Metropolitan Museum of Art (top), Whitney Museum of American Art (bottom left), Museum of Modern Art (bottom right)
Explore the evolution of modern and contemporary art on a weekend in New York City led by modern art historian Nancy Hirshbein. From groundbreaking American artists to the international masters who transformed the visual language of the 20th century, discover how modern art challenged tradition and reimagined the way we see the world.
Begin at the Whitney Museum of American Art, home to one of the world's foremost collections of 20th- and 21st-century American art. Housed in Renzo Piano's striking building overlooking the High Line, the Whitney traces the development of American Modernism through works by Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and many others. The visit also includes a guided tour of the special exhibition featuring the work of Roy Lichtenstein.
Monday morning is all about the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a guided look at the landmark exhibition “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous.” The first major New York exhibition devoted to Lee Krasner or Jackson Pollock in more than two decades, it brings together more than 120 works to examine the artists' intertwined lives and careers while celebrating their distinct creative achievements. By placing their paintings in dialogue, the exhibition offers a fresh perspective on the emergence of Abstract Expressionism and the enduring influence of two of the movement's most important figures.
Conclude the day at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). A guided highlights tour explores the museum's collection spanning painting, sculpture, photography, design, film, architecture, and new media, tracing the revolutionary artistic movements that reshaped the 20th century. Encounter masterpieces by pioneering artists including Picasso, Matisse, Dalí, Monet, van Gogh, Warhol, Pollock, Kahlo, and O'Keeffe while examining how their innovations challenged convention and redefined artistic expression.
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.
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 at 8 a.m. 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 $100 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Nonmember pricing).
- 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:
