Although the current temperatures don’t yet feel very
autumnal, colder weather will be here soon and the leaves will eventually
change color. With the coming of autumn,
the museums of New York have a host of new offerings to tempt us indoors. And, this autumn, they are presenting some of
the biggest names in the history of art, both Renaissance and Modern. Just remember that some of the exhibitions in
this article have not opened quite yet, so check with the museum websites
before your leave home.
I will start the list with the biggest of Manhattan’s
museums, the METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
or, as it is now known, THE MET (http://www.metmuseum.org). Recently expanded through the opening of the
former site of the Whitney Museum, renamed the Breuer Building, The Met is of
course, in itself, a feast of offerings.
At the main building, now known as THE MET FIFTH AVENUE (Fifth Avenue and West 82nd Street), there
will be some major exhibitions, plus a host of smaller ones (some of which are
already open) to tempt interested visitors.
The major shows are:
Rodin at the Met. This
show is currently open and will run through January 15. This exhibition occupies the long, entrance
gallery of the 19th and early 20th century galleries,
newly and attractively repainted to highlight the works of art. It features multiple sculptures: small,
medium and large by Auguste Rodin from the Met’s own very extensive collection
of his work. There are works in bronze,
marble and clay, including some of Rodin’s most famous pieces. Also, extremely interesting is an adjoining
gallery filled with Rodin’s drawings and with photographs of the man and his
works, plus some of his sources of inspiration.
World War I and the Visual Arts. In honor of the 100th anniversary
of America’s entry into “the war to end all wars” the Met is presenting a well-chosen
array of works demonstrating how artists reacted to the war. The works on display span the gamut of
responses, from the patriotic to the pacifist and from the traditional to the
avant garde. The exhibition will run
until January 7, 2018.
Three great masters are honored with solo exhibitions that
have not yet opened.
The most anticipated exhibition will open on November 13th
and will run until February 12, 2018. It
will focus on one of the greatest and most influential of all artists: Michelangelo Buonarotti. Titled Michelangelo, Divine Draftsman and Designer,
it will be composed of “approximately 150 of his drawings, three of his marble
sculptures, his earliest painting, his wood architectural model for a chapel
vault, as well as a substantial body of complementary works by other artists
for comparison and context”. It includes
such items as his preparatory drawings, letters (complete with his
caricature-like commentaries), finished drawings. Many of these items have been loaned for the
very first time by the institutions to which they belong and many will probably
never be lent again. So, if it is at all
possible you should make it a priority to see this.
Next, comes an exhibition honoring the 80th
birthday of a much more recent master, David Hockney. This retrospective will run from November 27,
2017 to February 25, 2018 and will feature some of Hockney’s most recent works.
The MET BREUER
(Madison Avenue and East 75th Street) is also hosting another important
retrospective, Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed, which will open on
November 15, 2017 and runs till February 4, 2018. Munch is probably best known to the American
public as the artist of The Scream. This
exhibition will, hopefully, encourage a wider perspective on his work. It will include “approximately 45 of the
artist's landmark compositions created over a span of six decades, including 16
self-portraits and works that have never before been seen in the United States”.
Beyond THE MET
the museums of New York also have many things to offer.
The FRICK COLLECTION
(Fifth Avenue at East 70th Street, http://www.frick.org)
will present two autumn shows of great interest:
Veronese in Murano: Two Venetian Renaissance Masterpieces Restored. This exhibition focuses “on two recently
conserved and rarely seen paintings by the celebrated artist Paolo Veronese
(1528–1588), St. Jerome in the Wilderness and St. Agatha Visited in Prison by
St. Peter. While the paintings are known to scholars, their remote location in
a church in Murano, an island in the lagoon of Venice, has made them difficult
to study. The exhibition will provide a unique opportunity for an international
audience to discover these two masterpieces in New York.” This exhibition opens on October 24, 2017 and
will run until March 11, 2018.
Murillo: The Self-Portraits,
which runs from November 1, 2017 to February 4, 2018. In celebration of the 400th
anniversary of Murillo’s birth this exhibition unites two self-portraits, made
approximately 20 years apart, which are owned by the Frick and the National
Gallery in London. “To provide context
to these canvases, the exhibition will also feature a group of fifteen other
works on loan from international private and public collections. These will
include paintings of other sitters by Murillo, as well as later reproductions
of the two paintings that reflect their fame in Europe.”
The MORGAN LIBRARY
(at Madison Avenue between East 36th and 37th Streets, http://www.themorgan.org) has a trio of
exhibitions on offer.
Most significant for the subject matter of this blog is Magnificent
Gems: Medieval Treasure Bindings which runs until January 7, 2018. This exhibition focuses on the beautifully
bejeweled book bindings of the Middle Ages.
In an age when all books were the products of the human hand those that
were brilliantly illuminated, especially the Bible and the books used for
liturgical purposes, they were treasured and frequently honored with incredible
covers of gold and precious stones. Few
have survived the centuries, frequently being destroyed to recover the value of
their metal. The Viking invasions and
the Reformation were particularly hard on valuable book covers. So, it is a major event that the Morgan is
displaying its amazing collection of bindings collected primarily by J.P.
Morgan and his father, J. Pierpont Morgan.
Also on view are two exhibitions drawn from the Thaw
Collection, formed by Eugene and Clare Thaw who are among today’s major
collectors and museum benefactors, and recently gifted to the Morgan.
The first, Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the
Thaw Collection, runs until January 7, 2018 and “focuses on pivotal
artists and key moments in the history of draftsmanship. Works by major masters
from the Renaissance to the modern era will be on view, including Mantegna,
Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Piranesi, Watteau, Fragonard, Goya, Ingres,
Turner, Daumier, Redon, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso,
and Pollock.”
Another, Views of Rome and Naples: Oil Sketches from
the Thaw Collection, runs until March 18, 2018. This exhibition focuses on the oil sketches
of these two Italian cities made during the second half of the eighteenth
century. At the time, a visit to Italy,
and especially to these two historic cities, by young artists was an essential
part of their training. “Working
outdoors, artists recorded their observations of these natural and man-made
wonders in small-scale studies, mostly executed with oil paint on paper. In
these oils, painters captured the grandiosity of Rome’s classical ruins and the
sublime natural beauty of Naples, with its famous view of Mount Vesuvius.
Artists from France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and Sweden are featured in this
selection.”
MoMA, the Museum
of Modern Art (53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, http://www.moma.org), has a couple of
exhibitions that may be of interest.
The
first is most unusual for MoMA, it’s a fashion exhibition! As the MoMA website points out, it is the
first fashion related exhibition in the museum’s history. Unlike recent shows at the Met, which focus
on the work of a particular designer, this show explores items of clothing that
have had an influence on fashion in the twentieth century. Items: Is Fashion Modern? Will run
until January 28, 2018.
The second MoMA exhibition, Max Ernst: Beyond Painting
will run until January 1, 2018. Ernst
loved to experiment with techniques, which often give his paintings an air of
otherworldliness. “Featuring
approximately 100 works drawn from the Museum’s collection, the exhibition
includes paintings that challenged material and compositional conventions;
collages and overpaintings utilizing found printed reproductions; frottages
(rubbings); illustrated books and collage novels; sculptures of painted stone
and bronze; and prints made using a range of techniques.”
New York’s two museums of local history are also offering some
exhibitions of more than usual interest.
The NEW-YORK
HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Central Park West and 77th Street, http://www.nyhistory.org), is displaying
its recently rehung collection of paintings, one of the most important
collections of the Hudson River School in existence.
The exhibition, entitled Collector's Choice: Highlights
from the Permanent Collection, is described as ongoing.
Also ongoing is the newly created gallery of Tiffany
lamps. The new space displays
approximately 100 examples of Tiffany lamps, along with information on how they
were created, about the designers who worked on them and the milieu in which
they were used.
The Historical Society also has several other exhibitions
that may be of interest. Among them are:
·
The Vietnam War: 1945 – 1975, which
will run until April 22, 2018.
·
American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life
and Times, which runs until January 7, 2018
·
Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the
Jerni Collection. This will open
on October 27, 2017 and will close on February 25, 2018.
·
The ongoing exhibition of Audubon’s Birds of America.
The MUSEUM OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK (Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th
Streets, http://www.mcny.org) will offer
several interesting small exhibitions.
·
·
.
Art in the Open, Fifty Years of Public Art in New York. This will open on
November 10 and will run until May 13, 2018.
Reviews the public art of the last half century which has a different
character to prior public art.
·
Finally, the NEUE
GALERIE (Fifth Avenue at East 86th Street, http://www.neuegalerie.org) will be
showing Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty, which will
run until January 29, 2018. “More than
400 objects have been selected for the presentation, and the loans are drawn
from both public and private collections in the United States and Europe,
including significant pieces from Austria. This show surveys the entirety of
the firm’s extensive output in a variety of media, including ceramics,
drawings, fashion, furniture, glass, graphic design, jewelry, metalwork,
textiles, and wallpaper.”
Need to Sit Down/Drink Something/Eat Something?
Visiting museums is a wonderful way to spend the day, but it
does tend to make one both tired and hungry.
In my volunteer “job” as a Visitor Services representative at the Met
Fifth Avenue I am frequently asked where to find food and something to drink. Apparently few people are aware that most New
York museums have restaurants and cafes within their walls. These include:
- · The Met Fifth Avenue (which has five public and two members only restaurants, plus a cocktail bar on weekend evenings from May to the end of October),
- · The Met Breuer (which has two),
- · The Morgan Library (which has two),
- · The Museum of Modern Art (which has several tucked away on different floors),
- · The New-York Historical Society (which has two),
- · The Museum of the City of New York (which has one),
- · The Neue Galerie (which has two).
There are also some reasonably priced places to eat within a
block or two of those mentioned above as well as near the Frick, which at the
moment does not have a restaurant. There
is really no need to run the risk of eating from a street food cart, especially
when the weather is nippy.
Although most visitors are grateful to hear that museums do offer
so many dining options I’m sometimes asked where to eat outside the museum (and
even near some of the mid-town attractions) and here’s my answer, at least for
the areas around the museums mentioned here.
Near the Neue Galerie and the Met (86th Street – 84th
Streets). This is an expensive,
residential area, where the majority of the restaurants are quite pricey, but
there are a few possibilities outside the museums.
Demarchelier –
86th Street and Madison Avenue. Classic
French and pricier than most, but well worth the splurge if you can afford it.
Dean and Deluca –
85th Street and Madison Avenue. Not a
restaurant as such, but you can get sandwiches and salads and drinks and perch
on a few stools in the window.
The New Amity Coffee
Shop – 84th Street and Madison Avenue, west side of the Avenue. This is a classic New York Greek diner. It has had the same décor for at least the
last 40 years, but the food is good, the staff is friendly (except at lunch
time, when no staff anywhere is friendly) and the prices are pretty good as
well.
Le Pain Quotidien
– 84th Street and Madison Avenue, east side of Madison. A branch of the well-known chain featuring
some communal tables. A bit on the
pricey side for sandwiches, but usually very good.
Near the Met (82nd to 79th Streets).
Lexington Candy Shop
– 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue. This
requires walking a couple of extra blocks, and is definitely a step back in
time. It’s a genuine lunch counter/ice
cream parlor from the 1920s. Presumably
the stoves, etc. have been replaced over time and there was the “renovation” in
the late 1980s when the pay telephone booths were removed to make way for two
more tables, but that’s about it. It’s
been run by the same family since the 1920s.
Space is tight and it’s usually very busy. The food echoes the décor and prices aren’t
dirt cheap, but it’s worth the trip for the experience and to help it continue to survive.
EAT – Madison Avenue
between 80th and 81st Street. This is
one of the offshoots of the Zabar family’s empire. There is a pricier restaurant here, but there
is also a take-out division, with prepared sandwiches, etc. and a convenient
bench outside the door if it’s decent weather, especially if you are drinking
something hot. Be warned though, the
sandwiches and salads are not on the low end of price, although they are equivalent
or slightly cheaper than you might pay in a diner.
Serafina Fabulous
Pizza – Madison Avenue and 79th Street (upstairs). One of a chain of mid-priced Italian
eateries. Offers pizza, pasta and
entrees at moderate (but not cheap) prices.
The only drawback for this particular Serafina is that it is on the
second floor and there is no elevator.
I can’t recommend anything else in the stretch between 84th
and 79th.
Near the Met Breuer (79th to 72nd Street).
This area used to be plentifully supplied
with restaurants and bakeries at all price ranges. However, the rents have risen so high in the
last decades that, one by one, they have mostly closed. What is left is one Greek coffee shop, one
moderate to expensive Italian restaurant, one moderate Italian themed café and
several expensive restaurants, confined primarily to the side streets, where
the rent is a little less. What’s left
are:
Sant Ambroeus --
Madison Avenue between 77th and 78th Street.
This is the oldest of the New York offshoots of the classic Milanese
restaurant of the same name. If you are
coming here for lunch or dinner, it's expensive. However, at the front of the restaurant is a
bar area where you can have lighter fare, like panini or focaccia, and pastries
at reasonable prices. Do not miss the
gelato, which is the REAL thing.
Three Guys Coffee Shop
– Madison Avenue between 75th and 76th Street, one-half block from the
Breuer. A large and more elegant version
of the classic New York Greek diner. The
menu is extensive, the prices are a much steeper than usual for this type of
restaurant and the crowds at lunchtime and on weekends are appalling, but it’s
generally worth it.
Via Quadronno –
73rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.
This is a tiny North Italian eatery.
It’s incredibly crowded at lunchtime and expensive for dinner. However, the all-day panini/salad/pastry menu
is reasonable and there are some bargains.
For example, instead of a cup of American coffee for $5, you get a pot,
containing about 3 cups.
Nespresso. If coffee and a tidbit (but not a meal) are what you want,
you might try the newly opened branch of this Swiss chain at Madison Avenue and 74th Street (the southern end of the block
occupied by the Breuer). Coffee is the
main menu item, tidbits are small and there are no tables. There are curved wooden seating areas where
you can perch.
The Loeb Boathouse. If a walk in the park would clear your head, you might try entering
Central Park at either 79th or 76th Street and following
the paths to the main Lake. The Boathouse sits on the north
side of the Lake. There are two distinct
dining possibilities available within it.
The first is the pricier Lakeside
Restaurant, which offers somewhat upscale dining at somewhat upscale
prices and a unique location. The atmosphere of a
beautiful room opening onto the lake leaves a memorable impression and is
definitely an only in New York experience.
The second dining room is the counter service Express Café. Not quite as lovely as the Lakeside room this
does have its own atmosphere, complete with a cozy fire in winter, plus views of the lake. There is
also a small sheltered patio where one can sit outside if it isn’t too
cold. It offers burgers and hot dogs, as
well as sandwiches, salads and soups, all of which are very good. Not surprisingly, it’s hugely popular,
especially on weekends all year long. During the autumn it is open till 5
PM. In winter only till 4:30.
Nearby the Boathouse and slightly closer to Fifth Avenue the
Model Boat Lake (officially the Conservatory Water) sits between the 76th
and 72nd Street entrances.
There, on the terrace of the model boat house, is a branch of Le Pain Quotidien which offers beverages
and a limited menu of edibles, including hot dogs and baguette sandwiches
during the season. Seating is all
outdoor, so once it becomes really cold it will likely shut down till
spring. But, on a pleasant autumnal day,
it offers a nice breather while you sip your coffee or tea.
Near the Frick Museum (72nd Street to 68th Street).
What little exists in the immediate vicinity
is very expensive. So, to find more
reasonably priced food you may need to head to Lexington Avenue, three blocks
away. Clustered around 70th Street and
Lexington are several options, including a French restaurant, an Italian
restaurant, a deli and a pizza joint.
Two good lower priced options are:
Neal’s Coffee Shop
(70th Street and Lexington Avenue, east side of Lexington). This is another Greek diner that hasn’t
changed much since the 1970s, except for the addition of a back room with more
seats. Usually very crowded from
breakfast through lunch.
Diagonally across the street, is Corrado Café (70th Street and Lexington Avenue, west side of
Lexington). Corrado is tiny, with
limited seating inside and some seating outside which is useful in good
weather. Premade sandwiches and salads
are reasonable and usually very good.
Also sells pastries and bread to take home. Well worth the walk from Fifth.
Laduree – (Madison
Avenue between 70th and 71st Street).
This is the New York outpost of the famous Parisian patisserie. It’s not
exactly a restaurant, since it sells only confections and only has two
tables. It usually has a line, waiting
to buy some of the incredible macarons.
I love the rose macarons, which taste just like eating a rose petal,
only better. Not cheap, but a macaron or
two probably won't break your piggy bank.
Near the Museum of Modern Art (53rd Street between Fifth
and Sixth).
This is in midtown. There are lots of opportunities to find
something within a moderate budget.
Going west, Sixth and Seventh Avenues are loaded with all manner of
dining options. Moving east the options,
while still there, are more limited. I
can recommend two restaurants within one block of the Modern on the east side
of Fifth Avenue. They are:
Le Pain Quotidien
(53rd Street between Fifth and Madison).
Another branch of the reliable chain.
Burger Heaven
(53rd Street between Fifth and Madison).
One of a chain of modern coffee shops that offers what is probably the
best hamburger in Manhattan, way better than the greasy offerings of the
various Shake Shacks. (There’s another one on 49th Street between
Fifth and Madison as well.)
Near the Morgan Library (34th to 40th Streets).
The Morgan is also in a midtown area, with a
variety of dining options. My personal
favorites are:
Moonstruck Coffee Shop
– Madison at 38th Street. This is a
large, modern styled Greek diner with typical Greek diner food and spectacular
bathrooms that are worth stopping here for.
Two branches of the popular sandwich and salad chain, Pret a Manger. These are reasonably priced, good but very
busy. There are two within a very short
walk from the Morgan. The nearest is at
Fifth Avenue and 37th Street, the other is at Madison Avenue and 39th
Street. The 39th Street Pret is quite
large and not quite as crowded as it lies on a border between residential and
commercial real estate.
Near the Cloisters (Fort Tryon Park, northern Manhattan)
Alas, the nearest thing to the Met Cloisters is the lovely New Leaf Café within Fort Tryon
Park. However, while the food can be
spectacular it is pricey and almost always requires a reservation, especially
on weekends. The Cloisters does have a
small eating place in the Trie cloister building, but only in warm
weather. During the month of October it
will be open, weather permitting, so in this warm October you may be
lucky. After that you’ll have to wait
till April (also weather permitting).
Near the New York Historical Society (The Upper West Side
between 79th and 72nd Streets)
The Upper West Side is replete with dining
opportunities. One block west of the
Historical Society is Columbus Avenue, which offers many possibilities. As this is not my home neighborhood and I don’t
eat here often I hesitate to make recommendations. However, a few suggestions are:
Coppola’s – West 79th
Street between Amsterdam and Broadway.
Long running Italian restaurant with decent food and a usually packed
house. It has survived four decades of
changes on the Upper West Side and is still going strong.
Shake Shack –
Columbus Avenue at 77th Street.
One of the numerous neighborhood outposts of the original in Madison
Square Park. Offers hamburgers
primarily. I personally do not like
their hamburgers but they do have a large and faithful following.
Pappardelle –
Columbus Avenue at 75th Street.
North Italian with a lovely dining room.
Arte Café – West 73rd
Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues.
Pleasant Italian with a reasonably priced menu.
You will also find several Starbuck’s Coffee shops on Columbus Avenue, something that you will
not find near the East Side museums.
NOTE: Descriptions
shown in quotes come from the description of that exhibition and are copied
from each museum’s website.
© 2017, M. Duffy
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