The Art Building was erected in memory of Dr. Dudley P. Allen. The construction of the building was begun July 7, 1915, and it was completed and dedicated June 12, 1917. The building provides for a large sculpture hall, a large picture gallery, two smaller galleries, and art library, two classrooms, a class exhibition room, several studio rooms, and various subsidiary rooms. The entire cost of the building was $197,000, provided by the gifts of Mrs. Elisabeth Severance Allen Prentiss. The cost of the site was $36,650, the gift of Mr. John L. Severance. Exclusive of casts and collections, there has been devoted to the sit, building, furnishing, and preparation of the grounds the sum of $241,000. The Olney Art Collection and other art objects belonging to the College are housed in the building. An enlargement of the building, to cost $80,000, is planned for the summer of 1937. Mr. Cass Gilbert, of New York, was the architect, and the building was erected by the John H. Parker Company, of New York. The fountain in front of the Art Building was erected in 1931 by Mr. Henry J. Haskell, as a memorial to his wife, Mrs. Katharine Wright Haskell.

The 1938 addition, by contractor J.B. Annable and dedicated April 29-30, nearly doubled the floor space of the original 1917 building.