Museum of Classical Archaeology and History of Art. During the Depression years both the Museum of Classical Archaeology and History of Art and the academic Department of Art History and Archaeology were disbanded, and the collections moved into storage. The Museum was re-established in 1957, the Department in 1960, and the Cast Collection is now on long-term loan from the Department to the Museum. The Department of Art History and Archaeology's web discusses the history of the casts.
A complete listing of the casts displayed in the Cast Gallery and adjacent portions of the lobby is available.
Other institutions have amassed similar collections over the years, including:
- William J. Battle Collection, University of Texas, Austin
- Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge
- Ashmoleon Museum, University of Oxford
