Artful Adventures: The Library Points the Way!

New York City is famed for many things food, shopping, culture, art and museums!

Many of the museums can be found on the “Museum Mile” (which actually is a bit over 1 mile) that runs from 82nd to 105th along Fifth Avenue. Anchored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the southernmost point  at 82nd street there is a total of seven museums located in the 23 block span.

It is a lot of ground to cover in one trip, but there is an easier way to find where your favorite artists and their works can be found. Enter The Art Lovers Guide to New York. Read about what can be found in each musuem, search for your favorite artist, or favorite time period. This unassuming, yet extremely informative, volume will help you make the best use of your time. A series of maps included in the “Reference Section” will make things even easier. A great little book that offers an impressive introduction to the museums of New York City and their holdings.

Take a closer look at two of these Museum Mile institutions.

The Metropolitan Museum is one of the largest museums in the world and its collections span several millennia. For the first time in nearly 30 years the museum has a new guidebook: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide.

The new guide is a larger volume which allows the text to be more easily read, and the illustrations are larger. The illustrations are amazingly crisp, clear, and detailed. Reacquaint yourself with the treasures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

The Guggenheim (between 88th and 89th Street) is both museum and architectural marvel rolled into one incredible building. It was one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s final constructions, and a must visit museum! The interior space with its ascending or descending (depends on where you start) spirals can almost be a distraction from the art on display, but the Guggenheim has an excellent collection of modern art. Their guide is Guggenheim Museum Collection A to Z. This compact volume focuses on 150 artists whose works are included in the museum collections were created over the span of a century. While small in size, the image quality is quite good and much of the explanatory text is written by art historians and Guggenheim curators. It provides a nice introduction to the collections as well as to modern art.

Keeping things modern (its so modern it’s not even on the Museum Mile) the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is a museum with which to be reckoned. In an interesting twist one of their guides is solely devoted to the output of women artists, Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art. The initial chapters focus on MoMA and its collecting and display of works by women artists. Subsequent chapters trace the output of women artists chronologically. This book is no lightweight, both in size as well as content. An interesting and complex volume it clearly illustrates the importance of women’s participation in the arts.

Want to go museuming outside of New York City and closer to home? Check out our Long Island Museum binder. In it you will find information about eleven different museums located on Long Island (both in Nassau and Suffolk Counties). From the Parrish in Southampton to the Nassau County Museum of Art this binder has information on them all! Each museums’ directions, admission, holdings, and special exhibits are included. To see it ask for it at the Reference Desk today!  The Librarian will be happy to get it for you. While the binder is a does not circulate, the librarian can arrange for copies of any material that may interest you.

We are so fortunate to live so close to some wonderful art and your Library can help bring you even closer!