"Unicorn Tapestries" at The Cloisters
It’s the perfect post-holiday treat for yourself: an art-filled weekend escape to Manhattan that gives you plenty of time to take in three distinctive branches of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—and a night on the town to enjoy as you like.
Art historian Ursula Rehn Wolfman leads the visit, an immersive exploration of the museum’s iconic Fifth Avenue location, the medieval splendors of the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park, and the new showcase for modern and contemporary art, the Met Breuer on Madison Avenue.
Guided tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art cover two major exhibitions. The museum marks the centenary of the death of Auguste Rodin by drawing from its historic collection of the artist's work. Nearly 50 marbles, bronzes, plasters, and terracottas are on display, including classic sculptures such as The Thinker and The Tempest that have not been on view in decades. A major retrospective honors David Hockney in his 80th year by highlighting his most iconic works in painting, drawing, photography, and video and key moments of his career from 1960 to the present.
At the Met Breuer, participants are guided through Edvard Munch: Between the Bed and the Clock. Taking its name from one of the artist’s late-career masterworks, the exhibition features approximately 45 of the Munch's landmark compositions created over a span of 6 decades, including 16 self-portraits and works never before seen in the United States.
Rising from a promontory high above the Hudson River on the northern tip of Manhattan, the Cloisters’ architectural elements date from 12th- through 15th-century Europe. The collections comprise incomparable medieval objects such as the renowned illuminated book of hours of Jean, Duke of Berry, the allegorical Unicorn Tapestries, exquisite stained-glass chapel windows, stone sculptures, and liturgical and religious objects.
The tour’s hotel can also be considered a work of art: the historic Roosevelt Hotel, opened in 1924, known as the “Grande Dame of Madison Avenue.” A restoration has brought back its Jazz-Age glamour, and the Roosevelt’s midtown location makes it an ideal base for your Manhattan weekend. Saturday evening is yours to fill, and an early three-course supper at the Brass Rail is included before you set off on Sunday.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit
GENERAL DETAILS
- Cost includes bus transportation, lodging, all activities, and the following meals: Saturday boxed lunch en route and Sunday breakfast and supper
- Overnight accommodations are at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.
- Tour departs by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave. and DeSales St., NW, with a stop at DoubleTree by Hilton Laurel, 15101 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, Maryland at about 9:10 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $105 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Non-Member 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 mailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Registrants may want to consider purchasing trip insurance.
