New York City museums and galleries off the beaten track
Five must-see hidden gem art spaces in New York
View of the Met Cloisters, photograph by Aliya de Tiesenhausen
Wondering where can you go in the Big Apple to see great art and historical artefacts but without the crowds? Here are some of the top lesser-known spaces that offer both amazing exhibits and space to breathe. Some of these are right bang in the centre of town, others would require a little journey, but whether you see just one or all five, you will undoubtedly discover something interesting to talk about back home.
One of the Unicorn Tapestries at the Cloisters, photograph by Aliya de Tiesenhausen
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters
Did you know the Met has two locations? The famous grand building on Fifth Avenue plus the Cloisters, a peculiar abbey-like construction nestled in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan. Both are included in a day ticket for the Met so, after breathing in its register of incredible human achievements from the Egyptians to the Impressionists (you can never have too much Met IMHO), it’s well worth taking a half-hour subway or yellow taxi journey to the Cloisters for a more immersive experience.
The Cloisters is a 1930s building with gardens designed to evoke monastic life in Medieval Europe – an incredible mish-mash that shouldn’t quite work, but does. And as so few tourists make their way from Fifth Avenue, it does feel hermetic compared to the rush of the Upper East Side.
The collection is undeniably impressive. Works range from France to the Netherlands, from altarpieces to poisonous plants. You can enjoy a quiet moment walking around the cloisters, comparing the many variations on the shapes of the original columns. You can marvel at the skill that was needed to create the Unicorn Tapestries and commiserate with the poor hunted beast. Stepping into the past in both time and space, this is a magical place indeed.
Klimt Room at the Neue Galerie. Image courtesy Neue Galerie New York.
This is an exceptional collection of Austrian and German art, 1890-1940. Think of Gustav Klimt’s “Woman in Gold” – the glittering Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Once seized by the Nazis, it was returned to the Bloch-Bauer heirs in a landmark restitution case (which also inspired a film starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds). The work was then acquired by Ronald S. Lauder for the Neue Galerie and is now their star exhibit on permanent display in its impressive Klimt Gallery room.
Other masterpieces in the gallery are by the likes of Egon Schiele and Oscar Kokoschka – prominent Austrian Expressionists. Their works are in dramatic contrast to Klimt’s. I discovered here that Schiele – known for making people seem tortured in his portraits – painted very meticulous and meditative landscapes. Kokoschka’s portraits seem able to look inside the sitters’ minds. They offer a glimpse into the artists’ own lives, and in doing so into the dramatic history of the early twentieth century Europe.
At 1048 Fifth Avenue, these Expressionist paintings are joined by neatly-designed clocks and teapots, some of Bauhaus provenance. And all housed within an architectural landmark, built in 1914 and restored to its original state around 20 years ago, when the museum first opened its doors.
The Morgan Library, photo by Aliya de Tiesenhausen
A grand 1906 building inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and extended by Renzo Piano in 2006, this Library is more than the books on its shelves – although they are a marvel themselves and include the Gutenberg Bible and Dickens’ Christmas Carol.
The Morgan Library started as a private collection and became a public institution 100 years ago through what has been called ‘one of the most momentous cultural gifts in U.S. history.’ Currently on display are cylinder seals – some of the earliest known objects to use pictorial communication – which produce an image when rolled on a clay surface. They’re very small but nevertheless highly detailed and some are around 5-6000 years old.
The current temporary exhibition brings us to a time a little closer in history – and to the achievements of a librarian. Belle da Costa Greene ran the library for 43 years, from 1905-1948, becoming its first director. She was instrumental in building the collection and turning it into a public institution. As a woman of African-American origin in a deeply segregated country, she became one of the best-paid people in the United States. Her inspiring personal and professional stories are of breathtaking success despite prejudice. The exhibition brings together contemporary photographs and art works from her personal collection, some of the most significant manuscripts she acquired for the library, and additional film footage to demonstrate the racial and social constraints of the period.
Cotton patchwork gown, 2024, by Abrima Erwiah and Rosario Dawson for Studio 189 at the Museum at FIT. Photograph by Aliya de Tiesenhausen
Fashion Institute of Technology
Entrance to The Museum at FIT is, refreshingly, free but that in no way reflects the quality of its shows. A programme of changing exhibitions explores cultural heritages, connections and identities through the language of 20th and 21st century fashion.
The current show, Africa’s Fashion Diaspora, raises questions ranging from: what materials are chosen and why, to how fashion is used to transmit messages and by whom. A patchwork dress by Abrima Erwiah and Rosario Dawson of Studio 189 encapsulates this perfectly: it is both about division and diversity, and about connectedness – between the people of different skills and between the past and the present. Studio 189 brings together artisans – weavers, dyers, beaders, tailors etc. – from across Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Whether you want to read the detailed captions, or just look at the beautiful clothes is up to you, but it is an enriching visit in either case.
Dia Beacon with a work by Richard Serra, photograph by Aliya de Tiesenhausen
From Louise Bourgeois to Richard Serra – this is a place of large-scale sculptures and installations that you can walk around or into. The building is a former factory turned into a maze of halls that make sure you know it used to be an industrial space; the vibe is Tate Modern, but cosier.
Dia Beacon is one of several Dia Art Foundation sites and entices visitors to make the one-hour train journey from Grand Central to Beacon, north along the scenic Hudson River. The collection is dedicated to art of the 1960s and 1970s, but as I walked in, a performance was happening – bringing the timeframe right up to now.
The works here make use of all your senses: there are transparent walls to look through, massive blocks of wax exuding that familiar candle scent… You can’t touch most of it, but you sure will want to. From carefully arranged twigs to broken glass, from white canvases to rusty voids, it grabs your attention, while pretending that it isn’t there for that reason.
A wander here is one of the calmest art experiences you’ll ever have. If you want to know more, the detailed caption cards are carefully hidden in boxes in the corner of each room – look for them if you want to find out what that pair of translucent blue curtains means.