Top 5 Catholic Artist-Recommended Museums & Libraries in NYC
Here’s another installment of resources recommended by our Catholic artist interviewees! This week: the top 5 museums and libraries.
1)The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Met is one of the world’s top art museums, and recently featured the headline-making exhibit “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. It includes three locations: The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters. Its 17 curatorial departments include: The American Wing; Ancient Near Eastern Art; Arms & Armor; Arts of Africa, Oceania, & the Americas; Asian Art; The Costume Institute; Drawings & Prints; Egyptian Art; European Paintings; European Sculpture & Decorative Arts; Greek & Roman Art; Islamic Art; The Robert Lehman Collection; Medieval Art & The Cloisters; Modern & Contemporary Art; Musical Instruments; and Photographs. (The Unicorn Room at The Met Cloisters is CAC President Cole Matson’s favorite place in Manhattan.) Admission is pay-as-you-wish for NY residents and NY, NJ, and CT students. The fees for other visitors are $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $12 for students, which includes 3 days’ admission to all three locations. www.metmuseum.org
2) The Frick Collection - Housed in a Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue, The Frick focuses on paintings by the Old Masters and extraordinary works of European sculpture and decorative arts. Artists include Bellini, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Goya, and Whistler. One of the highlights for Catholics is Hans Holbein’s famous portrait of Sir (now St.) Thomas More. The first Friday evening of each month (except September and January) is free from 6-9 PM, and Wednesdays are pay-what-you-wish from 2-6 PM (line closes at 5 PM). Regular admission is $22 for adults, $17 for seniors and visitors with disabilities, and $12 for students. www.frick.org
3) New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center - This is the library for the performing arts in NYC. It includes the Billy Rose Theatre Division, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, the Music Division, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, and the Theatre on Film & Tape Archive, which hold unparalleled collections of personal papers, scrapbooks, photographs, posters, programs, reviews, scripts, books, journals, videos, and music of the American theatre. The Theatre on Film & Tape Archive is a particular highlight. With the permission of cooperation of the stage unions and theatre producers, the Archive records Broadway, Off-Broadway, and major regional productions, as well as conversations with major theatre artists, allowing researchers, theatre professionals, and students to view these performances. Click here to plan your visit and familiarize yourself with access procedures. www.nypl.org/locations/lpa
4) The Museum of Modern Art - The Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, does what it says on the tin - it showcases “the most thought-provoking modern and contemporary art.” Besides visual and conceptual art collection, it also hosts film and performance art series. It has two locations: The MoMA in midtown Manhattan and MoMA PS1 in Queens. MoMA PS1 is free for NYC residents. The Manhattan MoMA has free Friday nights from 4-8 PM. Regular admission to the Manhattan MoMA (which includes entrance to MoMA PS1) is $25 for adults, $18 for seniors, $14 for students, and free for children 16 and under. The suggested donations for admission to MoMA PS1 only (for non-NYC residents) are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for children 16 and under. www.moma.org
5) The Brooklyn Museum - This is the premier art museum for the borough of Brooklyn. Besides rotating exhibits (such as the current one on Frida Kahlo), its highlights include the Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden; collections of Egyptian, European, and American art; the Decorative Arts & Period Rooms; and the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The museum is free on the first Saturday of each month (except September) from 5-11 PM. Regular suggested donations for admission are $16 for adults, $10 for seniors, students, and visitors with disabilities (care partners free of charge), and free for ages 19 and under. www.brooklynmuseum.org
Where do you go to get inspired?
