The Guggenheim – Always a Delight

The Whitney may have moved downtown, but the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and its impressive collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art remains as eye-catching as ever on New York’s Upper East Side. Designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1959, the cylindrical building – widest at the top and narrowest at the bottom – is just as exciting as the art found within. Starting at the top of the building just under the sun-drenched glass skylight, museum visitors traverse down six spiral ramps – each lined with art – and are able to view works on multiple levels simultaneously. While the permanent collection – composed of works from artists like Van Gogh and Matisse – can be found on annexes off to the side of the rotunda, it is the ramp gallery and the often-controversial exhibits found on and along its curved walls that make the Guggenheim such a special and unique part of the fabric of New York’s art world. Of course, recently the Guggenheim has become known for something a little different – namely the fully functioning, 18-karat gold toilet installed in the museum’s fourth floor restroom. Part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s “America” exhibit at the museum, the toilet is meant to “offer a wink to the excesses of the art market but also evoke the American dream of opportunity for all.” Stop by the Guggenheim on Saturday nights from 5:45 to 7:45PM for “Pay What You Wish” hours and check out this highly interactive piece of art, and the impressive spiral, art-lined staircase.