by NormaK
There is so much to see in New York City
that I would suggest if you can stay for 2 weeks, do so. This would be the ideal
time as it means you don’t have to rush each day and allows you the time to get
out of the City to see a lit bit of the state as well.
I managed to get to the 3 main museums, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (known as the MOMA), and
the Guggenheim Museum. My favourite by far was the Met. I guess it’s New York’s
answer to Paris’ Louvre and London’s National Museum, but you could easily
spend days here of course. Not having the luxury of days, I headed straight for
the 19th & early 20th century European Paintings and
Sculpture section as I am a huge fan of the Impressionists. I must say the
museum has an excellent selection of Edgar Degas, Rembrandt and Van Gogh and sculptures
by Rodin. This is a must visit when in New York. I also loved visiting the Cloisters – way up North near the George Washington Bridge – and associated with the Met.
The MOMA is a private gallery and has a
hefty $20 entry fee and apart from its permanent collection, it also features
many exhibitions. The permanent collection also had some impressionist pieces,
plus at the time I was there had a terrific exhibition of the works of Tim
Burton and Monet’s Waterlillies.
I was a bit disappointed with the permanent
collection at the Guggenheim Museum. It is housed in 2 small rooms and they
rotate the pieces regularly, so you only see a fraction of the pieces they
have. It is mostly known for its temporary exhibitions, and at this time they
were showing Kandinsky which I had already seen in Paris. The building itself
is a masterpiece, no doubt about it. In its circular shape, the Kandinsky
exhibition was on the walls as you made your way up or down the circular middle
of the building.