The Chazen Museum of Art is a cultural facility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was founded for purposes in keeping with the university's mission of education, research, and public service. It provides support and enrichment of the university's educational programs; it houses the art collection of the university and sponsors exhibitions of art; it is a facility for the Department of Art History; it houses the university's art reference library. Most activities are free to all, and visitor use of the Chazen Museum of Art is encouraged equally among the general public and the university community.

Approximately 17,000 works of art, general coverage from ancient to modern; of those, approximately 8,000 are prints and drawings.

Special strengths: ancient Greek vases, coins, old master paintings, Indian art, twentieth-century painting, and prints and drawings including a large holding of Japanese prints.