Taking New York City subway that involves going up and down flights of stairs, long corridors, often crowded conditions. Walking up to 3 miles; city sidewalks and in Central Park; at museums, walking according to personal preference.
In the hotel breakfast area, have what you like from the breakfast buffet with hot and cold choices plus milk, juice, coffee, tea, water. During breakfast, we will register with the MTA for a senior citizen MetroCard (if you are 65 or over). A representative from the MTA will take your picture and a copy of your driver’s license to process your permanent MetroCard application. They will give you a temporary card to use for the week, enabling you to ride for half price. A few weeks after you return home you will receive a permanent card in the mail — your official invitation to come back to New York and ride around for half price. If you have a permanent NYC senior citizen MetroCard, please bring it with you.
An Art Historian will introduce us to our week of art in New York City. After a short break, we'll have an overview of the Frick Collection and its holdings prior to our visit this afternoon.
In the hotel, we'll have boxed lunches with a choice of sandwich, chips, sweet treat, fruit, water.
We’ll ride the subway up the West Side of Manhattan, then (weather permitting) stroll across Central Park to the Frick Collection, one of the world’s most impressive private galleries, housed in the grand Fifth Avenue mansion of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who became one of the wealthiest men in America thanks to his manufacturing and railroad interests. Frick was an enthusiastic patron and collector of the arts. His personal collection was opened to the public in 1935. We will see not only extraordinary works of art — including masterpieces of Western painting, sculpture and decorative arts — but also get a sense of how Mr. Frick viewed and enjoyed his collection in his home. Highlights include works by Bellini, Constable, El Greco, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Holbein, Titian, Turner, and much more. The paintings in many of the 16 galleries are still arranged according to Frick's design, with additional works purchased by the Frick Collection over the years in a manner deemed to correspond with the aesthetic of the collection. The house, furnishings, and works of art are an oasis in this sometimes chaotic city.
In a restaurant near the hotel.
With a local expert, we'll stroll through Greenwich Village and discuss how the NYC art scene was influenced heavily by the famous artists and patrons who called this historic neighborhood home.