ALBANY, N.Y. — The Albany Institute of History & Art, New York’s oldest museum, turned 225 years old on Friday, February 26. The museum staff and members of the board of trustees hosted elected officials and community representatives for remarks and a special birthday cake cutting by a George Washington impersonator.

Founded in 1791, when Washington was president of the country, the museum will celebrate this milestone throughout the year with anniversary exhibitions, special events, and public programming.

A tour of the “Masterworks: 225 Years of Collecting” exhibition with curators Doug McCombs and Diane Shewchuk was offered.

The museum’s collections document the Hudson Valley as a crossroads of culture, influencing the art and history of the region, the state, and the nation. With more than 35,000 objects and one million documents in the library, the museum is an important resource for the region, giving the community a sense of the part the Hudson Valley played in the American story, and its place in history. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are open year-round and create a sense of place, allowing visitors to meet the people who helped shape this region.

Among the museum’s best-known collections are the Nineteenth Century Hudson River School landscape paintings by artists like Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, the Nineteenth Century sculpture collections, and, of course, the famous Albany mummies that came to the museum in 1909 and have been on view ever since.

The Albany Institute of History & Art is at 125 Washington Avenue. For more information, www.albanyinstitute.org.