A Gutenberg Bible at the Morgan Library & Museum
Discover three of New York City's most renowned cultural treasures, including the Frick Collection. The museum, reopened in 2025 after four years of restoration, has returned to its historic home in the Upper East Side mansion of industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
Led by art historian Judy Pomeranz, spend an immersive afternoon at the Morgan Library & Museum, whose architectural history is as rich as its collections of over 350,000 illuminated manuscripts, rare books, literary and historical manuscripts, music manuscripts, and drawings, spanning from antiquity to the present day. Designed in 1904 by architect Charles Follen McKim for banking magnate Pierpont Morgan, the opulent private library has a collection that includes original manuscripts by Charles Dickens and Leonardo da Vinci. A guided tour of the museum offers a curated exploration of its treasures, followed by time to explore on your own.
On Monday morning, visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for a guided look at the Thannhauser Collection, built by collector and art dealer Justin K. Thannhauser (1892–1976). Thannhauser’s gifts brought the Guggenheim works by artists such as Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. The collection provides an important survey of late 19th- and early 20th-century Modernism. During this critical period—as artists sought to liberate art from academic genres and introduce contemporary subject matter—the avant-garde investigated novel materials and methods, setting the stage for the development of radical new styles.
Explore the Frick Collection’s remarkable range of artwork, spanning from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Wander through masterpieces by Old Masters such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Goya and experience the grandeur of the museum’s collection of decorative arts and period rooms. These beautifully preserved spaces offer a glimpse into the lavish lives of New York’s Gilded Age elite. The heart of the Frick, the serene Garden Court, provides a peaceful retreat year-round. Designed by John Russell Pope, the space influenced his later work on the National Gallery of Art.
Tour participants stay at The Iroquois New York, a boutique luxury hotel in the heart of Manhattan. An early three-course supper is included before you set off on Monday.
*Note a museum visit to the Neue Galerie New York is no longer part of this tour.
Know Before You Go
- Cost includes bus transportation, lodging, all activities, and the following meals: Sunday boxed lunch en route and Monday breakfast and supper.
- Overnight accommodations are at the The Iroquois New York.
- Tour departs by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave. and DeSales St. NW, with a pickup at the DoubleTree Hilton, 15101 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, Maryland, at about 8:40 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $110 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Nonmember pricing).
- Singles registering at the double-room rate are paired (on a nonsmoking basis) if possible, but must pay the single-room supplement otherwise.
- Detailed information is emailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Participants are strongly advised to purchase travel insurance for overnight and multi-day tours from a provider of your choice. Travel insurance provides additional coverage against unforeseen incidents that require last-minute cancellations.
General Information
- The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC with a designated secondary pick-up outside the city. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination, after the secondary pick-up, is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
- As we aim to move away from single use water bottles, guests are strongly encouraged to get in the habit of bringing their own reusable water bottle on tour.
- For additional tour information:
