Art in the Big Apple

Over the October break, 16 Oundle School A-level artists and three art teachers travelled to New York to visit some of the city’s museums, galleries and landmarks. The location of their hotel – right by the Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building within a 10-minute walk of Times Square – meant the group was well-placed to explore the city.

The first morning saw them set off to the Whitney Museum followed by a walk through Central Park to the Guggenheim. Pupil Erica Stadnik (17) commented: “Both museums had wonderful collections, with some very eccentric works by Jeff Koons in the Whitney, which we loved.”

On the second day, the pupils went to the Museum of Modern Art. It is home to several floors of some of the most famous contemporary art in the world, as well as the Matisse paper cut exhibition which had just moved there from London. On the same day they visited the Empire State Building, took the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and visited the new 9/11 memorial.

Erica added, “On the third day we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent a big chunk of time there as the amount of work on show was immense. It is a combination of the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert and the British Museum rolled into one. Even five hours was not enough but we all experienced a degree of ‘museum fatigue’ so we took regular breaks.”

On the day of departure, the group saw the Frick collection which includes famous paintings by Bronzino, Vermeer and Rembrandt. Erica Stadnik commented, “The first thing that struck me about the city was how tiny we felt looking up at all the buildings. Even the smallest of them were taller than an average building in London. The trip not only provided great cultural enrichment but also, for me, the discovery of peanut butter and the challenge of dealing with the subway (which we did not fully master, even by the end of the trip)! Thank you to the staff for sharing all their knowledge.” 

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