Art & Design Trips to New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses more than three million works of art from all over the world across history.

It is almost impossible to see everything in one day: the two million square feet too much for even the most organised visitor. Instead of wandering through all the galleries, visiting one of the themed exhibitions is a good plan.

Visit the MoMA between September 2024 and January 2025 and experience the Life Dances On: Robert Frank exhibition. Explore Robert's artistic journey across mediums including photography, film and books, as well as his dialogues with other artists. An experience sure to spark your students imagination! 

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) contains the finest and most comprehensive collection of 20th Century Art in the world. The contemporary design is a masterpiece of glass spaces and high ceilings creating the perfect setting for its collections of modern art. The MoMA also has revolving series of retrospectives of past masters and shows from leading artists today.

The museum’s collection offers an overview of modern and contemporary art, including works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated and artists books, film and electronic media. At the heart of the Museum is the four story Marron Atrium. The permanent collections feature some of the famous works of Jasper John’s Flag, Van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles dAvignon as well as Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings. The museum offers a great experience for those wishing to submerge into modern art.

The museum contains Solomon R. Guggenheim’s excellent collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. It features works from artists of the 19th and 20th century including: Brancusi, Braque, Calder, Chagall, Robert Delaunay, Giacometti, Kandinsky, Klee, Leger, Miro, Picasso and Van Gogh. The amount of artwork on display is significant and the best way to spend the day effectively is to plan. The building itself is also worth seeing as its spiral form is truly unique and is the only building in New York designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The opulent residence that houses this private collection was designed by Carrere and Hastings, the same architects who worked on the New York Public Library, for industrialist Henry Frick. The mansion has been preserved on Millionaire’s Row and makes for the perfect setting for such an incredible collection of European painting and decorative arts. A true work of art in its own right: the low stone building and courtyard take up almost an entire city block, with its marble fireplaces and decorative columns the mansion is something to marvel at.

Following Mr Frick’s death in the early twentieth century his private art collection was turned into a museum. The permanent collection includes world-class paintings, sculpture and furniture by the likes of Rembrandt, Varmeer, Renoir and French cabinet maker Jean-Henri Riesener, with most of the collection being classic sixteenth to eighteenth century pieces. The free self-guided tours are a great extra that helps navigate through the collection.
 

The Whitney Museum of American Art sets itself apart from other museums with its unique architecture but also with its interior. The museum is one of the world’s leading establishments of 20th century and contemporary art of the United States. The museum focuses on the works of living artists and is celebrated for presenting important exhibitions and for its renowned collection which compromises over 19,000 works by more than 2,900 artists. The museum often hosts controversial exhibitions that serve to measure the historical importance of American Art and mirror the present culture. The Whitney Biennial, the museum’s signature exhibition, has always provoked intense debate and become an important survey of the state of contemporary art in the United States.

The Brooklyn Museum of Art is one of America’s premier art institutions, with an active program of exhibitions. The museum’s beautiful neo classical structure was designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1893. The museum is situated in a 560,000 square foot Beau Art building in central Brooklyn. The museum boasts a collection of 1.5 million artworks including several world-class collections. The Brooklyn Museum has one of the best collections of Egyptian Art in the world: their permanent collection includes Classical and Ancient Middle Eastern Art, Arts of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas.

The museum has a history of breaking convention. In 1923 it became the first such institution to have African objects displayed as art rather than artefacts. This collection has since grown becoming amongst the most important in the country. The museum’s collections range across all continents with America to the Islamic world being featured through a collection of ceramics, sculptures and paintings. The museum also has a fantastic collection of prints, drawings and photographs including large groups of work by Sargent, Homer and Eakins. The museum also holds a large collection of German Expressionist images such as Dürer, Rembrandt and Toulouse-Lautrec. One of the most important icons of the 1970s feminist art is also featured at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The Dinner Party by Elizabeth A. Sackler is a massive ceremonial banquet with a total of 39 place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. The Brooklyn Museum offers a great experience of cultural art and modern exhibitions for students to engross themselves in.

The Smithsonian’s National Design Museum is well worth a visit for both its content and its architecture. The museum is housed in Andrew Carnegie’s old mansion; this beautiful building has the image of a university campus, with a cast iron fence enclosing the courtyard with grass and trees. The museum’s exhibits in large part focus on work that gives everyday items like furniture, computers and toothbrushes a more unique appearance, adding form to the function. They also have exhibits that cover architecture and graphic design.

The renovation of the museum provides the opportunity to redefine the museum’s experience and inspire visitors to take the opportunity to bring out his or her inner designer before, during and after their visit. The museum’s collections and exhibitions are using ground-breaking technologies that inspire learning and experimentation. This new experience is specifically designed to engage all audiences - students, teachers, families, designers and the general public. Andrew Carnegie used the third floor of his Fifth Avenue mansion as a gymnasium where he practiced his golf putting. The current owner, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, have put in a small mini golf green there. This is a playful gesture to honour a piece of the building’s history and add to the image that the museum can be fun for everyone, not just specialists.

The International Center of Photography (ICP) was founded in 1974 and is both a museum and one of the largest schools of photography in the world. The museum plays host to a range of exhibitions, collections and publications as well as offering complimentary activities such as workshops, seminars, symposia and certificate and degree programs, making ICP dynamic and unique among photographic institutions.

The ICP is ideal for students as its mission is to present photography’s vital and central place in contemporary culture, and to lead in interpretation of issues central to its development. This makes it ideal for any budding photographers who want to be immersed into the photography world. The International Center of Photography Museum Store also offers a wide range of best-selling and hard to find photography books from around the world.

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) explores the blurred zone between art, design and craft today. The museum focuses more on the contemporary creativity, and the developmental ways in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through a range of different processes; from artisanal to the digital.

The museum’s permanent collection has a global scope focusing on art, craft and design from 1950 to present day. The exhibition program on display at the museum is focused on exploring and illuminating issues and ideas, whilst highlighting the creativity and craftsmanship of the limitless possibilities of materials and techniques, that have the potential to be explored by imaginative and innovative artists. The museum is great for students as the mission is one of education. The new museum facilities include classrooms and studios for masterclasses, seminars and workshops for students, families and adults. The open artist studios engage visitors and enhance the exhibitions through experiencing the creative process.

The museum also has a 144-seat auditorium where lectures, films and performances are held on a range of topics affecting the world of contemporary art, craft and design. The museum is a fantastic eye-opening trip for students to explore all the dimensions of art.

This tour will feature viewing the major monuments of 20th-century American architecture and exploring the history of the communities in the Midtown areas. We will also view the interiors of some of these monuments. Highlights include: the hidden residential enclave Tudor City, the United Nations Building, the Ford Foundation Building, the Chanin Building, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, Carrère and Hastings’ New York Public Library and the Daily News Building.

Come along with us through one of NYC’s oldest neighbourhoods and let us bring the art alive. The Lower East Side is well known for its diverse ethnic neighbourhoods and astonishing street art. Historically, the Lower East Side is known for hosting immigrants coming off Ellis Island, and in the second half of the 20th century, the area became flooded with artists. The growing counter-culture population in the Lower East Side drew more and more artists. Soon the area quickly exploded with creative expressive graffiti art that illustrated the social and cultural movements that would influence American society in the 21st century.