The Guggenheim Museum, New York

Article By: Dan Hill

4 years ago

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Culture-Art Gallery Culture-Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is an art gallery in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It has a focus on contemporary, impressionist, post-impressionist and early-modern works of art. It's located on 5th Avenue, near the lower east side of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, in Central Park. The museum has 7 sister museums - 3 in the Americas, 3 in Europe and 1 in the Middle East. From the exterior, the white, swirling 1959 Guggenheim Museum building itself is a piece of art. The architect was the innovative Frank Lloyd Wright - who created over 1,000 buildings over his 70 years of work. The design of the Guggenheim building (considered Wright's masterpiece) is not only eye-catching, but its form is functional: the swirls on the outside translate into 7 floors of continuous walkway on the inside - leading visitors upwards while they admire the art that adorns the walls. On Manhattan, where ground space comes at a premium, this makes a good deal of sense. In regular years, the museum attracts around 1 million visitors per year. The museum is open 7 days a week, from 10 am, and generally closes at 5.30pm, except for 8 pm closing on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. The best time to visit is opening time, if you want to avoid the crowds. I visited on a Sunday morning, and didn't find the museum to be crowded at all at that time. Allow yourself between 1 and 3 hours to visit The Guggenheim Museum - depending on your interest in studying the works of art. As with most galleries, the exhibitions at The Guggenheim consist of permanent and temporary exhibits. There are over 30 Picasso paintings on permanent display, as well as works by Gaugin, Klimt and Degas. On my visit, I particularly enjoyed the works of Jackson Pollack. In order to educate yourself of the art works, the museum provides an audio guide which is available to patrons for free. As well as in English, the guide is available in French, Italian, Spanish and German. The museum has 2 eateries: on the 3rd floor you'll find Café 3 - with a view over Central Park, or you could try The Wright restaurant. Photo Credits: 1. Photo by Tomas Eidsvold on Unsplash 2. Photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash