Enjoying Art In New York City

Are you normally deprived of appreciating great art? While on vacation in New York City, you could combine two of New York's finest thrills by taking the All Loops Tour with MoMA offered by Gray Line New York Sightseeing. It costs $63 per adult and $48 for children ages 3 to 11. You get to ride the double-decker bus to the Museum of Modern Art! The ride and the museum stop lasts 2-3 hours per loop. Online reservations can give you a small $5 break in cost.

New York City offers vacation art fun in just the buildings in the area. A photography buff would get a thrill out of just walking around, snapping pictures of the architecture and daily life of the native New Yorkers.

If you're interested in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it's child-friendly. Strollers are permitted and back carriers are loaned. They also cater to anyone from child to adult with special needs. Sign language, audio guides, guided touch tours, transcripts in large print, the free use of wheelchairs, or help to those with mobility impairments are a plus to this museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a store and dining facilities. It also has a library and study centers, lost and found department, first aid, sketching and copying allowances. You are not allowed to use the camera flash or do video taping.

Admission to the museum is $20 for adults, $15 for those 65 and older, and free to children under age 12. Students gain entry for $10. The staff requires that you check your bags, backpacks, umbrellas, and large packages in at the coat-check area.

There are art galleries all over the fine city of New York. You may be lucky enough to watch some of the talented street performers who draw or paint for tips. There are sure to be some talented artists in the city's busy parks. There's natural art in the many gardens of the area, not to mention the statues which grace the different areas of the city.

Finding art galleries that are open may or may not be a problem, depending on the time of day you decide to view the art. Some galleries are open only by appointment. There are a almost unending list of galleries throughout uptown, downtown, midtown, and in-between.

If you like Black and White Art, there is a gallery just for that on 28th Street. American Painting is on MacArthur Blvd. NW and another is on East 6th Street. The hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 am to 7 pm. Gallery 49 only shows private viewings. Ubu Gallergy is by appointment only. Pace Prints on East 57th Street is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm. The Gitterman Gallery on East 75th Street is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 am to 6 pm.

You can find art in libraries, in the parks as statues, on university lawns, and of course, in department stores. Or maybe you want to pull out the sketch pad and draw some New York City art of your own during your stay!

If you want to take home a part of the New York City life, literally, you can always order the garbage art by Justin Cignac. He calls them sculptures, packs the trash he selects from dumpsters in the city into plastic cubes, and claims they have no smell or leakage. I guess you'd just have to take your chances and have a unique sense of what art is!