art tour usa

How Our Tours Work

All of our tours are private, not public. So the tour is arranged just for you and yours.

• We recommend using our online booking tool for up-to-date availability.
• Select your tour experience and set your preferred date and time.
• Our booking system will help you select the right guide from our team of art historians based on the guides' availability.
• Tell us a bit about your interests and private group. We'll customize your tour from there.
• Your confirmation will show where the guide will meet you at the museum.
• Private tours for 1 - 4 people in your group booked online* are $225 per hour (a $5 discount over tours booked via email or phone).
• All tours have a two-hour minimum.
• Additional people and/or additional time have an additional fee.
• Museum admission needs to be added for each person. This will be added during your booking.
• We'll get your tickets ahead of time for you. So you can skip the lines!

Prefer a personalized booking experience?

* For those who need a bit more service via email and phone, our pricing is $225 per hour for 1 – 4 people. Larger groups are $50 per adult, $25 per child.

Real Art Historians, not scripted actors

ART SMART's art guides are primarily graduate-level professional art historians from top universities who have their fingers on the pulse of the art world.

Instagram STREAM

Engaging Art Experiences Centered on You

ART SMART is a New York City-based provider of art museum and gallery tours for private groups and art advisory.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one of the largest and most impressive art museums in the world.

Feast Your Eyes Tour & Tastings

Feast Your Eyes™ Tour & Tastings is a new collaboration combining an Art Smart food- and drink- inspired Met museum tour with tastings at either the Aldo Sohm Wine Bar or Amali Restaurant.

Why ART SMART?

Due to our custom approach and our reputation for service, leading press consistently recommend ART SMART as the preferred source for a personalized experience with the world of art.

The Right Team

Our carefully selected art guides are professional art historians, not scripted actors or docents.

We Go Beyond the Highlights

Your ART SMART tour will be built around your interests, curiosity, and passions

Flexible Scheduling

You choose the time—whether it's a two-hour tour or a multi-day excursion.

Our Services in NYC

Our engaging personal art experiences focus on you., nyc museum tours.

We will design an exclusive tour just for you and your companions with a specific focus in mind.

NYC Gallery Tours

We know that finding your way to the best can be daunting. We'll eliminate the guesswork for you.

Corporate Events and Tours

Professionally-led engaging art tours designed with the corporate audience in mind.

Foreign Language Tours

Through the Met Museum and Chelsea galleries: Private and Guided.

Family Tours

Family time is precious, and we created ART SMART Adventures to make the most of it.

Art Advisory

We offer expert art buying guidance and consultation for those considering an art purchase.

Recommended by

What our visitors say about our tours..

To grab the Met is a challenge. With Smart Arts support it was a perfect visit… Deep in knowledge and entertaining in communicating it.

“My husband and I… and friends of ours visiting from the UK, had a wonderful 2 hour tour of Chelsea with guide, Mitra.”

In the Press

We are being noticed by the press view all press releases.

"The utterly privatized art experience... uniquely qualified to provide art lowers with tailor-made tours"

"At their best, these programs create little art lowers while educating and stimulating the grown-up participants."

"...helps clients navigate museums and galleries where ART SMART connects visitors to the restorative powers of art."

"Finding Magic at the Met"

Plan Your Visit

• Read our visitor guidelines
• Admissions policy (10 languages)

Gallery Closures

The Ancient Near Eastern and Cypriot Art  galleries and The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing  are closed for renovation.

See a list of currently closed galleries .

Suggested Admission

New York State residents and New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut students: the amount you pay for admission is up to you, but you must pay something ($00.01 minimum per ticket).

To buy pay-what-you-wish tickets online, you must have a New York State billing address. New Jersey and Connecticut students can only buy pay-what-you-wish tickets in person with valid student ID. Accepted forms of residency verification include New York State driver’s license, New York State identification card, IDNYC, current bill or statement with a New York State address, student ID, and New York library card.

General Admission

Buy tickets   Become a member

Complimentary admission eligibility and passes

Locations and Hours

The Met Fifth Avenue

The Met Cloisters

Review our visitor guidelines to get the most out of your Met experience.

Plan your route to the Museum.

Use The Met's interactive map to get around the Museum.

We welcome all visitors and affirm our commitment to offering programs and services that are accessible to everyone.

Where to eat and drink when you visit.

Enjoy free admission, complimentary guest tickets, invitations to exclusive viewing hours, discounts, and more.

Now On View

The Roof Garden Commission: Petrit Halilaj, Abetare

Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co.

Lineages: Korean Art at The Met

The African Origin of Civilization

Cycladic Art

Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800

Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room

Don't Forget to Call Your Mother

Human/Nature: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: Selections from the Collection

Mary Sully: Native Modern

Ink and Ivory: Indian Drawings and Photographs Selected with James Ivory

The Three Perfections: Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting from the Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection

Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection

The Calculated Curve: Eighteenth-Century American Furniture

P. S. Art 2024: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids

Inspiring Design: The Book Collection of Tiffany & Co.'s Edward C. Moore

Baseball Cards from the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick

A Decade on Paper: Recent Acquisitions, 2014–2024

Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan

Jazz-Age Silks: The Stehli Silks Americana Collection, 1925–1928

Ganesha: Lord of New Beginnings

A Passion for Jade: The Bishop Collection

Embracing Color: Enamel in Chinese Decorative Arts, 1300–1900

Afterlives: Contemporary Art in the Byzantine Crypt

The Jousting Armor of Philip I of Castile

Layered Narratives: The Northern Renaissance Gallery

Renaissance Masterpieces of Judaica: The Mishneh Torah and The Rothschild Mahzor

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon

More ways to explore.

Audio Guide

Stream Audio Guide content for thousands of artworks in the galleries and for select current exhibitions.

The Met Fifth Avenue Digital Guide

Enhance your visit using our new digital guide, available for free on the Bloomberg Connects app.

An Hour at The Met

Explore some of The Met’s collection highlights in this one hour tour.

• North America
• The 12 Best Us Cities...

The 12 Best Cities In The United States Of America To See Art

The United States of America has a dazzling array of art destinations, whether you have a passion for antiquities, Native American art, or puzzling modern installations, your ideal city is waiting. Many are housed in architecturally inspirational buildings, frequently worthwhile destinations in themselves. To plan ahead for your next dose of culture, check out our guide to the best art destinations in the US.

San Francisco

San Francisco’s wide and varied art scene has something for everyone. Key institutions include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . Explore the controversial building designed by Herzog & de Meuron, housing the de Young Museum , which displays artifacts from the Americas, Oceania and Africa. On a clear day, head straight for the glass tower and enjoy the view over the city and its surroundings. For more modern fare, head to the warehouses in lower Potrero Hill, where well-established galleries like the George Lawson Gallery , Jack Fischer and Hosfelt Gallery have all made their home. Look up as you wander the streets to enjoy the city’s famous street art, with bright, inspiring murals located everyone, especially in the Mission .

Washington DC

Art is not the first thing which springs to mind when people think of Washington. Yet, this city has some of the US’ most important (and usually free) museums, making it a must-see for any art lover. The heavyweights include the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Museums, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Phillips Collection. Don’t miss the Smithsonian’s stunning Sculpture Garden, containing dozens of outdoor works by Calder, Miró and Lichtenstein, among others. The National Museum of the American Indian is a worthwhile stop with beautiful craft work on display and its Native American foods café. To understand the contribution made by women to the arts, head to the unique National Museum of Women in the Arts .

Santa Fe , the state capital of New Mexico with its blue skies and fine light, has long been a magnet for artists. It is best known as the home of Georgia O’Keefe, who moved there from New York. The town’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum has the largest collection of her colorful work. It’s also worth making the journey to her former home in an 18th century adobe structure with inspiring views across the surrounding sierras and desert. For those with an interest in Native American art, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the Wheelwright Museum are home to impressive collections. Look out for the American Indians selling handcrafted turquoise jewelry outside the Palace of the Governors. Canyon Road and the Railyard District both have thriving gallery scenes as well.

The windy city is a great destination for art lovers. Its Art Institute of Chicago has one of the largest impressionist collections, as well key pieces by modern artists like Pollock, Warhol and Dalí. Look out for the new wing designed by Renzo Piano . To get in touch with your creative self, head to the newly re-opened Evanston Art Center , which offers short art and craft lessons and workshops. For a stroll with a difference, the Millennium Park has an impressive array of monumental sculptures, including Jaume Plensa’s video towers fountain and the iconic bean, officially known as ‘Cloud Gate,’ by Anish Kapoor. It’s also home to Frank Gehry’s performance stage with its frequent concerts, and the Boeing Galleries, outdoor spaces with regularly rotating exhibitions.

Marfa , a small desert town, makes an unlikely art destination, but the whim of artist Donald Judd has created just that. He drove a truck filled with his own art here in the early 70s and today it has turned into the proverbial desert oasis for Judd’s work . See all 100 of Judd’s iconic milled aluminium boxes neatly stacked in sheds as well as take a tour around his home and studio. Judd also founded The Chinati Foundation that exhibits large-scale installations by artists – many being Judd’s friends and collaborators – including Carl Andre, Dan Flavin and John Chamberlain. In a former dancehall, the non-profit art space, Ballroom Marfa showcase a diverse program working with international artist. Make sure you don’t miss their collaboration with the Art Fund, Prada Marfa , a permanent installation by Scandinavian duo Elmgreen & Dragset, which is a model Prada store with actual Prada shoes and bags out in the middle of the desert.

The main art draw in Houston is its sprawling Houston Art and Museum District , a collection of almost 20 museums and cultural organizations. Options include the Houston Center for Photography, the Houston Contemporary Arts Museum and the Menil Collection , which houses the works collected by John and Dominique de Menil and constitutes one of the largest private collections amassed during the 20th century (including impressive surrealist works). The de Menils made another sizable contribution to the Houston art scene, founding the Rothko Chapel . The chapel is a multi-faith space for reflection with 14 Rothko paintings inside. See the inspiring Broken Obelisk sculpture outside commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.

Become a Culture Tripper!

Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $1,200 on our unique trips..

See privacy policy .

LA has a rich offering for culture vultures. Start with the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, located in the historic area of Little Tokyo, which was transformed by Frank Gehry . The Walt Disney Concert Hall is another Frank Gehry masterpiece, and has a diverse program of concerts and recitals. Another downtown resident on Grand Avenue is The Broad. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, it houses a permanent display from founders Eli and Edythe Broad’s collection alongside a rotating program of temporary exhibitions. The mammoth Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) takes up an entire corner of Wilshire Boulevard and boasts the title of largest museum in western United States with its extraordinary collection of130,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present. Must-sees include Michael Heizer’s phenomenal Levitated Mass and Chris Burden ‘s lamppost installation Urban Light (pictured above) . Then there is the Getty legacy. Firstly, the Getty Villa , modeled after a first-century Roman country house, houses a collection of 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. Secondly, the Getty Center, on a hilltop with its splendid gardens and views, has an impressive collection of photography, paintings and sculptures from the 19th century onwards.

Seattle is more known for its outdoor pursuits, but in recent years the city has built a reputation for experimental art. The Olympic Sculpture Park ’s nine acres have 15 permanent sculptures and rotating exhibitions, with stunning views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Featured artists include Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Claes Oldenburg, Beverly Pepper, and Richard Serra. Don’t miss the Chihuly Garden and Glass to see one of the largest collections of works by Chihuly incorporated into a whimsical garden. The East Edge-Pioneer Square area has abundant galleries as well. Finally, Gallery4Culture features local artists, while the Design Commission Gallery displays prominent design artists from around the world.

New Orleans

The culture options at New Orleans are as diverse as the city’s heritage and history. Explore the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Historic New Orleans Collection to gain a better understanding of local history. But also, check out the WWII Museum , considered to be the US’ most important museum devoted to the war. For a more lighthearted afternoon, you can visit the Southern Food & Beverage Museum , which celebrates Southern food and drink with plenty of delicious events. And if you’ve never had the chance to party at the Mardi Gras, visit Mardi Gras World for a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the floats.

Atlanta is the place for performing arts, whether it is dance, theater or comedy, alongside the resident opera , music, ballet and theater companies. But visual arts also have a home in the city. Continue the Renzo Piano theme by visiting the splendid High Museum of Art he designed together with Richard Meier, and whose collection spans everything from medieval Italian painters to local artists. For something more edgy, head to the Krog Street Tunnel for some serious street art.

Asheville has a long history as an art hub, thanks to George Vanderbilt who employed many artists to decorate his estate . With the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains, it wasn’t difficult to attract artists to the area. Today, Asheville has a large cluster of galleries and studios. The Folk Art Center has fine displays of traditional Appalachian crafts including pottery, wood carvings and baskets. Check out the River Arts District with its 165 artist studios in turn-of-the-century industrial buildings. Don’t miss the Downtown Art District, which is home to diverse galleries featuring glass, photography, and metalwork.

No list would be complete without New York , the premier art city in the country. The big three are the Metropolitan Museum of Art , one of the largest and most impressive collections in the world with the full gamut ranging from antiquities to Picasso; MoMa and the Guggenheim , whose impressive Frank Gehry building is a draw in itself. Away from the institutions, Brooklyn has a cutting-edge scene. Head to gallery collectives BogArt , the Stable Building or Pioneer Works , all converted industrial buildings. The local street art is in constant flux. Explore Troutman Street, Moore Street and India Street Pier for the highest concentration.

The Midwest's 15 Most Interesting Landmarks

The 6 Best Places to See Jean-Michel Basquiat's Art

The 9 Most Beautiful Beaches on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

'Banned in the USA' Foods From Around the World Banned in America

10 Best Museums in Unexpected Locations in the USA

The 18 Most Beautiful Small Towns in the United States

The 10 Best Beaches In America

The Grand Canyon: 5 Essential Things to Do

The 8 Best Beaches Near San Francisco, CA

The 7 Most Beautiful Beaches In Maine

The 10 Most Beautiful Coastal Towns In The USA

Underground Cities: 14 Fascinating Worlds Below the Surface

Culture Trip Summer Sale

Save up to $1,200 on our unique small-group trips! Limited spots.

• Post ID: 548412
• Sponsored? No
• View Payload

Visit Us Virtually

• Explore the Collection
• Read and Reflect
• Watch and Listen

Wherever you are, whatever the time, our online resources are always here to connect you to our collection of art from around the world—whether you’re seeking inspiration, community, or a little adventure.

Spend time with old favorites and find new surprises in the collection through a variety of search options, themed highlights tours, or interactive features.

From personal reflections to scholarly discoveries, our various written offerings will keep you learning, thinking, and growing.

Enjoy virtual visits to the galleries, go behind the scenes, and engage with art from anywhere with our virtual events, videos, and themed audio tours.

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

• News and Exhibitions Career Opportunities Families
• Public Programs K-12 Educator Resources Teen Opportunities Research, Publishing, and Conservation

Gallery actions

Image actions, suggested terms.

• Free Admission
• O'Keeffe
• My Museum Tour
• What to See in an Hour

TTC family of brands

My Trafalgar

Destinations

Get Inspired

866 513 1995

United States

See all USA Tours

See More United States Trips

5 million happy guests and counting

Capital City

Washington D.C.

Good morning

GMT-5 to GMT-10

Good evening

"With 50 states to choose from, your US holiday can be anything you want it to be. I love showing our guests all sides of the country, from the beautiful national parks to the buzzing city streets".

Travel Director

Explore the neighborhoods of New York

You’ll feel like you’re hopping between countries as you roam the streets of New York. Wander Central Park in Manhattan, experience the city’s cultural diversity in Chinatown and Little Italy, see some of the oldest architecture in the Historic District, and ‘Dive into Culture’ with a visit to Brooklyn’s vibrant hip hop scene.

Take in the beauty of the Grand Canyon

We’ll reveal the majesty of the Grand Canyon in ways you could never imagine, with our Local Specialists sharing a different story at every viewpoint. As you pause to soak up the sunset over one of the world’s seven natural wonders, watch how the light dances over the cascading cliffs - it’s a truly mesmerising experience.

Embark on a boat ride to the base of Niagara Falls

You have to see it to believe it, and we’ll take you up close to the mighty Niagara Falls, the biggest waterfall in North America. We’ll take you on a cruise to Horseshoe Falls where you can see both the American and Canadian sides, and watch over 680,000 gallons flow over the falls every second.

Visit Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco

Set on the scenic waterfront, Fisherman’s Wharf is filled with treasures. Stroll along Pier 39, sample fresh seafood like the famous Dungeness crab and clam chowder, watch the resident sea lion colony lounging on the docks, visit the quirky museums, or take a ride on the San Francisco Carousel.

Take a helicopter ride over Las Vegas

See Vegas in style with a dazzling helicopter ride at night. You’ll get a bird's eye view of the city illuminated in lights, with your pilot pointing out the iconic casinos and resorts along the Las Vegas Strip. You’ll also get an incredible view of the 1,1490-foot Stratosphere Tower and the Luxor space beam.

Our top 5 things to do in the United States

Our USA tour packages will show you all the iconic highlights plus the unexpected gems, from the streets of New York to the vast depths of the Grand Canyon.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Known as ‘the Met’, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the world’s third most-visited art museum and the biggest art museum in the United States. Founded in 1870, the Met houses over two million works, from antique weapons and ancient Egyptian art, to European sculptural masterpieces and contemporary American art.

Art Institute of Chicago

Founded in 1879 in Chicago’s Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest and oldest art museums in the United States. With a permanent collection of around 300,000 works, from Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist to Grant Wood’s American Gothic, you can spend hours wandering the collections.

American Museum of Natural History

Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park across from Central Park in New York, the American Museum of Natural History is a massive display, with 45 exhibition halls, a planetarium and a library. The museum has over 33 million specimens, ranging from plants, animals, fossils and meteorites to human remains and cultural artefacts.

Best museums in the United States

When you tour the states with Trafalgar, we’ll show you the best museums and galleries across the country, from the famous ‘Met’ to the art of Chicago.

New York Bagels

Boiled then baked and fluffy yet dense, with a glossy, crunchy crust, the New York bagel has been perfected to an art. Our Local Specialists will take you to a 100-year old Jewish deli in the Upper West Side, where you can sample the best of these New York delicacies.

The American lobster is a species found on the Atlantic coast, with the state of Maine being the largest suppliers. The lobster is steamed or boiled and commonly served whole, and you’ll be given a lobster bib and a set of nutcrackers for your glorious lobster eating experience.

Beef Burger

A juicy beef patty, served with cheese, onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and all the special sauces you could want for - burgers are the quintessential American dish. They’re big business in the United States, and we’ll show you where to find the best burgers in town.

Best food in the United States

With a blend of influences from the finest cuisines from all over the world, American food is absolutely yummy. We’ll show you our favorite places for a feast of classic burgers, bagels, peanut butter sandwiches, cakes and more.

What to pack for United States

Pack for sustainable travel

Consider your environmental impact when you next take a trip and go single-use-plastic-free by packing a reusable water bottle, a steel straw, your own shopping bags and refillable toiletry bottles.

Comfortable shoes

From roaming the endless streets of New York, to exploring the Grand Canyon, you’ll need a sturdy pair of shoes on your adventures.

Dollar bills

Tipping is customary in the United States, and you’ll be expected to tip at least 15% (although 20 - 25% is appreciated), so be sure to keep some US bills on hand.

Big appetite

The United States is the land of the supersized, and their diverse cuisine comes in big portions with big flavor and plenty of soul.

Adaptor plug

In the United States, the standard voltage is 120 V and the power plugs and sockets are of type A and B. The standard frequency is 60 Hz.

Layered clothing

From the snowy east to the sunny west, the United States experiences a myriad of seasons and climates, so come prepared with layered and versatile clothing.

Our North & Central America destinations

US National Parks

San Francisco

South Dakota

Other worldwide regions we visit

Africa the Middle East

Australia and New Zealand

South America

Get your free brochure

Find your next escape with the world's leading travel brand

Request A Brochure

Award winning tours

Every year, we're proud to win some of the most prestigious travel accolades around the world - from the Travel Globes to the Agent's Choice Awards

Search Our Tours

Help & Info

WE MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®

Unedited Reviews

Our Destination Management Companies

Frequently Asked Questions

Travel Updates

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Travel Planning

Get Your Free Brochure

Travel Insurance

Booking Conditions

Trip Deposit Level

Recommendations

Trafalgar Tours Limited is a proud member of  The Travel Corporation  family of companies.

#SimplyTrafalgar

Travel House, Rue du Manoir St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2JH

Selected Region

United Kingdom

New Zealand

South Africa

Copyright 2024 Trafalgar. All rights reserved.

Terms and Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

Visit Planning

• Plan Your Visit
• Event Calendar
• Current Exhibitions
• Family Activities
• Guidelines and Policies

Access Programs

• Accessibility
• Dementia Programs
• Verbal Description Tours

Explore Art and Artists

Collection highlights.

• Search Artworks
• New Acquisitions
• Search Artists
• Search Women Artists

Something Fun

• Which Artist Shares Your Birthday?

Exhibitions

• Upcoming Exhibitions
• Traveling Exhibitions
• Past Exhibitions

Art Conservation

• Lunder Conservation Center

Research Resources

• Research and Scholars Center
• Nam June Paik Archive Collection
• Photograph Study Collection
• National Art Inventories Databases
• Save Outdoor Sculpture!
• Researching Your Art

Publications

• American Art Journal
• Toward Equity in Publishing
• Catalogs and Books
• Scholarly Symposia
• Publication Prizes

Fellows and Interns

• Fellowship Programs
• List of Fellows and Scholars
• Internship Programs

Featured Resource

• Support the Museum
• Corporate Patrons
• Gift Planning
• Donating Artworks
• Join the Director's Circle
• Join SAAM Creatives

Become a member

Go explore American art Beyond the Walls, a virtual reality experience that transports you directly into the galleries of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  Beyond the Walls blends photorealistic 3D capture imagery of artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection with augmented elements which let you interact with and learn about the museum’s collection using a headset and handheld controller.

Beyond the Walls  is a high fidelity, immersive museum experience, and is compatible with Oculus and Vive headsets.  Available for FREE download after July 15.

Tips for a Great Virtual Reality Experience

• The experience requires use of a VR headset, so find a place where you are free to move and rotate safely.
• To “click” on an a teleport marker within the space, press the trigger, point to the teleport location with your handheld controller and release the trigger.
• Although headphones are not required, they are highly recommended for the audio narration track and ambient sound of the media artworks.
• Although a VR headset can be used at any age, we recommend this experience for 13 years of age and older.

Learn more about the artworks from Beyond the Walls at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

This virtual museum presents a selection of unique paintings, sculpture, and multimedia artworks for you to engage and interact with as you freely explore the museum’s east wing from inside a VR headsets. Four of the museum’s artworks serve hotspots which feature a little bit of extra VR “magic”:

Frederic Edwin Church

Frederic Edwin Church,  Aurora Borealis ,  1865, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum

In this painting, Frederic Edwin Church has taken the aurora borealis—ethereal, dynamic, and alien—and captured it in oil paint, making you believe that you are standing underneath that phenomenon, witnessing the colors reflected off the ice. In VR, you can stand closer to the painting than might ever be permitted in real life, allowing you to examine its texture and observe its rich custom frame. VR users standing in front of the painting can trigger a teleportation hotspot which sends them to a remote mountain in Iceland, where they are suddenly in a dark landscape, looking around at jaw-dropping, 360-degree 6K video footage of an actual aurora blazing in the sky, provided by designer and photographer Olafur Haraldsson. The ability to compare and contrast the two scenes offers rich opportunities for learning and observation.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Roman Bronze Works,  Adams Memorial ,  modeled 1886-1891, cast 1969, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum

In 1885, Marian Hooper “Clover” Adams, an amateur photographer and the wife of the writer Henry Adams, committed suicide by drinking poisonous chemicals used to develop film. Her grieving husband commissioned prominent sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create a memorial to her that would express the Buddhist idea of nirvana, a state of being beyond joy and sorrow. Saint-Gaudens modeled a powerful shrouded figure, and then worked closely with architect Stanford White, who designed a secluded, contemplative setting for Clover’s gravesite in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.. Decades later, the Smithsonian American Art Museum acquired a bronze cast made after the original in the cemetery. When standing in front of SAAM’s bronze cast in VR, you can choose to teleport to Clover’s actual gravesite, coming face-to-face with the same sculpture, but this time in the context of the private outdoor memorial for which it was originally intended. Soft sunshine filters through a bank of trees, which move softly in the background, and the bench surrounding the sculpture allows for a moment of quiet contemplation. Flashing back and forth between the museum’s version and the outdoor version, you can notice the differences, sometimes subtle, that distinguish the two casts, and the effects of weather on the outdoor installation.

Hiram Powers

Hiram Powers,  Model of the Greek Slave ,  1843, plaster and metal pins, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The original marble sculpture of the Greek Slave propelled its artist, Hiram Powers, to international stardom. The Greek Slave was almost immediately associated with the anti-slavery movement in the United States, as abolitionists used images of it to promote their cause. The 3D model that appears in the VR app was rendered from a scan of the original plaster model that dates to 1843; in fact, this VR edition is a not work that exists in the real world at all. The presence of this sculpture in VR provides an opportunity to draw parallels between contemporary 3D scanning technology and nineteenth-century mechanical reproduction techniques, and to talk about the slippery (and often unhelpful) concept of “the original,” when it comes to sculpture.

Alex Prager,  Face in the Crowd ,  2013, three-channel video installation, color, sound; 11:52 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The only contemporary artwork to appear in the Beyond the Walls  VR experience is a selection from a video installation by Los Angeles-based artist Alex Prager. When you experience it in the physical museum, Face in the Crowd is installed in a black box gallery, where video plays asynchronously on three of the walls. The experience in VR looks no different, with one notable exception: the artist herself is standing in the room with you. You can walk up to Prager (or around her—she was volumetrically scanned and has been fully rendered in three dimensions) as she tells you about the inspiration for her artwork as you experience it “together.”  Prager’s artwork deals with the anxiety of being swept up by the masses while trying to create and maintain a sense of self—conditions long present in the physical world—and how this anxiety can be amplified in the virtual spaces we inhabit today. 

• Lectures & Events
• +61 3 98226899

Home » Tours » The Americas » USA » Art and Architecture in the USA: Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and ‘Fallingwater’ 2024

Art and Architecture in the USA: Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and ‘Fallingwater’ 2024

Status: waitlist, 15 sep – 2 oct 2024, other departures.

• 15 SEP - 1 OCT 2025

Professor Chris McAuliffe

Professor in the School of Art and Design, ANU, Chris taught art history at Melbourne & Harvard. Former Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art (Uni. Melbourne), he is a freelance curator, critic and art consultant and has published widely on Australian & American art.

Stephanie Holt

A writer and editor who specialises in history, visual art, travel and American culture, Stephanie has lived in New York and Boston. She co-leads the art and architecture focused programs to the USA.

David Brand

An architect and heritage consultant, David has taught architecture and design at the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University. He is passionate about the role architecture plays in the life of a city.

Your leaders

Accommodation.

• How to book
• Practical Info
• Tour Inclusions

Art and Architecture in the USA: Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and ‘Fallingwater’ 2024 Tour Highlights

Join Prof. Chris McAuliffe and Stephanie Holt as they explore the greatest art and architecture in six American cities. Chris taught art history at the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University and Harvard University, and was Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Stephanie is an editor and the Executive Officer of the History Council of Victoria. Architect David Brand joins the tour as a guest lecturer and will co-lead the Chicago portion of the program.

• Visit Robie House and other homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park, Chicago, including his own house and studio. View his eloquent Kentuck Knob at Chalk Hill, the famous Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and his masterpiece  Fallingwater .
• View Chicago’s finest architectural landmarks on a tour hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and enjoy an architectural cruise on Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
• Discover two famous examples of modernist domestic architecture: Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Plano, and Philip Johnson’s The Glass House in New Canaan Connecticut.
• Explore some of the world’s greatest art collections – the Chicago Art Institute, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and MoMA in New York; and the Phillips Collection and National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
• Take a private out-of-hours tour of MoMA in New York before the museum opens to the general public, when you’ll have a floor of the museum all to yourself!
• In Boston tour the historic Public Library, visit the Institute of Contemporary Art and the splendid collections of the Museum of Fine Arts.
• Visit the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia housing America’s finest collection of Impressionists and early Modernists including Cézanne, Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, Matisse, and Picasso.
• Compare the innovative contemporary architecture at MIT (Boston) with the historic buildings of Harvard and Yale Universities; visit the Harvard Art Museums and the exquisite glass flower exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
• Visit Glenstone, a private gallery in Potomac Maryland, where pavilions and galleries are set within a landscape of meadows, forests and sculpture.

Overnight Chicago (4 nights) • Boston (3 nights) • New York (5 nights) • Washington DC (3 nights) • Pittsburgh (2 nights)

Testimonials This was the best tour I have ever taken. I have considered a Frank Lloyd Wright tour of the USA for some time, but this tour embraced other famous architects as well as the most significant art galleries. It provided the perfect balance.   Jane, NSW. I loved this trip because of the range of art we enjoyed and the exciting cityscapes we explored, all under the expert guidance of Chris McAuliffe. All together, it was another stand-out ASA tour.  Helen, VIC. Don’t miss this tour! Tour Leaders Chris and Stephanie enlightened us in a knowledgeable and gentle way. We came away knowing more about architecture and art, yet stimulated to know more. We had a great group of travelling companions who were eager to learn and participate in every aspect of the tour. Robert, NSW

The days on this tour have been carefully programmed, however there will be opportunities for tour participants to break from the group to explore their own interests if they so desire. Evenings have been deliberately left free to allow participants to avail themselves of endless dining opportunities and sample the many performing arts options found in each of the major cities to be visited. The daily activities described in this itinerary may be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate changes in museum opening hours, flight schedules etc. The tour includes breakfast daily, and dinners indicated in the itinerary where: B =breakfast and  D =dinner. All entrance fees on the official program are included in the tour price.

Chicago - 4 nights

Day 1: sunday 15 september, arrive chicago.

• Tour commences at 6.00pm in the foyer of the Staypineapple The Loop Chicago Hotel
• Welcome Meeting and Dinner

Meeting Point: The tour commences at 6.00pm in the foyer of the Staypineapple The Loop Chicago Hotel with a welcome meeting followed by dinner. (Overnight Chicago) D

Day 2: Monday 16 September, Chicago

• Architecture Highlights Coach Tour
• Chicago Art Institute
• Millennium Park Walk

This morning we embark on a Chicago Architecture Foundation ‘Highlights by Bus’ tour. On this two-and-a-half-hour private tour we shall visit Chicago’s finest landmarks, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s IIT Campus and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House.

This afternoon we visit one of the world’s great art museums, the Chicago Art Institute. The Art Institute collection is both enormous and of the highest quality, and presents major works by Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse and many more. Chagall’s impressive stained glass windows are truly stunning. Our visit includes an orientation tour of the collection and participants will have time to wander at their leisure.

In the late afternoon we take a walk through Millennium Park, home to an extensive collection of public art and architecture, including Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion, Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate and Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain . Time permitting, we will also make a brief visit to the Chicago Cultural Center to admire the glass dome ceiling by Louis Tiffany. (Overnight Chicago) B

Day 3: Tuesday 17 September, Chicago

• Oak Park, incl. Frank Lloyd Wright’s House & Studio
• Architecture River Cruise
• Downtown public art

This morning we drive to leafy Oak Park, where we see Frank Lloyd Wright’s house and studio, featuring furniture he designed. We also see many other examples of his work in the Oak Park neighbourhood. Our visit is hosted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

After lunch we will take one of the famous Architecture cruises on the Chicago River, after which we take a leisurely walk back to our hotel, enjoying the public art and architecture along our route by artist including Picasso, Chigall and Miro. (Overnight Chicago) B

Day 4: Wednesday 18 September, Chicago – Plano – Chicago

• Farnsworth House, Plano
• Museum of Contemporary Art

Ninety-four kilometres out of Chicago is one of North America’s architectural masterpieces – Mies van der Rohe’s 1951 Farnsworth House. This morning we drive to Plano to tour Farnsworth House and explore this fine example of Modernist domestic architecture.

On our return to Chicago there will be time at leisure for lunch before we visit the massive and modular home of the Museum of Contemporary Art, which offers an impressive array of exhibitions. (Overnight Chicago) B

Boston - 3 nights

Day 5: thursday 19 september, chicago – boston.

• Morning flight: Chicago – Boston
• Boston Public Library
• Trinity Church and Copley Square (time permitting)

This morning we transfer by coach to Chicago airport for our flight to Boston on the East Coast. Boston, one of the most important historical cities in the USA, has been described as ‘the cradle of American Independence’. Its most important buildings are more than just landmarks – they are icons of US history. Boston’s citizens have played a critical role in the development of the USA up to the present day. After settling into our hotel, we walk across the road to the marvellous Boston Public Library for a guided tour. Established in 1848, this was the first large free municipal library in the United States. The present building on Copley Square was completed in 1895, designed by architect Charles Follen McKim as a ‘palace of the people’. In addition to its superb collection of books, the library is renowned for the murals that adorn the walls of the main halls. Time permitting, we will also step inside the tranquil Trinity Church, with stained-glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by the William Morris workshop. (Overnight Boston) B

Day 6: Friday 20 September, Boston

• Harvard Art Museums
• Harvard Museum of Natural History
• Institute of Contemporary Art

Our day starts with a walking tour of MIT, one of the most architecturally dynamic university campuses in the world. The site has undergone an extraordinary regeneration over the last few decades. Here we will tour the buildings of this complex to see the works of ‘Starchitects’ Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei and Alvar Aalto, who transformed this previously pedestrian campus into a showcase of contemporary architecture.

We then drive to Cambridge where we will visit the Harvard Art Museums, located alongside Harvard Yard. Established as an important learning tool for the university’s students in the disciplines of art history and conservation, the Harvard Art Museums are also dedicated to advancing learning in the wider community with public education programs. We also visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History to admire the fascinating and exquisite Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants.

Our day concludes in the revitalised South Boston Seaport District where we shall visit the Institute of Contemporary Art. Originally established as the Boston Museum of Modern Art in 1936 and located at Harvard, the current building was opened in 2006 and contains both galleries and performance space. (Overnight Boston) B

Day 7: Saturday 21 September, Boston

• Boston Museum of Fine Arts
• Afternoon at Leisure

Today we use the efficient Boston transport system to visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which boasts one of the country’s finest collections of American art as well as extensive Asian and European art collections. Highlights of the collection include Rembrant’s  The Artist in his Studio , Goya’s  Seated Giant , Copley’s  Paul Revere , and a host of works by El Greco, Velázquez, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Singer Sargent and a superb collection of Egyptian antiquities.  (Overnight Boston) B

New York - 5 nights

Day 8: sunday 22 september, boston – new haven – new canaan – new york.

• Yale University Art Gallery
• The Glass House, New Canaan

Today we travel by coach from Boston to New York. En route we shall visit New Haven, the home of Yale University. Here we shall have lunch and make a brief visit to the remarkable university’s Art Gallery, home to Van Gogh’s The Night Cafe .

We then continue on to New Canaan where we visit one of the great architectural masterpieces of the USA – Philip Johnson’s Glass House. Designed in 1949 the house has exterior walls of glass and almost no interior structures; it is a transparent glass box that seamlessly integrates into the surrounding landscape. Its counterpart is The Brick House that faces it across a grass court. Here the brick walls are unbroken, except for small round windows at the rear, with skylights illuminating the interior. The Brick House is currently closed for restoration work. (Overnight New York) B

Day 9: Monday 23 September, New York

• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Central Park Walk

This morning we travel by public transport to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), one of the world’s largest art museums. The collections are extraordinary, featuring works from prehistoric times to the post-industrial age. The antiquities collection is spellbinding, as is the huge holding of tribal art. The Met also has one of the greatest displays of American art and presents a comprehensive collection of European art that is arguably the most outstanding outside Europe. The Egyptian collections, including the Temple of Dendur, are a sight to behold. After formal introductions to the collections you will be able to explore the Met at your leisure.

We then walk through Central Park, that wonderful green oasis so important to New Yorkers and visitors alike. Our walk passes waterways and reservoirs, green open area and intimate spaces like the John Lennon memorial Strawberry Fields with its view to the Dakota Apartment Building. We view notable sculptures and structures on our way to the Lincoln Center from where we take the subway back to our hotel. (Overnight New York) B

Day 10: Tuesday 24 September, New York

• Architecture walking tour
• Piermont Morgan Library
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

This morning we make our way to Fifth Avenue, our starting point for a walking tour of New York’s Midtown that will finish at the Piermont Morgan Library (Morgan Library and Museum). A financier and investment banker, John Piermont Morgan was one of the giants of the city’s Gilded Age. The library was dedicated as a public institution by his son Jack, and is home to a brilliant collection of manuscripts, books, prints and drawings.

We then visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. World famous for its striking architecture, it is the work of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright – whom we have encountered in Chicago. Our visit will focus on the extraordinary architecture of this museum and also on the special exhibition that presents the story of the museum through a selection of highlights from the permanent collection. (Overnight New York) B

Day 11: Wednesday 25 September, New York

• Museum of Modern Art: Out-of-hours VIP tour
• Little Island
• Private Commercial Galleries in Chelsea
• The High Line

Early this morning we take the subway to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), renowned throughout the world for the quality, scope and diversity of its collections. We take a very special tour of part of the collection before the museum opens to the general public, allowing us to have a whole floor of this usually bustling museum all to ourselves! MoMA provides an unparalleled overview of the development of modern art. The building has been refurbished in recent years which makes the visit even more pleasant. There is a courtyard featuring a magical array of sculptures by artists such as Picasso and Moore.

We then make our way to Little Island, a park located off Pier 54, creating a green space over the Hudson. From the Observation Deck we can see across to one of the world’s most famous examples of public art – the Statue of Liberty.

Nearby is an area of New York famed for its extraordinary private commercial galleries, exhibiting works for sale that rival the city’s fine art collections. We visit some of these then walk to the nearby Gansevoort Street entrance to the High Line, a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. We will walk a short section of The Highline before returning to our hotel. (Overnight New York) B

Day 12: Thursday 26 September, New York

• Full day at leisure in New York

Today is at leisure to pursue your own interests in this magnificent metropolis. You may wish to enjoy the city’s department stores or neighbourhood boutiques, or visit more of the city’s wonderful museums –  the Neue Galarie, the Museum of the City of New York, or the moving 9/11 Memorial and Museum. There are also interesting house museums, libraries, parks and historic monuments. (Overnight New York) B

Washington - 3 nights

Day 13: friday 27 september, new york – philadelphia – washington dc.

• The Barnes Foundation, Parkway Museum District

Early this morning we depart New York for Philadelphia to visit the new Barnes Foundation located on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Located on 4.5 acres, the vast two-storey building houses the Foundation’s art collection in an exhibition space that replicates the scale, proportion, and configuration of the original galleries in Merion. Designed by architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, it is described as a ‘gallery in a garden, a garden in a gallery.’ Boasting a textured grey-and-gold Ramon limestone exterior and a glass canopy that glows at night, the building is a breathtaking addition to the Parkway Museum District. It includes a number of sustainable features, including a green roof and a 40,000-gallon rainwater cistern to water the Olin-designed gardens. But the true draw is the Barnes Collection, arguably America’s finest collection of Impressionist and Modernist works, including 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes and 59 Matisses, along with works by Manet, Degas, Seurat and Picasso. A tour of this collection will deepen your understanding of the European landscape tradition that has enriched American landscape painting and gardening.

This afternoon we continue our journey south to Washington DC. Time permitting, there will be a short orientation drive past some of the city’s monuments on the way to our hotel. (Overnight Washington DC) B

Day 14: Saturday 28 September, Washington DC – Potomac – Washington DC

• Monuments of the National Mall
• The Phillips Collection

This morning we drive to Potomac, Maryland, to visit Glenstone, a private art museum significant for both its contemporary collection of art and its architecture. The collection is displayed within a series of galleries and pavilions set within an extensive landscaped park intended to integrate architecture and nature. Glenstone describes the focus of its collection as “We collect iconic examples of modern and contemporary art that represent pivotal shifts in the perception and understanding of the art of our time”.

This afternoon we return to Washington DC where we take a coach tour of the National Mall, making brief stops at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

In the late afternoon we visit the Phillips Collection, founded by Duncan Phillips in 1921. The museum is noted for its broad representation of both Impressionist and modern paintings, with works by European masters such as Courbet, Bonnard, Braque, Villon, Cézanne, Daumier, Degas, van Gogh, Klee, Matisse, Monet, and Picasso. In 1923, Phillips purchased Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s impressionist painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-81), the museum’s best-known work. (Overnight Washington DC) B

Day 15: Sunday 29 September, Washington DC

• National Gallery of Art
• Afternoon at leisure

The morning will be spent at the National Gallery of Art, one of the USA’s greatest art collections, with work by Da Vinci, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet and Renoir. After an introductory tour of the gallery highlights, participants will be free to explore the extensive museum at their own pace. You may even wish to try out the ice-skating rink in the Sculpture Garden!

This afternoon is at leisure. You may wish to visit one of the many wonderful museums to be found in the city – the National Museum of American History, National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (formerly the National Museum of American Art) are all located in the Mall area and host marvellous collections. (Overnight Washington DC) B

Pittsburgh - 2 nights

Day 16: monday 30 september, washington dc – pittsburgh.

• Morning flight: Washington DC – Pittsburgh
• Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
• Downtown Walk

Early this morning we depart Washington and take a flight to Pittsburgh. On arrival we visit the Andy Warhol Museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of Warhol’s work and archival materials. The collection of drawings, paintings, postcards, videos, sculptures and photographs covers the entire career of the artist, from his student days in his hometown of Pittsburgh through to his pop art paintings and films.

After time at leisure for lunch we take a gentle walk through city’s historic Downtown area to our hotel, and the afternoon is at leisure to explore this fascinating city. (Overnight Pittsburgh) B

Day 17: Tuesday 1 October, Pittsburgh – Mill Run – Chalk Hill – Pittsburgh

• Fallingwater, Mill Run
• Kentuck Knob, Chalk Hill
• Farewell Dinner

Today is dedicated to visiting two remarkable houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Fallingwater was designed in 1936 for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann. The house’s setting is dominated by the waterfall over which the house is built. The Kaufmanns chose the waterfall location but were unprepared for Wright’s suggestion that the house rise over it rather than face it; yet they accepted the architect’s original scheme unchanged. Completed in 1939, Fallingwater was constructed of sandstone quarried on the property and was built by local craftsmen. The stone walls rise between reinforced concrete ‘trays’ carrying the living and bedroom levels, that are dramatically cantilevered over the stream. Fallingwater was the weekend home of the Kaufmann family from 1937 until 1963, when the house, its contents and grounds were presented to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. Fallingwater is the only remaining great Wright house with its setting, original furnishings, and artwork intact.

We then visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob, which bears eloquent testimony to his genius. Dramatic yet serene, the home blends into the mountain against which it stands. It looks out on a breathtaking panorama of the Youghiogheny River Gorge and surrounding mountains. Kentuck Knob is a refinement of Wright’s core principles of organic architecture. Designed in 1953 for the I.N. Hagan family, it was constructed by skilled local craftsmen. With an open plan based on a hexagonal grid it is constructed entirely of tidewater red cypress and native fieldstone. These stone walls not only visually anchor the house’s two wings but also rise to penetrate the horizontal line of its copper roof. Its open floor plan, cantilevered overhangs and great expanses of glass artfully integrate outdoor and indoor spaces. Its expansive yet intimate interior is furnished to the tastes of its current owners, Lord and Lady Palumbo, dedicated patrons of the arts. A sculpture park has been integrated into the woodlands and informal gardens surrounding the house. It features 35 sculptures by masters such as Andy Goldsworthy, Harry Bertoia, Claes Oldenburg, Ray Smith, Michael Warren and Sir Anthony Caro.

We return to Pittsburgh, and this evening enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (Overnight Pittsburgh) BD

Day 18: Wednesday 2 October, Depart Pittsburgh

• Tour concludes in the morning
• At leisure/Check out

Our tour ends in Pittsburgh after breakfast. In the morning you will be required to check out of the hotel. Please contact ASA if you require assistance with a transfer to the Pittsburgh Airport. B

ASA has selected 3- to 5-star centrally located hotels. All hotels provide rooms with en suite bathroom. A hotel list will be given to all participants prior to departure, in the meantime a summary is given below:

• Chicago (4 nights): 4-star StayPineapple The Loop – a centrally located hotel showcasing bright and fresh contemporary interior design within a National Historic Landmark Building. www.staypineapple.com/the-loop-chicago
• Boston (3 nights): 4-star The Lenox  – established in 1900, is a landmark hotel in the Back Bay area, with classically decorated and freshly-renovated rooms.  www.lenoxhotel.com
• New York (5 nights): 3-star Hotel Beacon – a spacious hotel situated in New York’s Upper West Side, close to Central Park, the Theatre District and Manhattan’s many cafés, restaurants and boutiques. Each room includes a fully-equipped kitchenette with microwave, stove, refrigerator and coffee maker. www.beaconhotel.com
• Washington DC (3 nights): 4-star The Melrose Georgetown Hotel – a spacious hotel, conveniently located in Georgetown, just 1 km from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. www.melrosehoteldc.com
• Pittsburgh (2 nights): 4-star Omni William Penn Hotel Pittsburgh – an historic hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh. www.omnihotels.com

Note:  Hotels are subject to change, in which case a hotel of similar standard will be provided.

Single Supplement

Payment of this supplement will ensure accommodation in a double (or twin) room for single occupancy throughout the tour. The number of rooms available for single occupancy is extremely limited.  People wishing to take this supplement are therefore advised to book well in advance.

How to Book

ASA RESERVATION APPLICATION FORM

Please complete the ASA RESERVATION APPLICATION and send it to Australians Studying Abroad together with your non-refundable deposit of  AUD $1000.00 per person  payable to Australians Studying Abroad.

Practical Information

The number of flags is a guide to the degree of difficulty of ASA tours relative to each other (not to those of other tour companies). It is neither absolute nor literal. One flag is given to the least taxing tours, seven to the most. Flags are allocated, above all, according to the amount of walking and standing each tour involves.  Nevertheless, all ASA tours require that participants have a good degree of fitness enabling 2-3 hours walking or 1-1.5 hours standing still on any given site visit or excursion.  Many sites are accessed by climbing slopes or steps and have uneven terrain.

This 18-day Art and Architecture in the USA tour involves:

• Exploring Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington DC on foot.
• Extensive walking daily (up to 5km per day), and standing during museum and other site visits.
• Use of the New York, Boston and Washington DC subway system where participants may need to negotiate many stairs.
• 3- & 4-star hotels with four hotel changes.
• You must be able to carry your own hand luggage. Hotel porterage includes 1 piece of luggage per person.

It is important to remember that ASA programs are group tours, and slow walkers affect everyone in the group. As the group must move at the speed of the slowest member, the amount of time spent at a site may be reduced if group members cannot maintain a moderate walking pace. ASA tours should not present any problem for active people who can manage day-to-day walking and stair-climbing. However, if you have any doubts about your ability to manage on a program, please ask your ASA travel consultant whether this is a suitable tour for you.

Please note:  it is a condition of travel that all participants agree to accept ASA’s directions in relation to their suitability to participate in activities undertaken on the tour, and that ASA retains the sole discretion to direct a tour participant to refrain from a particular activity on part of the tour. For further information please refer to the ASA Reservation Application Form.

Tour Price & Inclusions

Aud $14,990.00 land content only – early-bird special: book before 30 sep 2023, aud $15,190.00 land content only, aud $4240 single supplement, tour price (land content only) includes:.

• Accommodation in twin share rooms with private facilities in 3- to 4-star hotels
• Breakfast daily; lunches and dinners as indicated in the itinerary where: B =breakfast, L =Lunch and D =dinner
• Drinks at welcome and farewell meals. Other meals may not have drinks included.
• Transportation by air-conditioned coach
• Economy airfare Chicago – Boston (Day 5) and Washington DC – Pittsburgh (Day 16)
• Porterage of one piece of luggage per person at hotels (not at airports)
• Lecture and site-visit program
• Tour reference book
• Entrance fees
• Use of audio headsets during site excursions
• Tips for the coach driver, local guides and restaurants for included meals

Tour Price (Land Content Only) does not include:

• Airfare: Australia-Chicago, Pittsburgh-Australia
• Personal spending money
• Airport-hotel transfers
• Luggage in excess of 20kg (44lbs)
• Travel insurance

A non-refundable deposit of  $1000.00 AUD per person  is required to reserve a place on this ASA tour.

Cancellation Fees

If you decide to cancel your booking the following charges apply:

• More than 75 days before departure: your initial deposit of $1000.00 is non-refundable
• 75-31 days prior 50% of total amount due
• 30-0 days prior 100% of total amount due

We take the day on which you cancel as being that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.

Unused Portions of the Tour

We regret that refunds will not be given for any unused portions of the tour, such as meals, entry fees, accommodation, flights or transfers.

Will the Tour Price or Itinerary Change?

If the number of participants on a tour is significantly less than budgeted, or if there is a significant change in exchange rates ASA reserves the right to amend the advertised price. We shall, however, do all in our power to maintain the published price. If an ASA tour is forced to cancel you will get a full refund of all tour monies paid. Occasionally circumstances beyond the control of ASA make it necessary to change airline, hotel or to make amendments to daily itineraries. We will inform you of any changes in due course.

Travel Insurance

ASA requires all participants to obtain comprehensive travel insurance. A copy of your travel insurance certificate and the  reverse charge emergency contact phone number must be received by ASA no later than 75 days prior to the commencement of the tour.

Final Payment

The balance of the tour price will be due  75 days prior  to the tour commencement date.

Limitation of Liability

ASA is not a carrier, event or tourist attraction host, accommodation or dining service provider. All bookings made and tickets or coupons issued by ASA for transport, event, accommodation, dining and the like are issued as an agent for various service providers and are subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by each service provider. ASA is not responsible for their products or services. If a service provider does not deliver the product or service for which you have contracted, your remedy lies with the service provider, not ASA.

ASA will not be liable for any claim (eg. sickness, injury, death, damage or loss) arising from any change, delay, detention, breakdown, cancellation, failure, accident, act, omission or negligence of any such service provider however caused (contingencies). You must take out adequate travel insurance against such contingencies.

ASA’s liability in respect of any tour will be limited to the refund of amounts received from you less all non-refundable costs and charges and the costs of any substituted event or alternate services provided. The terms and conditions of the relevant service provider from time to time comprise the sole agreement between you and that service provider.

ASA reserves the sole discretion to cancel any tour or to modify itineraries in any way it considers appropriate. Tour costs may be revised, subject to unexpected price increases or exchange rate fluctuations.

Interested in this tour? Take the next step

Make an Enquiry now

or alternatively Download PDF Reservation Application

Discover our related articles and events before you take your journey

How the shed was made: the kinetic architecture of new york’s newest cultural institution, when it comes to art & design, chicago offers more than frank lloyd wright, aud $4240.00 single supplement, physical endurance rating.

The number of flags is a guide to the degree of difficulty of ASA tours relative to each other (not to those of other tour companies). It is neither absolute nor literal. One flag is given to the least taxing tours, seven to the most. Flags are allocated, above all, according to the amount of walking and standing each tour involves. Nevertheless, all ASA tours require that participants have a good degree of fitness enabling 2-3 hours walking or 1-1.5 hours standing still on any given site visit or excursion. Many sites are accessed by climbing slopes or steps and have uneven terrain.

View full profile

Dr Chris McAuliffe is a Professor of Art at ANU and a freelance curator, critic and art consultant. Dr McAuliffe took a BA Hons and an MA at the University of Melbourne and a PhD at Harvard University (1997) with a dissertation on contemporary American art. Chris taught art history and theory at the University of Melbourne (1988-2000), including conducting three ASA tours of the New York art scene. In 2011-12, he was the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University where he staged ‘Tinnitus’, a symposium on art and rock’n’roll.

Chris has published widely on both historical and contemporary art with a focus on Australia and the USA. His research focuses on the relationship of art with everyday life and popular culture, including sport, rock music and suburbia. His books include Art and suburbia (1996), Linda Marrinon: let her try (2007) and Jon Cattapan: possible histories (2008). He has also published in academic journals and exhibition catalogues on American pop art, Abstract Expressionism, earthworks art and minimalist sculpture. He has been a regular commentator on ABC radio and on ABC TV’s ‘Sunday Arts’.

Chris has extensive experience in the art museum sector, ranging from community-based contemporary art spaces through to the Council of the National Gallery of Victoria. From 2000-2013 he was Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne. Among the exhibitions he has curated are ‘After the age of Aquarius: American art in the 1970s’, ‘Game on!: art and sport’, and ‘The Shilo project’, an exhibition on Neil Diamond. In 2013, he was curatorial consultant for the major exhibition, ‘America: painting a nation’ at the Art Gallery of NSW, which featured works from museums in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston and Chicago. In 2006, Chris initiated the Basil Sellers Art Prize; a biannual award for contemporary art on the theme of sport, one of the richest in Australia.

Chris has travelled extensively in the USA, having visited 26 of the 50 states (and counting!). He first moved to Boston in 1986 and has lived there and in New York for a total of five years. He has undertaken field research in the Southwest (California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico), exploring earthworks sculptures, and is an aficionado of the regional cuisines of the USA.

Chris McAuliffe’s research interests include nineteenth and twentieth century art (Australia and America) with a focus on earthworks (Robert Smithson), abstract expressionism (Jackson Pollock), art and sport, art and rock music. He is currently a partner in the ARC-funded research project ‘Fringe to Famous’ which examines the crossover between ‘alternative’ and ‘mainstream’ Australian cultural production since the 1980s.

A writer and editor who specialises in history, visual art, travel and American culture, Stephanie has lived in New York and Boston. She taught at RMIT University for many years, and led student tours to Bali and China. She was previously editor of Meanjin cultural journal, and a contributing editor to World Art magazine. She has extensive experience working as a freelance curator, an editor of non-fiction trade and scholarly texts and as a writer of articles and essays. She currently works in various editorial capacities, and is Executive Officer of the History Council of Victoria. She holds a BA in History from the University of Melbourne and a Masters of Adult Education from Monash University. Stephanie co-leads the Art and Architecture in the USA tour.

David Brand is a Melbourne architect, educator and heritage consultant with degrees in architecture and in History and Philosophy. For many years he has taught architectural history and design at the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University. David is a well-known local heritage & planning activist, and is passionate about enabling cities to preserve and maintain their historic character and cultural richness. He has served multiple terms as elected councillor and deputy mayor of his St Kilda-based inner Melbourne city council.

David takes a global view of architectural history and urban culture. He has travelled widely through Asia, Europe and the USA, has lived in Washington DC, and has previously co-led ASA’s Art and Architecture in California tour.

Make an enquiry

An ASA consultant will attempt to call you within 24 hours between 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday through Friday EST, Australia

• Full Name * First Name Last Name
• Phone Number *
• Country of residence * Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Greenland Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati North Korea South Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Northern Mariana Islands Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
• State/territory * ACT NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA
• How did you hear about us? * Social Media Search Engines Regular ASA Traveller Friend or Colleague Print Media Other
• Comments and questions *
• I would like to receive an itinerary and reservation form
• I would like to join the ASA mailing list and receive the quarterly E newsletter and Event Programs.
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Request free itinerary

Thank you for your interest in this tour.

• Name * First Last
• Country of residence * Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Greenland Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati North Korea South Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Northern Mariana Islands Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
• Comments and questions
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Luxury art vacations

Artful Jaunts blend unique art destinations and behind the scenes experiences with luxury accommodations and fine dining to create extraordinary getaways that enrich, educate, and entertain.

Artful Jaunts are typically 3 to 8 days long, for small groups of 12-20 people, and are offered at three levels: Discover (for the emerging collector), Signature (featuring  opportunities to meet more established artists) , and Connoisseur (presenting  the very finest the art world has to offer) . 

Artful Jaunts

2024 trips now open - santa fe  , bespoke or museum trip.

Artful FOG Design+Art

LA Frieze Prequel

A Pilgrimage to Marfa

The home of american art, the center of the art world, america's museum redefined, contemporary art in london, contemporary art in paris.

Art in The Hamptons

Art in the hudson valley, land art in the american west, art basel in miami beach, included with all artful jaunts.

• Led by expert art educators and curators 
• Private access to collector and studio visits
• Behind the scenes experiences in the art world
• Luxury accommodations, cocktails, and fine dining 
• Artful advisory counsel on potential art purchases
• The Artful app

Unlock a world of art experiences

I like art but am not an expert. Will this trip be right for me?

Absolutely. Artful Jaunts are tailored to every level of aficionado—from expert collectors to those just starting out, there's something for everyone.

Where do your guides come from?

Our guides are carefully sourced from the art world. In addition to impressive resumes, they bring engaging personalities and knowledge that help make every trip unforgettable. After our thorough interview process, we invest heavily in training the guides from public speaking to test trips.

Do your guides undergo background checks?

All Artful employees, including our art educators, have passed a third-party background check. 

Do I need to purchase art if I go on a trip?

No, no purchase is required. However, with our access to artists' studios and important galleries, you may find yourself tempted. 

What additional costs are not included?

Nothing, other than your own incidentals and your airfare. Our founder likes to say you never have to take out your wallet; just enjoy your Jaunt.

I have been involved in art all my life. Will this trip be too basic for me?

Not at all. With experts and curators to guide you, our trips are designed to be educational, engaging, and entertaining, regardless of your level of involvement in the art world.

Are bespoke trip options on offer?

Yes. A great way to explore art is with your extended family or a set of close friends. Choose your group and your date and we'll create your dream trip for you.

Are corporate Jaunts available?

Of course; if so desired, we can arrange custom Jaunts for your firm. Please contact us directly.

What do I need to bring on a Jaunt?

Enthusiasm and a desire to learn and meet new people with similar interests, and have fun.  Packing suggestions will be offered based upon the destination.

What if I want to stay longer to do some personal travel?

By all means. Pre- and post-Jaunt travel could be a great way to enhance your trip. We are more than happy to help you extend your hotel with our preferred rate.

Is a Jaunt appropriate for children?

We do not recommend Jaunts for children who are under 21 years old given the social focus on the evening programming. However, a bespoke Jaunt would be a perfect way to create your own experience for family and friends, including children of all ages.

join our Newsletter

Sign up to be the first to hear about our newest Jaunts, and get the latest articles from Artful Magazine

For Land Art and Design Obsessives: A Southwest U.S. Road Trip

From our book, Travel North America (And Avoid Being a Tourist) : An eccentric and illuminating desert mission.

THE SOUTHWEST, U.S. – The wide, wide open spaces, stark desert, and blue sky of the American Southwest made the perfect blank canvas for the land art movement of the 1970s. Far-out artists with madcap ambitions began producing site-specific earthworks on a monumental scale – using earth (and light, air, and water) as their medium. The remoteness equaled freedom for the artists, permanence for their work, and pilgrimages for art lovers everywhere.

Paranormal Beginnings and Concrete en Plein Air

A Southwestern art tour starts or ends in the Far West Texas town of Marfa, a unique community with a ghostly appeal and a thriving contemporary arts community. At dawn, head to the massive Chinati Foundation , the ambitious contemporary art center founded by the late artist Donald Judd, whose concrete cubes are set against a painted sky. Reserve a tour indoors or take a self-guided one outdoors. Drop into 1920s Mexican dance hall Ballroom Marfa , now a nonprofit space for contemporary art and culture and cultural events. Take a drive over to the large-scale outdoor Stone Circle by Haroon Mirza. Inspired by ancient megaliths, the solar-powered sculpture is set in the high desert grasslands east of Marfa. Marfa may be tiny, but the cool quotient is high. Visit Marfa is a solid resource with a nicely made directory of mobile kitchens, cafes, coffeeshops, food trucks, saloons, galleries, and boutiques.

Funky lodging befitting of a funky town include El Cosmico , which consists of teepees, safari tents, seasonal yurts, and beautifully restored 1950s-era trailers. You may want to stay put with a beer and a hot tub soak under the stars, but if you're up for a spook, head over to the Marfa Lights Viewing Station (9 miles/14 kilometers east of Marfa on Highway 90; lookout for the sign directing you to the official observation area) to catch the mysterious light show that has fascinated people for over a hundred years. Paranormal phenomenon or atmospheric reflections? You decide. For cushier accommodations, head to Cibolo Creek Ranch , one of the oldest ranches in Texas, with secluded forts and haciendas and fresh-squeezed lime-juice margaritas. The next morning, pile into the hotel's Humvee and head to the Chinati Mountains to find abandoned Texas Ranger houses at Fort Davis, Native American rock art, and panoramic vistas perched high above the ranch. It's back on the road. Drive north-west of Marfa, through Van Horn, to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Make a pit stop at the iconicPrada Marfa in the tiny settlement of Valentine. Head toVan Horn for the historic Hotel El Capitan , designed by acclaimed architect Henry Trost in 1930. Hike to Guadalupe Peak, the tallest point in Texas, at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Come autumn, McKittrick Canyon has the best fall foliage. If the stars align, attend a Star Party at McDonald Observatory .

An Adobe, Onsen, and Art Collective

Wake up and drive through El Paso into New Mexico and stop at Old Mesilla, a cool little village of Southwestern hopes and dreams, five minutes from the city of Las Cruces. Rent an adobe. Find inspiration at a little bookstore called Mesilla Book Center, which specializes in the Southwest. Spend some time exploring Double Eagle , a former mansion-turned-bar-and-restaurant with checkerboard floors, oil paintings, and chandeliers. Fun fact: Billy the Kid was jailed here in 1881. Spend a day and camp overnight in the awe-inspiring gypsum dune fields of White Sands National Monument. Create some artwork of your own – it's a photographer's paradise. Vintage shop your way through Tularosa before heading to Japanese-inspired onsen Ten Thousand Waves for a relaxing soak, or The Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe for a colorful spa treatment and stay in a luxurious jewel-box-like guest room. The cool El Rey Court is an updated Pueblo Revival motel along the original Route 66, with a mezcal bar and great recommendations for the area. It's close to the galleries and antique shops in the Santa Fe Railyard Baca District and the interactive art collective Meow Wolf . Santa Fe Vintage Outpost, Shiprock Gallery, and Double Take are the best spots for vintage wares.

Outdoor Opera and a Desert Artist's Retreat

Spend a summer evening at the Santa Fe Opera , a state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater with views of the Tesuque Valley. When you've had your fill of Santa Fe, take the mountainous, winding High Road to Taos. En route, make your way to the tiny, powerful shrine El Santuariode Chimayo, which was a sacred healing site of the Native Pueblo Indians long before the initial Spanish conquest of New Mexico. Stop by Rancho De Chimayo for comforting posole with shredded, slow-cooked pork. Feel like you're driving through a painting as you stop at small villages like Cordova (noted for its woodcarving), Truchas (the summit town), Las Trampas, and Peñasco. In Taos, pick up a hand-loomed rug at Starr Interiors ; trinkets and decorative items at Taos General Store; and pottery, jewelry, and talismans from Taos Pueblo , a multi-storied adobe compound continually in use by the Red Willow Native American community for 1000 years. Book tickets in advance for a private tour of Abiquiú , the 18th-century, cliff-top adobe house that Georgia O'Keeffe lived in from 1949 until her death in 1986. Walk in her footsteps at Ghost Ranch retreat and education center and horseback ride some of the 21,000 acres (8498 hectares) of landscape inspiration.

Spend the night at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House . In the early 1900s, this fascinating arts patron and connector flexed her esthetic and social impulses in Florence and New York City before falling in love with a Puebloan and settling in Taos, where she entertained famous photographers, writers, dancers, and artists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams, D.H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, and Martha Graham. Rooms are quaint and charming with quilted bedspreads and kiva fireplaces. Spend the next morning with works from renowned Navajo painter and sculptor R.C. Gorman's namesake gallery. It's just a few minutes from painter (and Taos Society of Artists member) Ernest Blumenschein's home and museum.

Then drive down to Albuquerque to wander Old Town and Albuquerque Museum of Art and History . Spend an extremely relaxing evening at Los Poblanos , an inn and organic farm with lavender fields. It was designed in the early 1930s by the "Father of Santa Fe Style," New Mexico visionary architect and preservationist John Gaw Meem, who championed Regionalism over Modernism. Something like ten-percent of all hot air balloons in the U.S. are registered in Albuquerque, which has generally windless mornings. A soar would be an epic way to get your fill of fresh air before the flight home or to clear your head for the next leg of the trip.

Where Art and Architecture Obsessives Should Go From Here: Arizona

Flagstaff Make your way from Albuquerque, stopping in Gallup, gateway to the Navajo and Zuni trading posts, galleries, and historic districts. Flagstaff is a neat little mountain town with high altitude and a laidback attitude. Go forest bathing among the ponderosa pines, use it as a base to explore theGrand Canyon (choose Route 180 and be sure to pit stop at the Chapel of the Holy Dove), or work whatever connections you have to James Turrell, whose impossibly large Roden Crater installation has yet to open to the public.

Arcosanti The ambitious and radical urban development is where architecture meets environmentalism. It's one of the modern world's first attempts at creating a densely integrated, environmentally conscious, vertical urban living experience. Join an architecture tour or lecture and stop for lunch in the distinctive cafe.

Phoenix-Scottsdale Head down to the Valley of the Sun, , for a full-throttle dose of Frank Lloyd Wright (franklloydwright.org). Start with his remarkable home and avant-garde architecture school, Taliesin West . Then tour the Arizona Biltmore Hotel and Gammage Auditorium before sneaking peeks at a number of private homes.Absolutely carve out time for the Heard Museum , which has been advancing the wide-ranging work of Native American artists and tribal communities for ninety years.

Tucson Stop at the Center for Creative Photography , where the walls are lined with work from Adams to Zuzunaga. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a botanical garden, art gallery, natural history installation, and all-around ecological marvel.

We make every effort to ensure the information in our articles is accurate at the time of publication. But the world moves fast, and even we double-check important details before hitting the road.

TTC family of brands

My Costsaver

Destinations

866 530 6085

Creative Tours

START PLANNING

Low Deposit

Flexible Changes

Independently Rated 4.5/5

Artsy Experiences & Destinations

If you dig creative tours and travels, then you’ll dig our unpackaged holidays. We line up dozens of Choice Experiences for each trip, so you can choose the art tours, artisan workshops, and creative travel options.

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS WITH LOCAL ARTISIANS

The only thing better than watching local artisans weaving rugs or spinning a potter’s wheel is getting involved yourself. Get your hands dirty, learn new skills, and bring home a unique souvenir with our creative tours.

Relaxed Atmosphere With Your Travel Buddies

With free time included in every itinerary, there will be plenty of chances to sit and watch the world go by. Bring your sketchbook (and a spare) and get out there taking in the world.

WHY CHOOSE COSTSAVER FOR CREATIVE TOURS & ART TRAVEL?

Creative tours & art travel, your way.

MOSAIC MAKING CLASS IN BARCELONA

After visiting Park Guell and seeing Gaudi’s incredible architecture and vision brought to life you’ll no doubt be feeling inspired. Channel your creativity into your own mosaic and craft a one-of-a-kind souvenir.

VIEW TOUR >>

PAINTING AND WINE IN PRAGUE

With some liquid courage (hello wine!) in one hand and a paintbrush in the other you’ll whip your own Prague masterpiece on canvas. Never painted canvas before? No stress. This class will teach you how.

798 ART ZONE IN BEIJING

This art tour will throw you into the lesser-known art world of Beijing. Wander through this gallery space set in a decommissioned military factory where you’ll meet artists in their studios and explore changing exhibitions.

WANT MORE INSPIRATION?

SEE ALL WAYS TO TRAVEL >>

TIPS & TRICKS FOR CREATIVE TOURS & ART TRAVEL

How can travel boost creativity?

What are the best destinations for art lovers?

Where are the best museums in the world?

Creativity feeds on inspiration and what’s more inspiring than experiencing somewhere new? Soak in different styles of architecture, try new local dishes, and see famous artworks up close...After all that there’s no doubt you’ll return home feeling inspired.

Art is everywhere – from the streets to gallery walls. Keep it traditional and gallery hop through NYC or London, or take to the streets where Gaudi has left a mark on Barcelona, Lima is full of street art and Lisbon’s tiles reflect the morning light.

Paris for the Louvre, New York for The Met, Florence for the Ufitzi, Madrid for the Prado, and London for the Tate… some destinations have world-famous galleries worth traveling for. Others are just waiting to be explored by the more adventurous.

Help & info

Your Questions Answered

Travel Updates

Group Tours

Custom Tours

Sustainable Tourism

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Travel with confidence

Travel planning

View and Request a Brochure

Travel Insurance

Booking Conditions

Tour Deposit Level

Selected Region

United States

United Kingdom

New Zealand

South Africa

Copyright 2024 Costsaver. All rights reserved. Costsaver is a proud member of  The Travel Corporation  family of companies.

Website Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Art Workshops, Classes & Retreats

   virtual / online art classes,    outside the u.s.,    within the u.s.,    all locations.

• Acrylic Painting
• Ceramics & Pottery
• Drawing & Colored Pencils
• Jewelry & Metalsmithing
• Mixed Media & Collage
• Oil Painting
• Photography/ Digital Art
• Printmaking
• Watercolors & Gouache
• Other Media
• Animals & Wildlife
• Art Holidays, Tours & Travel
• Business & Marketing
• Creativity & Style
• Design & Color Theory
• Landscape & Plein Air
• Portrait, Figure & Anatomy
• Still Lifes & Flowers
• Youth Art Classes

   All Media/ All Themes

Join Alison for a week of joyful exploration of Place, in the beautiful city of Cortona. Sitting in ancient squares, by fountains, or in cafes, I’ll show you some simple ways to capture buildings. In markets we’ll talk about how to include figures in your sketches. Overlooking vistas of vineyards and far off hills, we’ll explore how to simplify the scene to focus on important elements and create depth. Drawing and painting on loose pages rather than in a watercolour journal, allows us to loosen up and have fun with experimental techniques and a variety of media. We’ll work with watercolour, pen, ink, marker, on different papers, to create images, which we will curate into a concertina book.   Location: Cortona, Italy Instructor: Alison Watt Cost: From $3,790.00 per person all-inclusive Sponsor: Toscana Americana Workshops Website , email , 978-407-7127

While learning the importance of oil painting techniques and principles (values, edges, composition, etc.), enjoy the joy of actually painting Spain en plein air! The enthusiasm for painting the beaches, cliffs and boats will be contagious! Kathie will walk through her process of narrowing down the choices of subject matter and then demo before it’s time for you to get your brushes wet too… and she will be right alongside cheering you on with personal instruction and encouragement! There is a reason why you want to paint. Kathie will work to help you tap that desire by throwing herself into the entire experience and beauty of the Costa Brava!   Location: Costa Brava/Barcelona, Spain Instructor: Kathie Odom Cost: $3,990 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

With the beautiful landscapes of Acadia National Park, artist Philip Frey presents a plein air painting workshop for dedicated painters. He will offer pivotal lessons designed to develop your skills and confidence, and enhance your creativity as a painter. You will learn to simplify what you see, use limited palettes, and understand the fundamentals of composition. There will be daily one-on-one instruction, demos, and group critiques. Schoodic Institute will host us on their wonderful campus, housing and feeding us delicious meals. Our inspiring painting locations will include Acadia National Park, Grindstone Neck, and Bunker’s Wharf. There will be daily cocktail hours to socialize with your fellow painters. There are some spaces left! For more information, please visit my website.   Location: Winter Harbor, Maine Instructor: Philip Frey Cost: $950-$1500 Sponsor: Schoodic Institute Website , email , (207) 422-2008

Painting in Belgium – a dream come true! From quaint little buildings, to beaches, mossy canals and windmills. We get the chance to paint them all! You will be learning some of the most valuable skills in watercolor, such as working wet-on-wet, learning to recognize the moisture content of the paper and why the thickness of your paint mixture is so important. Watercolor is so much easier once you learn these little fundamentals. Our days are relaxed and informative (with lots of good food and laughter in the mix). If you are a first-time plein air painter (and afraid), you’ll find it painless! We will also be working in the studio with lots of demos, handouts and personal attention.   Location: Bruges, Belgium Instructor: Kathie George Cost: $3,890 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Just imagine….200 year old olive trees, charming hilltop villages, bustling outdoor cafés and window boxes overflowing with colorful flowers. Now, put yourself in the picture, sitting at a little café with your sketchbook and paints, sketching a window across the way, with its lace curtains, blue shutters, and red geraniums. Can you see it? Can you feel it? Well, why not experience it? Join me for an unforgettable painting holiday in Provence, a region famous for its stunning scenery and clear light which has captivated artists through the centuries. In this week-long workshop, we’ll relax and enjoy long autumn days sketching in this stunningly beautiful part of France. Capture once-in-a-lifetime experiences on the pages of your watercolor journals!   Location: Fontaine de Vaucluse, France Instructor: Leslie Fehling Cost: $3,990 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Mariette Egreteau Martelli was born in France but now lives in Arezzo, where she has been a teacher for more than thirty years. She has a scientific background and has always been interested in the link between science and art, with her curiosity fully satisfied in the spectacle offered by nature. Light playing on ordinary objects, and the transparency of sky and water are her favourite subjects. She mostly uses watercolour to express herself, for its immediacy and union between water and light. She is bilingual in French and Italian and fluent in English.   Location: Assisi, Italy Instructor: Mariette Egreteau Martelli Cost: 2600 € Sponsor: Schola Artis Pro Vobis Website , email

Sicily – It's on everyone's bucket list, with colorful sunsets, olive groves, vineyards, and picturesque villages with narrow streets, a never ending range of restaurants and cafés, blue skies and beautiful nature, it’s a painters paradise… And it will be our home for 7 days. The workshop is hosted by the retreat center Salinara. Our daily watercolor routine will include daily demonstrations by Gary, along with time for individual instruction. Afternoons will vary between painting time, exploring the region on your own, or possible one of the many activities offered through Salinara – on designated days Gary will conduct group critique over cocktails before the evening meal.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Gary Tucker Cost: From 2300 $ Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

This pastel workshop is designed for the beginning and intermediate pastelist and will cover materials, basic design, color, and application. Some materials will be supplied. We will be painting from life and photographs taken on-site or in the surrounding areas of Umbria, the Green Heart of Italy. This is a great opportunity to learn the fundamentals of pastel painting as well as providing a challenge to those who already have a basic understanding of pastel technique. Expect plenty of encouragement and actionable advice. Enjoy a beautiful location with magnificent views and a special atmosphere that only Umbria can offer.   Location: Assisi, Italy Instructor: Neva Rossi Smoll Cost: 2600 € Sponsor: Schola Artis Pro Vobis Website , email

We will be a lovely small group where I can work with you individually to ensure that every aspect of the experience meets your expectations. There will be plenty of opportunity to have your questions answered and have fun along the way. I will show you how to make fast improvements by sharing my most successful tips for watercolour sketching. You will receive plenty of demonstrations and examples to support you along the way. Learn how to sketch confidently, understand paint consistency and application and mix wonderful glowing colours! The subjects covered will be truly inspirational – including beautiful beaches, cliffs, boats, botanical garden, local scenes and sketching the everyday such as your lunch.   Location: Costa Brava/Barcelona, Spain Instructor: Judy Salleh Cost: $3,790 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Keiko Tanabe is a Japanese contemporary artist who has won multiple awards. We are so proud that she’s coming to SALINARA for the fourth time. Come to enjoy a masterful tuition by Keiko Tanabe. Subject matters will be landscape, Mediterranean seascape, old historic city scape, and indoor locations in the authentic 18th century farmhouse where the participants will stay. Sicily is like a dream, colorful sunset, olive groves, lined vineyards, picturesque villages with narrow streets, churches, a never ending range of restaurants and cafés, blue skies and beautiful nature, jovial, kind and friendly people, traditional foods and great local wine. Art, mixture of history and culture, nature create a unique atmosphere and stimulate your creativity. Limited single rooms for a supplement.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Keiko Tanabe Cost: From € 2050 Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

A Sketchbook Journaling Workshop with Karen Ramsay. Come join us and capture Mallorca in watercolor! As we fill our art travel journals with sketching and watercolors, Karen will give us tips and tricks for improving this special skill. Sketching on location, while traveling, is an art form that you can take with you on every future trip. The daily sketches that you create will become a treasured visual diary of your travel. During this week in Mallorca, we will explore the island, its many scenic areas - from the gorgeous views over the Mediterranean Sea to the small towns in the Tramuntana mountain range: the artist town of Deia, the scenic towns of Fornalutx and Valldemossa and the capital Palma.   Location: Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain Instructor: Karen Ramsay Cost: $3,890 Sponsor: Alpine Creative Tours Website , email , 970-846-9000

5-day Plein Air Event will be an artist's oasis of cotton fields, pine forest, ponds, moss-covered oaks, and historic streets of downtown Thomasville. Join award-winning artists Mary O Smith, Steven Walker, Orit Reuben, Phil Sandusky, Craig Reynolds and Paul Ladnier for an opportunity to learn from these exceptional artists and access beautiful locations. $75 Registration ($70 for members) includes: Inclusion in 2-day Plein Air Exhibition at the Covey Nest, Thomasville, GA. Inclusion in “Wet Paint” show in Boston, GA. Commission is 35% (30% for members). Inclusion in “Quick Draw” paint out, judged by our Featured Artists. People’s Choice: $300, Quickdraw: 1st place $250, 2nd place $200, 3rd place $150, Invitation to private Welcome Dinner.   Location: Thomasville, Georgia Instructor: Various Cost: $75 Sponsor: Pines & Palms, the Georgia/Florida Artist Association, Website , email , 229-264-2069

A thought-provoking and inspirational art workshop open to artists of all levels and media (oils, acrylics, watercolors). Nine full days of plein air painting, art history/theory lectures, touring, and gastronomy in the most beautiful area of Tuscany. Our teaching approach and groups limited to eight participants allow us to offer personalized instruction and a stimulating learning environment. Cost of CAD 3975 (around US$ 3000) includes instruction, 9-night accommodation in single and double rooms (limited single rooms available at no extra cost), all breakfasts, 7 lunches, 9 gourmet dinners including wine, transportation from and to the Arezzo train station, transportation to all painting sites (Montepulciano, Cortona, Pienza, etc.), train ticket to Florence, and a tour to the Uffizi Museum.   Location: Lucignano, Tuscany, Italy Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$ 3000 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

5-star Painting and Cultural Cruise - Italian Riviera and France! 9 nights: from Barcelona to Rome. All Mediums | All Levels | Non-Painters | Independent Painters. Welcome to our exciting painting cruise across three countries! Embark on an extraordinary 5-star Mediterranean cruise, an artistic journey that unfolds from Barcelona to Rome. This luxurious voyage includes enchanting stops along the picturesque Italian Riviera and captivating destinations in France. As you sail through azure waters and experience the opulence of a 5-star cruise, immerse yourself in unique painting adventures at each port of call. Ports of Call: Barcelona, Marseille (Provence), Nice, Santa Margherita (Portofino), La Spezia (Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa), Naples and Rome.   Location: Mediterranean Cruise, Italy Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: see website Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

5-star Painting and Cultural Cruise - Italian Riviera and France! 9 nights: from Barcelona to Rome. All Mediums | All Levels | Non-Painters | Independent Painters. Welcome to our exciting painting cruise across three countries! Embark on an extraordinary 5-star Mediterranean cruise, an artistic journey that unfolds from Barcelona to Rome. This luxurious voyage includes enchanting stops along the picturesque Italian Riviera and captivating destinations in France. As you sail through azure waters and experience the opulence of a 5-star cruise, immerse yourself in unique painting adventures at each port of call. Ports of Call: Barcelona, Marseille (Provence), Nice, Santa Margherita (Portofino), La Spezia (Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa), Naples and Rome.   Location: Mediterranean Cruise, France Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: see website Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

5-star Painting and Cultural Cruise - Italian Riviera and France! 9 nights: from Barcelona to Rome. All Mediums | All Levels | Non-Painters | Independent Painters. Welcome to our exciting painting cruise across three countries! Embark on an extraordinary 5-star Mediterranean cruise, an artistic journey that unfolds from Barcelona to Rome. This luxurious voyage includes enchanting stops along the picturesque Italian Riviera and captivating destinations in France. As you sail through azure waters and experience the opulence of a 5-star cruise, immerse yourself in unique painting adventures at each port of call. Ports of Call: Barcelona, Marseille (Provence), Nice, Santa Margherita (Portofino), La Spezia (Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa), Naples and Rome.   Location: Mediterranean Cruise, Spain Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: see website Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

Urban sketching is a skill anybody can learn! It will change the way you perceive the world. Whether you are a novice or a sketcher who feels they can do better, this workshop is for you. The focus is on black and white. It is the foundation of all sketching styles. Build confidence and practice urban sketching to capture the essence of the place by learning: What to look for, How to start the sketch, How to simplify the busy surroundings. Your Facilitator: Cristiana Mar is an experienced artist, architect, and educator, teaching adults, leading workshops in US and Mexico since 1989. Our location is Guanajuato, World Heritage city, the capital of Guanajuato state.   Location: Guanajuato, Mexico Instructor: Cristiana Mar Cost: $500.00 Sponsor: Cristi Fer Art Website , email , 322-153-1906

Join us for a plein air watercolour painting retreat in delightful and peaceful West-Sicily with Polish watercolorist Michal Jasiewicz. We are so proud that he’s coming to SALINARA for the second time. Michal will be your tutor during your stay at the stunning Salinara Art Farm, in the Trapani region. Daily painting excursions to surrounding salt pans, local markets, vineyards, villages such as the medieval town Erice, and Archeological Park of Selinunte, one of the most flourishing classical civilizations of the Mediterranean area. The workshop will take you through selecting a dramatic composition and simplifying it, tone, light, color theory, effects and how to build up a watercolour painting in a structured, demonstration-led setting. Limited single rooms for a supplement.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Michal Jasiewicz Cost: From € 1750 Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

Join the 2024 Venice Biennale and Istanbul Biennial Art Tour, a unique 9-night art history trip in Italy and Turkey open to everyone, from artists and art lovers to students and lifelong learners. The cost of CAD $ 4 570 (around US$ 3420) includes 9-night double accommodation in well-rated and centrally located hotels in Venice and Istanbul; daily breakfast, group transportation to the sites on schedule (vaporetto, taxi, bus, ferry), flight from Venice to Istanbul, daily discovery walks in Venice and Istanbul, two-day entrance to the Venice Biennale and the Istanbul Biennial, entrances to the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque, and the constant service of an art historian guide and a logistics responsible.   Location: Venice, Italy Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$ 3420 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

Join the 2024 Venice Biennale and Istanbul Biennial Art Tour, a unique 9-night art history trip in Italy and Turkey open to everyone, from artists and art lovers to students and lifelong learners. The cost of CAD $ 4 570 (around US$ 3420) includes 9-night double accommodation in well-rated and centrally located hotels in Venice and Istanbul; daily breakfast, group transportation to the sites on schedule (vaporetto, taxi, bus, ferry), flight from Venice to Istanbul, daily discovery walks in Venice and Istanbul, two-day entrance to the Venice Biennale and the Istanbul Biennial, entrances to the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque, and the constant service of an art historian guide and a logistics responsible.   Location: Istanbul, Turkey Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$ 3420 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

Introducing history of art in Umbria – journey among the wonder. Day 1 Assisi – before and after Giotto: Cimabue and Pietro Cavallini. Investigation around art changings through the XIII century. Day 2 Spoleto – Alberto Sotio: unique XII century school of art in remote Umbria, how byzantine influences have produced masterpieces. Day 3 Montefalco – Benozzo Gozzoli: a piece of Florence in Umbria. Spello – Pinturicchio: artist of the most reach XVth century courts of Italian Renaissance. Day 4 Orvieto – From ‘300 to ‘500: three centuries in a single masterpiece, the Duomo of Orvieto and the ‘Fabrica’. Day 5 Perugia – briefing up: Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, eight centuries of History of Art in Umbria in one place.   Location: Assisi, Italy Instructor: Irene Maturi Cost: € 2600 Sponsor: Schola Artis Pro Vobis Website , email

Join us for an unforgettable painting tour in the enchanting city of Venice, designed for those who appreciate the finer things in life. Our tour offers luxurious accommodations, daily painting sessions, exquisite cuisine, and cultural experiences, all within a small, intimate group setting that feels like family. Each day includes demonstrations and personalized one-on-one instructions led by the renowned artist Vlad Yeliseyev, allowing you to enhance your skills while capturing the breathtaking scenes of this iconic city.   Location: Venice, Italy Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

Granada in the south of Spain is one of the most exciting, different, and welcoming cities I know. So much is going on there in the culture historically and present. We will work mostly in our sketchbooks and Journals during our week in Granada. Moving around with only a backpack and light stools will be easier. We’ll be sketching alleys and mountains, the old casbah, and the famous Alhambra from inside and its surroundings—Flamenco performances in local bars, also gardens, and urban views. We will stay in beautiful accommodation in the heart of the old city, and from there we will have access to our sketching adventure.   Location: Granada, Spain Instructor: Tali Farchi Cost: €2900 Sponsor: Artist Table Website , email , +31 6 24903316

Experience a hands-on, deep dive into the authentic traditions of Day of the Dead. Start with a visit to a local mercado for altar decorations & offerings. Then spend your days painting imagery & symbolic representations of loved ones in watercolor to honor their memories, assemble a beautiful group altar, construct & decorate a traditional sand tapestry. Visit two cemeteries where Oaxaqueños lovingly adorn the graves of their ancestors & bring offerings to share with their spirits. Participate in a comparsa - the traditional Muertos parade. Field trips include artisan studio visits: tapetes (woven wool rugs), alebrijes (carved wooden objects), and women's red clay collective (who will invite us to see their own gorgeous Muertos altar).   Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Instructor: Pedro Cruz Pacheco + Corrie McCluskey Cost: $2200 (lodging included) Sponsor: Oaxaca Dreams / Talismán Oaxaca Website , email , 707-327-2747

We invite you to join us in this relaxed, beautiful, historic place. Give yourself this time and space to joyfully become a better painter! The setting of Salinara, with its rustic beauty, farm fresh meals, and interesting excursions provides the perfect environment for our “Spirit,Mind,Body” experience. Your artistic SPIRIT will be recognized, encouraged, and celebrated as you work with other creative participants. Your MIND will be engaged by discussions of Art within the group, and your problem solving skills will be challenged as you are improving your painting ability. Your BODY will be nourished with fresh food, walks, biking, and yoga sessions. The emphasis on this workshop is to help promote skill-building with your painting, regardless of your level.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Qiang Huang and Suzanne Enriquez Dougher Cost: From 2000 $ Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

Join our unique art workshop in South America and experience the stunning Caribbean coast from Puerto Colombia (Barranquilla) to Cartagena. Learn perspective drawing and the fundamentals of watercolors and taste the best of Colombian Caribbean food and culture. After an art class, try a "mojarra con arroz con coco" with a cold Colombian beer. Sketch on the beach, attend cooking demonstrations by local chefs, join a street food tour, and more. The price of CAD 3050 per person (around US$2250) includes eight-night double accommodation in well rated hotels, all ground transportation, all breakfasts, one lunch, two suppers, one street food tour, art instruction, cooking presentations, art supplies, and more. Single rooms available for CAD 810 (around US$ 600).   Location: Cartagena, Colombia Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$2250 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

Need to feed your creative soul? Fill it to the brim with creative transformation and fresh inspiration. We'll mix art class - watercolor, natural pigments, mixed media/collage - with carefully curated field trips in magical Oaxaca: a traditional Carnaval celebration featuring La Danza de Los Diabilitos (Dance of the Devils) the Tuesday before Lent begins, a massive Zapotec Sunday market, a studio visit with a master mask maker where we'll paint our own masks, a master alebrije (wooden carved figures) family studio, a papermaking studio using local natural fibers, a gorgeous art center housed in a renovated textile factory, and a guided street art walk in a hip barrio - all mixed in with art instruction and creative play time.   Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Instructor: Pedro Cruz Pacheco + Corrie McCluskey Cost: $2595 (includes lodging) Sponsor: Talismán Oaxaca / Oaxaca Dreams Website , email , 707-327-2747

A fun and flexible bus art tour to New York City from Ottawa offered since 1993. Three nights and four days in Midtown Manhattan visiting the Met, the MoMa, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the Chelsea Galleries and more. A great opportunity to travel with a group of art lovers and an art historian on board. Participants from all over the US can join us in NYC. Price per person in a double room is CAD 1000 (around US$730 at the current exchange rate). We also offer single, triple and quad accommodation. Price includes three nights at a well-rated hotel in Midtown Manhattan, deluxe bus transportation Ottawa-New York -Ottawa and transportation to all museums and galleries on schedule.   Location: New York City, New York Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$ 730 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

Amit Kapoor is a leading master of watercolor in India. Join us for a unique and exceptional watercolor painting workshop in Sicily with the Indian artist Amit Kapoor. It’s a beautiful opportunity for you to live and paint with a master artist in an authentic Sicilian farmhouse located just 500 m from the Mediterranean sea. Participants will learn Amit’s techniques and process to paint Plein-Air and in studio, how to be expressive with bold brush strokes and colourful palette. Limited single rooms for a supplement.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Amit Kapoor Cost: From € 2150 Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

Join me for 4 days of sketching with watercolor in beautiful Sonoma. We’ll enjoy the free-flowing and colorful nature of watercolor at its best while sketching and having fun! I’ll help you develop observation skills, color awareness, simple design principles and learn about light and shadows. We’ll investigate various techniques, sketching tools, and approaches to watercolor. Enjoy time with fellow artists, instruction and friendly critiques.   Location: Sonoma, California Instructor: Brenda Swenson Cost: $1,590 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

A Watercolor Painting Workshop with Anita Winter. Known all over the world for its beauty, Provence is the artist's dream destination. Anita Winter will lead a group of watercolor painters on this painting adventure. During the days, we will explore Luberon, and its spectacular countryside of vineyards and orchards, fascinating "perched" hill-top villages, outstanding natural produce and the light of Van Gogh and Cezanne. You will soon see why artists of all calibers are drawn to this alluring area.   Location: Bonnieux, Provence, France Instructor: Anita Winter Cost: $3,890 Sponsor: Alpine Creative Tours Website , email , 970-846-9000

Come and paint in beautiful Santa Fe! Carol Carter will share her unique watercolor technique, painting from background to foreground, using dynamic and inventive color. We will begin each day in the studio with a watercolor tutorial where Carol will share her watercolor techniques. The workshop will provide templates, reference photos and materials information. The session will conclude with a small critique around 4pm. At the end of the day, we will walk the beautiful downtown of Santa Fe for some museums visit, wine tasting, photography, sketching, and of course we will give you free time for shopping. Relax, enjoy, learn a new watercolor technique or two among the camaraderie of other artists while savoring great local food.   Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico Instructor: Carol Carter Cost: $1,690 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join me in Carmel and Pacific Grove, where we’ll experience the wild beauty of rugged Pacific shores, the enchanting fairy-tale cottages, and historic Mission architecture that make this place so unique. I’ve designed this workshop to give you confidence sketching wherever you happen to be. I’ll show you how to keep your watercolour sketches loose, fresh and vibrant. And I’ll share my techniques for capturing the beauty that surrounds us, so you can savour it for years to come.   Location: Carmel, California Instructor: David Daniels Cost: $3,790 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

I am so excited to teach you in this inspiring place while working outdoors in Plein Air as the Impressionist masters did! Paint the crystal blue Mediterranean waters with breathtaking vistas of the Catalonia coast, a hidden gem fishing village, botanical gardens, and medieval villages. As a painter and colorist, I have learned that the best way to achieve the feeling of light and color in your paintings is to paint outdoors. I will be your guide and teacher for an incredible week of painting, sightseeing, dining, and artistic community while we all learn and grow our artistry during the week. The experience of painting with other artists will be a treasure you carry with you for a lifetime.   Location: Costa Brava, Spain Instructor: Rose Irelan Cost: $3,790 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join me for an amazing week of plein air painting in magnificent Provence, France! This is ‘Red poppy season’ and we’ll explore and paint the exciting spring colors of glorious Provence. I’m super excited to teach you painting in such an inspiring place! We’ll paint flower fields, countryside villages, waterways and hillside castle towns, quaint, flower-filled alleyways, medieval churches, fountains and ancient archways. We’ll paint our impressions, dine exquisitely, share gorgeous sights and creative companionship, all while learning and growing our craft. I will share my methods for creating successful paintings with loose brushwork and exciting color harmonies. I will demo in oil and watercolor, but am proficient and happy to help with acrylics and pastels as well.   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Maggie Hellmann Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

We explore the dramatic landscape of Doolin, County Clare, Ireland and translate its landscape, energy and lore into visual artwork. Our time together will be a balance between group excursions, individual exploration, and creation coupled with sharing and diving deeper into technique. We will establish a shared studio space as a center of operation as artists of any level work together in their preferred Media. Included in the retreat are 4 art workshops with Martin Bridge; field trips; 2 meals/day; housing and publication in an anthology of creativity (subject to vetting)—join us for this retreat of like-minded individuals connecting in various ways to the land in this very special place.   Location: Doolin, Ireland Instructor: Martin Bridge Cost: $1500-$2500 depending on accommodations Sponsor: NatureCulture, and The Milk House Website , email , 413-475-0650

You probably fell in love with making art before a painting holiday occurred to you. Classroom lessons, online sessions, or time in the studio are typically safe environments in which to learn. But once we venture outdoors to paint, the light can be dramatic, the air is filled with sights, sounds, and smells of nature. While this can all be new, it enriches the painting experience even more. When we arrive on the Costa Brava, my job is to help you capture the nuances of our surroundings with confidence. Even before departure I’ll provide practical pointers on what to bring, what to leave behind. My plein-air workshops are jam-packed with helpful tips to help you make powerful statements through your art.   Location: Costa Brava, Spain Instructor: Randy Hale Cost: $3,790 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

The Lake Como Experience - A Plein Air Watercolor Painting Workshop with Kathleen Lanzoni. Join us in Bellagio in 2025, as Kathleen Lanzoni takes a group of watercolor painters on this trip to northern Italy. During the week, this tour is designed to guide you to the finest spots along the shores of the picturesque Lake Como with its charming lakeside towns, its Renaissance architecture, Italian villas and terraced gardens. Daily we will plein air paint the beautiful towns, the lake scenes and the surrounding scenery. You will receive personal painting instruction each day. Whether you are a novice or experienced painter, this trip will be fun and an educational experience for all!   Location: Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy Instructor: Kathleen Lanzoni Cost: $3,990 Sponsor: Alpine Creative Tours Website , email , 970-846-9000

Join me for one week of sketching with watercolor in beautiful Provence! Drawing while traveling is the best way to experience and remember a new place. Traveling is also a perfect opportunity to learn or hone your drawing skills. When we see new sights everything strikes us as unusual, memorable and inspiring. We have a natural desire to admire new vistas, taste new flavors, inhale unusual aromas and record these sensations through taking photos, but also through drawing and writing. For me, drawing while traveling is instinctual, and I am eager to share my passion to fully immerse yourself in a new place through the practice of travel sketching.   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Rita Sabler Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

A Sketchbook Journaling Workshop with Karen Ramsay. Widely considered one of the prettiest areas of Europe, the Italian Lakes were once a playground for nobility and royals, visible in the many palaces dotting the lake shores. We will be staying in the beautiful town of Bellagio, often called "the Pearl of Lake Como", situated by the foothills of the Swiss and Italian Alps. During the week, this tour is designed to guide you to the finest spots along the shores of the picturesque Lake Como with its charming lakeside towns, its Renaissance architecture, Italian villas and terraced gardens. The Italian Lakes region has a mesmerizing, timeless beauty where we will find endless inspiration to design, generate and create art.   Location: Bellagio, Italy Instructor: Karen Ramsay Cost: $3,990 Sponsor: Alpine Creative Tours Website , email , 970-846-9000

The wonderful views and landscapes of the French Alps seem to be just made for watercolor. All the incredible villages, lakes and mountains are just begging to be caught on the tip of your brush. Moving from place to place, we will find the best locations to create vibrant and sunny watercolors. Every day will be a discovery for you—and a new opportunity for painting in watercolor. In addition to traditional watercolor techniques, I will introduce you to my personal methods and secrets. Join us for relaxation and enjoyment of the French Alps with a very rich and informative workshop in the open air.   Location: Haute-Savoie, France Instructor: Shari Blaukopf Cost: $3,840 before Nov 30 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join acclaimed watercolorist and instructor, Margie Samuels, for a magical week of painting in beautiful Provence! Each day will start with a short morning lesson, reviewing the watercolor skills that you will be using in that day’s landscape. These lessons will focus on the specific techniques that you’ll need to take your painting to the next level, including: Creating Stronger Compositions; Putting Depth in Your Paintings (with Perspective); Employing Thoughtful Color Mixing; Painting People into your Landscapes for Interest and Movement. This workshop caters to all skill levels, focusing on foundational techniques. Whether you are a beginner or experienced, my goal is to equip you with the skills for creating vibrant paintings!   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Margie Samuels Cost: $3,940 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Do you want to learn how to capture the spirit of Costa Brava in paint? Here’s your chance! Join plein air and gouache painting veteran Judd Mercer in northeastern Spain for a whirlwind tour of one of the world’s most idyllic coasts. Along the way, you’ll learn the power and portability of gouache, a fantastic medium for capturing the landscape no matter where you are in the world. Watercolorists, oil and acrylic painters, and urban sketchers alike will learn to use the speed and versatility of gouache to capture ideas quickly for plein air work (or studio use later). Each day will feature two demos (morning/afternoon) and emphasize different plein air and gouache techniques.   Location: Costa Brava, Spain Instructor: Judd Mercer Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

A thought-provoking and inspirational art workshop open to artists of all levels and media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.). Nine full days of plein air painting, art history/theory lectures, touring, and gastronomy in the most beautiful area of Tuscany. Our teaching approach and groups limited to eight participants allow us to offer personalized instruction and a stimulating environment that fosters creativity. Cost of CAD 4175 (around US$ 3050) includes instruction, 9-night single or double accommodation (limited single rooms available at no extra cost), all breakfasts, 7 lunches, 9 gourmet dinners including wine, transportation from and to the Arezzo train station, transportation to all painting sites (Montepulciano, Cortona, Pienza, etc.), train ticket to Florence, and a guided tour to the Uffizi Museum.   Location: Lucignano, Italy Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$3050 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

The unique aspect of this tour is the opportunity to explore two incredible countries in a single trip, witnessing the diversity of landscapes, architecture, and culture as you hop between the Netherlands and Belgium. You'll be guided by our knowledgeable instructor, Vlad, along with wonderful local guides. Are you ready to embark on a journey that combines art, history, delicious cuisine, and unforgettable camaraderie? Look no further! Vlad's Painting and Cultural Tour in the Netherlands and Belgium promises to be the highlight of your summer. We invite you to check out the itinerary for this trip to explore the exciting activities and destinations we have planned.   Location: Bruges & Ghent, Belgium Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: $3,950.00 Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

The unique aspect of this tour is the opportunity to explore two incredible countries in a single trip, witnessing the diversity of landscapes, architecture, and culture as you hop between the Netherlands and Belgium. You'll be guided by our knowledgeable instructor, Vlad, along with wonderful local guides. Are you ready to embark on a journey that combines art, history, delicious cuisine, and unforgettable camaraderie? Look no further! Vlad's Painting and Cultural Tour in the Netherlands and Belgium promises to be the highlight of your summer. We invite you to check out the itinerary for this trip to explore the exciting activities and destinations we have planned.   Location: Leiden, The Netherlands Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: $3,950.00 Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

Join me for a week in Provence, where we will spend our week traveling and sketching and capturing all our experiences in our sketchbook. We will sometimes sketch quick vignettes on the go, and at other times, we will paint more immersive panoramas where we slow down to capture the essence of place in a single piece. Our travels will take us to beautiful riverside villages, lavender fields, cliffs of ochre and gardens where Van Gogh sketched. There will be markets and town squares to draw in and gourmet food to enjoy and capture in our sketches. All in all, you are promised a week filled with rich experiences and lots of art tips to up your travel-sketching game!   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Suhita Shirodkar Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

While learning the importance of oil painting techniques (values, edges, composition, etc.), the joy of actually painting France en plein air won’t get lost on Kathie! The enthusiasm for painting the mountains, lakes and chalets with you will be contagious! Kathie will walk through her process of narrowing down the choices of subject matter and then demo before it’s time for you to get your brushes wet too… and she will be right alongside cheering you on with personal instruction and encouragement! There is a reason why you want to paint. Kathie will work to help you tap that desire by throwing herself into the entire experience and beauty of the French Alps!   Location: Haute-Savoie, France Instructor: Kathie Odom Cost: $3,840 before Nov 30 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

In this watercolor workshop, I will help you discover new approaches to your works. Values and Color are the two main elements I will focus on and a dramatic sense of design. My personal style is basically a loose and carefree approach. Leaving a lot of the white of the paper, for me, is paramount in my watercolor work. We will work mostly from our own reference photos, in a relaxed studio environment. You can choose which genres best suit your personality - florals, landscapes, structures, etc. Critiques of the work and one-on-one directions will also be a part of this workshop. I hope you will join me in Bruges for this fantastic painting experience.   Location: Bruges, Belgium Instructor: Rae Andrews Cost: $3,840 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

A unique art workshop/art tour open to artists of all levels and media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.). Seven days of plein-air painting, art history/theory lectures, and gastronomy in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence followed by four days visiting Barcelona’s top art sites and enjoying Catalan cuisine. The price of CAD 4700 per person (around US$ 3450) includes instruction, 11-night double accommodation, 11 breakfasts, 6 healthy lunches, 6 gourmet dinners including wine, transportation from the Manosque train station to our lodge, transportation to all painting sites,TGV train ticket Avignon-Barcelona, transportation and entrance fees to all sites on schedule (Cézanne’s studio, La Sagrada Familia, Picasso Museum, Miró Museum, etc.). Limited single rooms for a supplement of CAD 875 (around US$ 650),   Location: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence & Barcelona, Spain Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$3450 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

A unique art workshop/art tour open to artists of all levels and media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.). Seven days of plein-air painting, art history/theory lectures, and gastronomy in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence followed by four days visiting Barcelona’s top art sites and enjoying Catalan cuisine. The price of CAD 4700 per person (around US$ 3450) includes instruction, 11-night double accommodation, 11 breakfasts, 6 healthy lunches, 6 gourmet dinners including wine, transportation from the Manosque train station to our lodge, transportation to all painting sites, TGV train ticket Avignon-Barcelona, transportation and entrance fees to all sites on schedule (Cézanne’s studio, La Sagrada Familia, Picasso Museum, Miró Museum, etc.). Limited single rooms for a supplement of CAD 875 (around US$ 650).   Location: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence & Barcelona, France Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque Cost: US$3450 Sponsor: Walk the Arts Website , email , 800-611-4789

While learning the importance of oil painting techniques (values, edges, composition, etc.), the joy of actually painting Belgium en plein air won’t get lost on Kathie! The enthusiasm for painting medieval architecture and windmills with you will be contagious! Kathie will walk through her process of narrowing down the choices of subject matter and then demo before it’s time for you to get your brushes wet too… and she be right alongside cheering you on with personal instruction and encouragement! There is a reason why you want to paint. Kathie will work to help you tap that desire by throwing herself into the entire experience and beauty of this amazing city of Bruges!   Location: Bruges, Belgium Instructor: Kathie Odom Cost: $3,840 before Nov 30th Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join Cindy Briggs and Theresa Goesling in Bruges, Belgium and have a creative life experience. You’ll enjoy inspiring locations such as canals, wind mills, Flemish architecture, daily painting demonstrations, personalized instruction, and encouraging support from Cindy and Theresa. “We show you how to simplify and design your subject, draw confidently, jazz up your colors, paint with serendipity and experiment with new techniques. Create colorful paintings en Plein Air with an emphasis on celebrating your own unique point of view”.   Location: Bruges, Belgium Instructor: Cindy Briggs & Theresa Goesling Cost: $3,840 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join me for an unforgettable painting holiday in Giverny, a strikingly beautiful part of France famous for its stunning scenery and captivating light. We’ll have plenty of time to capture once-in-a-lifetime experiences on the pages of our watercolor journals. You’ll learn how to add style and interest to your sketchbook pages through the use of unique page layouts and borders, and we’ll cover several fun new lettering styles. In addition, I’ll offer daily demonstrations of techniques for painting the subject matter you’ll encounter each day. And you’ll be painting right along with me, since we learn more by doing than by simply observing. The workshop is suitable for all levels, but some experience with drawing and watercolor would be helpful.   Location: Giverny, France Instructor: Leslie Fehling Cost: $3,840 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join Cindy Briggs and Theresa Goesling in the French Alps and have a creative life experience. You’ll enjoy inspiring locations such as mountains, lakes, chalets, meadows, daily painting demonstrations, personalized instruction, and encouraging support from Cindy and Theresa. “We show you how to simplify and design your subject, draw confidently, jazz up your colors, paint with serendipity and experiment with new techniques. Create colorful paintings en Plein Air with an emphasis on celebrating your own unique point of view”.   Location: Haute-Savoie, France Instructor: Cindy Briggs & Theresa Goesling Cost: $3,840 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Do you struggle to apply watercolour or get overwhelmed sometimes when sketching? I will help solve your problems by showing you how to make fast improvements through sharing my most successful tips with watercolour sketching. You will receive plenty of individual tuition, demonstrations and examples to support you along the way. Return home armed with new skills in watercolour and sketching as you will have learnt how to sketch confidently, understand paint consistency and application and mix wonderful glowing colours to capture the magical scenes of Giverny. I will encourage you to sketch what makes your heart sing! The subjects covered will be truly inspirational – including French buildings, landscapes, local scenes and Monet’s garden!   Location: Giverny, France Instructor: Judy Salleh Cost: $3,840 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Experience the Provence region on an immersive artistic journey with Alicia Farris. Alicia adores sharing her passion for watercolor painting and inspires with her creative energy and loose and lively painting style. She feels artists share a special sense for both seeing and feeling their subjects. She helps inspire her students to use color and light to paint a story from their hearts, not merely from what their eyes see. You’ll have the opportunity to watercolor paint, sketch and photograph your way through this spectacular region of Provence. Whether it’s the beautiful gardens, the lovely vistas, colorful markets or the quaint villages that inspire you, Alicia will guide you through the creative process.   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Alicia Farris Cost: $3,940 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Come join me for an amazing week of plein air painting in beautiful Provence, France! We will have gorgeous views to paint of cute medieval villages, colorful markets, rivers, olive trees, etc… It is also a place to enjoy gourmet cheese and wine, ratatouille and creme brûlée! You can choose to work with Oil &/or Gouache in this workshop. I will be doing daily demos and assisting you with your paintings. I enjoy teaching and will be there with you to help strengthen your painting skills and artistic voice. We will focus on design, color mixing, and capturing the mood of the day by understanding atmospheric perspective. This workshop is open to beginner and intermediate students.   Location: Provence, France Instructor: Ellen Howard Cost: $3,940 before Jan 31 Sponsor: French Escapade Website , email , 510-483-5713

Join Cindy Briggs and Theresa Goesling for their 2nd workshop at the stunning Salinara Art Farm on the west coast of Sicily. Sicily is a unique island that has been shaped by many cultures over many thousands of years. Excursions and painting to surrounding salt pans with colorful sunset, fisherman boats, local markets, picturesque villages with narrow streets, churches, a never ending range of restaurants and cafés, blue skies and beautiful nature, jovial, kind and friendly people, traditional foods and great local wine, medieval hill town of Erice, Archeological Park of Selinunte with Greek temples. And many beaches where we can swim in the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea. Limited single rooms for a supplement.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Theresa Goesling and Cindy Briggs Cost: From € 3100 Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

Sicily – It's on everyone's bucket list, with colorful sunsets, olive groves, vineyards, and picturesque villages with narrow streets, a never ending range of restaurants and cafés, blue skies and beautiful nature, it’s a painters paradise… And it will be our home for 7 days. The workshop is hosted by the retreat center Salinara. Our daily watercolor routine will include daily demonstrations by Gary, along with time for individual instruction. Afternoons will vary between painting time, exploring the region on your own, or possible one of the many activities offered through Salinara – on designated days Gary will conduct group critique over cocktails before the evening meal. Limited single rooms for a supplement.   Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Gary Tucker Cost: From $2300 Sponsor: Salinara - Art Farm | Retreat Centre Website , email

Ports: Athens, Volos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos. Join our luxurious painting and cultural tour onboard Celebrity Infinity, starting from the historic city of Athens and exploring the stunning Greek islands and Turkey. This journey offers a perfect blend of painting experience lead by award-winning master watercolorist Vladislav Yeliseyev and deep cultural immersion, with private tours ensuring an intimate and enriching experience. This tour is designed for everyone - whether you wish to learn from Vlad, paint independently, or simply enjoy the journey as a non-painter. Immerse yourself in the rich culture, breathtaking scenery, and artistic inspiration that the Mediterranean has to offer. This journey promises not only a lavish vacation but also an unforgettable artistic odyssey around Aegean Sea!   Location: Celebrity Cruise, Greece Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev Cost: from $4985 Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art Website , email , 941-330-6865

Promote your art workshops, classes & retreats!

Part of the TTC Family of Brands

GET A QUOTE

DESTINATIONS

WAYS TO TRAVEL

SPECIAL OFFERS

1 888 680 1241

Art & History Tours

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION

Art Lover's Tour of Europe - Italy, Switzerland, France, Netherlands

Grand history tour of europe - france, germany, czech republic, scientific marvels of europe - italy, switzerland, france, england.

Your search for ""

Day 1: Welcome to Rome

Welcome to Rome! On arrival you are met by your Travel Director and transferred to your accommodation. (D)

Day 2: Rome Sightseeing

This morning, visit the Vatican Museum with a Local Expert. Admire the papal art collection and enter the Sistine Chapel and admire Michelangelo’s masterpiece on its ceiling. Next door, in St Peter’s Basilica, see one of Michelangelo’s early works, the Pieta, and the splendid dome, completed after his death. Afterwards, visit the Colosseum, where the gladiators prepared for battle. (B, RD)

Day 3: Tuscan Hills onto Florence

Journey through the picturesque Tuscan Hills towards Florence. On arrival, join a local art historian to see Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Museum. (B, D)

Day 4: Renaissance Florence

This morning, see the multi-coloured marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, adorned by Ghiberti’s ‘Gates of Paradise’. Then join a Local Expert for a visit to the Uffizi Galleries, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in Europe. You'll also enjoy works by Michelangelo, Botticelli and Raphael, among other masterpieces. (B, RD)

Day 5: Leaning Tower of Pisa & Milan

Stop first in Pisa to see the incredible Leaning Tower, as well as its splendid cathedral and baptistery. Continue north to the financial and fashion capital Milan. (B, D)

Day 6: Experience Milan

This morning, visit the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie with a Local Expert. It is an outstanding work of architecture and an emblem within the Catholic tradition, and is perhaps even more famous for its connection to Leonardo Da Vinci’s fresco of ‘The Last Supper’, which is preserved inside its refectory (dining hall). The Church is one of Renaissance art’s most important testimonies and has therefore been included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (tickets to the Last Supper are subject to availability).  Later, for a change of pace, we embark on an alternative visit to Milan to see urban graffiti, murals and street art scattered around the city. Get a glimpse of an alternative Milan, meet colourful characters, learn about modern-day Milan and be inspired by the vibrancy of city life.  (B, D)

Day 7: Milan to Basel

Travel across the border into Switzerland. En route, we stop for a cheese or chocolate tasting before heading to Basel. (B, D)

Day 8: Basel Sightseeing

Explore Basel, with a Local Expert, concluding with a visit to Foundation Beyeler In 1997, the famous collection of Ernst and Hildy Beyeler in Riehen. The collection contains around 200 pictures and sculptures, including works by Cézanne, Picasso, Rousseau, Mondrian, Klee, Ernst, Matisse and Newman.  Famous around the world, the astounding temporary exhibitions are highlights of your visit. (B, D)

Day 9: Basel to Paris

Travel through the French countryside to Paris. (B, D)

Day 10: Best of Paris

After an orientation tour, visit one of the world's best-known art collections at the Louvre Museum. A specialist art historian guides you through the galleries to see the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Mona Lisa and more (Louvre visit subject to availability). Continue on a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral, famously protected by its roof-top gargoyles, to learn about over-arching Parisian history. This evening, embark on an illuminations journey in Paris to see iconic sights at night. (B, HD)

Day 11: Musee De L’orangerie & Giverney

This morning, visit the Musée de l'Orangerie, an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. Though most famous for being the permanent home of eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Chaim Soutine, and Maurice Utrillo, among others. Afterwards, we head to Monet’s garden in Giverney to see the inspiration of some of his most famous works before heading back to Paris. (BB, D)

Day 12: Paris to Amsterdam

Travel through northern France and Belgium en route to Amsterdam. (BB, D)

Day 13: Amsterdam Galleries – Rijksmuseum & Vincent van Gogh Museum

Admire world-famous masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum, which has on display 8,000 objects of art and history. There is a total collection of 1 million objects, spanning the years 1200–2000AD, among which are masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. Then onto the Vincent van Gogh Museum, which is dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam. The museum is home to the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.  This evening, enjoy a canal cruise dinner to bid farewell to our time in Europe. (B, FD)

Day 14: Farewell Amsterdam

Your tour concludes after breakfast with a transfer to the airport for your onward flight. (B)

Day 1: Welcome to Paris

Welcome to Paris! On arrival at Charles De Gaulle airport you will be met by your Travel Director and transferred to your hotel.

Day 2: Paris From a History Perspective

Learn about the significance of the French Revolution and visit key sites such as Place de la Bastille, Les Invalides War Museum, the Conciergerie and Place de la Concorde. In the evening enjoy a walk along the Champs-Elysees, followed by a cruise along the River Seine. (BB)

Day 3: Disneyland in Paris

Spend the day at Disneyland Paris. Included in your tour is a full-day, one-park pass to either Disneyland Park or Disney Studio Park. (BB)

Day 4: Versailles & D-Day Memorial

Travel this morning to Versailles and visit the Palace of Versailles to see its opulent rooms and gardens. Experience the extraordinary Hall of Mirrors where the historic Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.  Continue to Arromanches and visit the D-Day Memorial. It’s then onto Bayeux for our overnight stay. (BB, D)

Day 5: Battle of the Somme

Today we visit Amiens and the nearby Somme Battlefields, where some of the most intense fighting took place during World War I. More than 3 million men fought in this battle with1 million wounded or killed. We visit some of the many interesting memorials and museums dedicated to the fallen. Our overnight stay is in Amiens.  (BB, D)

Day 6: The Lost Territories - Strasbourg

We travel to Verdum where you will visit the Verdum Battlefields and War Memorial.  Our journey continues to Strasbourg, on the border of Germany, for our overnight stay. (BB)

Day 7: Strasbourg to Colmar

In the morning travel to Colmar where you will enjoy a boat tour in the canal quarter, followed by a walking tour around Petite Venise and the historic centre. From Colmar, continue to Riquewihr for a walking tour in the town.  We then visit Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg for a visit to the castle, before arriving back in Strasbourg for our overnight stay. (BB)

Day 8: Europa Park & Friedrichshafen

Spend the day at the Europa Park, one of the best theme parks in Europe. This evening we overnight in Friedrichshafen. (BB, D)

Day 9: Meersburg Castle onto Munich

Begin your morning with a walk up to Meersburg Castle. We then make our way to the well-known Neuschwanstein for a tour to the castle and a horse-carriage ride down the mountain. Then it’s onto Munich where a Local Expert will take you on a walking tour in the city centre, including key sites related to Hitler’s time in Munich and the Third Reich. Finally we visit the Nazi Documentation Centre. (BB)

Day 10: Eagle’s Nest & Obersalzburg

A short drive out of Munich, visit Hitler’s former retreat, known as the Eagle’s Nest. Afterwards, stop for lunch at Obersalzburg (own expense) and continue to the Konigsee for a boat tour on the Lake and a chance to swim in Lake Chiemsee. Return to Munich for your overnight stay. (BB)

Day 11: Dachau & Rothenburg

We start the day with a tour to the Munich Residenz Museum. It is then onto Dachau for a sobering visit to the concentration camp. Our overnight stay is in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. (BB)

Day 12: Explore Medieval Rothenburg

Rothenburg was regarded by the Nazis as the most “German” of German towns. Visit the Museum of Torture, explore the medieval city and battlements, and join a Nightwatchman tour. (BB)

Day 13: Nazi History in Nuremberg

We depart Rothenburg and continue to Nuremburg in the morning. On arrival, join a Local Expert for a tour to city centre. Walk up to the Kaiserburg Castle, visit the Nazi parade grounds and the Albert Speer Documentation Centre to bring to life the history of Hitler’s rise to power. In the afternoon, visit the Palace of Justice and Courtroom 600, the location of the Nuremburg Nazi trials. (BB)

Day 14: Onto Magical Prague

This morning travel to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. On arrival, join your Travel Director for an orientation tour of the old town centre, including the town square, St Nicholas Church and Tyn Church. Afterwards visit Prague Castle and walk to Charles Bridge. (BB)

Day 15: Museum visits in Prague

Visit The Prague Communism Museum, Jewish Museum and the Kepler Museum today. (BB)

Day 16: Military History in Dresden

In the morning we travel to Dresden where we join a Local Expert for a tour of the Dresden’s Zwinger Palace, the Bundeswehr Military History Museum, the Dresden Armoury and Frauenkirche. (BB)

Day 17: Tropical Islands Water Park

Depart Dresden and spend the day at the Tropical Islands Water theme park. (BB)

Day 18: Berlin Sightseeing

Tour to Berlin starts with a visit to the ‘Story of Berlin’ Museum to provide an overview of the city’s tumultuous history. Your journey with a Local Expert includes the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, sections of the Berlin Wall and Alexanderplatz. Visit also the Zeppelin Field and the Jewish Museum, the German Resistance Memorial Centre and the Holocaust Memorial. (BB)

Day 19: Farewell Berlin

On our final morning we visit the Wansee Haus Museum and Documentation Centre of the “Final Solution”. Later, explore the DDR Museum to learn about life under communist rule after the end of World War II. We bid farewell to Berlin and make our way to the airport for flights home. (BB)

Day 1: Welcome to Florence

Welcome to Italy! On arrival at Bologna airport, you will be met by your Travel Director and driver. We continue to our hotel in Florence where you’ll have time to settle in, before enjoying a welcome dinner at the hotel. (WD)

Day 2: Discover Florence

After a restful night’s sleep and breakfast at the hotel, we visit the Basilica di Santa Croce and Museo Galileo, home to the only surviving instruments designed and built by Galileo himself. The remainder of the day is free for you to explore Florence. (BB)

Day 3: Florence at your Leisure

Enjoy a day at leisure. Explore captivating Florence at your own pace or join your Travel Director for a day tour to Vallombrosa to see the Monastery where Galileo studied. (Guided tours only available in July & August). (BB)

Day 4: Bologna to Padua

After breakfast at your hotel, spend the morning at leisure. In the afternoon, we drive through Bologna to Padua where you’ll enjoy a local 3-course dinner alongside a guest lecturer from the Padua University. (Lecturer organised by MTG.)  (BB, HD)

Day 5: Padua to Venice

Today we visit the Il Bo University, the second oldest university in Italy, for a guided tour. The afternoon is free for you to visit the Botanical gardens and St Anthony Basilica. Later in the afternoon, we continue to our hotel, situated in Mestre Venice, where we will stay for 2 nights. (BB)

Day 6: Romantic Venice at your Leisure

After breakfast, the rest of the day is yours to explore romantic Venice at leisure. (BB)

Day 7: Onto Swiss Geneva

Les Nations Hotel After a restful night’s sleep, we cross the border to Switzerland. On arrival into Geneva enjoy a late afternoon cruise on Lake Geneva.   Afterwards we check into our hotel. (BB)

Day 8: Nuclear Science in Cern & Geneva Exploration

After breakfast we travel to CERN (subject to availability) to visit the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and see the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The remainder of the day is free to explore the city of Geneva. (BB)

Day 9: Geneva to Paris

Enjoy a delightful drive through the French countryside, as we make our way to Paris. On arrival you are free to relax or explore the city of love on your own. Gather for dinner at the hotel, during which you’ll enjoy the company of a guest speaker from the Marie Curie Museum. (Lecturer organised by MTG.) (BB, D)

Day 10: Gardens of Paris

Visit the Botanical Gardens in the morning. Here you will discover the Alpine Gardens, which contain 2000 mountain plants from all over the world. Wander through the rose garden, the iris garden and the Botany School's Garden, where 4500 species are labelled and regrouped by families. (BB)

Day 11: Arts & Metier Museum in Paris

Take time to visit the Arts and Metier Museum and spend the rest of the day at leisure to explore the wonderful city of Paris. (BB)

Day 12: Science in Paris

After breakfast in the morning, visit the Marie Curie Museum. Completely re-designed, the Museum reveals the life and times of a family of unusual physicists and their huge contribution to science. The rest of the day is at leisure. (BB)

Day 13: Paris at your Leisure

Enjoy a day at leisure to explore the city of Paris. (BB)

Day 14: Eurostar to London

Bid farewell to Paris today, as we travel by Eurostar to London. On arrival we will be met and transferred to a local pub for lunch. We’ll then check into our hotel and you’ll have the rest of the day to enjoy at leisure. (BB, L)

Day 15: Day Tour to Kent

Today we travel to Kent to visit the Down House, the home of Charles Darwin, before returning to our London hotel. (BB)

Day 16: Scientific Marvels of London

Enjoy a full day of sightseeing, including a visit to the Royal Observatory, Flamsteed, Meridian Courtyard and Maritime Museum, and a cruise on the River Thames. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (BB)

Day 17: Royal Society & Faraday Museum in London

This morning we visit the Royal Society followed by a visit to the Faraday Museum at the Royal Institution.  Lunch is served at a local restaurant. (BB, L)

Day 18: Westminster & Science Museum in London

We spend the morning visiting Westminster Abbey and the afternoon exploring the Science Museum in Kensington. (BB)

Day 19: Discover Cambridge

After breakfast, we continue to the university town of Cambridge for a 2-night stop. Enjoy a private walking exploration of the town including a visit to Trinity College – the largest of the Cambridge Colleges. (BB)

Day 20: Cambridge at your Leisure

Today is yours to explore at leisure.  We meet again in the evening to celebrate the end of our tour with a farewell dinner at our hotel. (BB, D)

Day 21: Farewell from London

Our science tour has come to an end. Transfer from Cambridge to the London Heathrow Airport for your flight home. (BB)

ALL THE SIGHTS AND THE INSIGHTS, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, IN COMFORT AND IN STYLE

EXPLORE WITH INSIGHT

UK and Ireland

USA and Canada

Latin America

North Africa

TOUR STYLES

Discovery Journeys

Regional Journeys

Country Roads

Domestic Escapes

Special Interest Tours

Get A Quote

Request A Brochure

Newsletter Signup

Travel Insurance

The Insightful Blog

Privacy Policy

Booking Conditions

Tour Deposit Level

Travel Updates

My Personal Information

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Selected Region

United States

United Kingdom

New Zealand

South Africa

© Insight Vacations 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Cookie Policy

Welcome to Son Tours

U.S. Art Tours

Explore america’s creative culture with u.s. art tours for students.

From paintings to art installations, you can ignite creative sparks and foster deeper student engagement through Son Tours’ customizable U.S. art tours for middle and high school students. Our art history tours allow students to learn about artistic contributions to a number of art movements from around the world and their lasting effects on the art of today, with works spanning multiple eras, from Neoclassicism and Impressionism to Pop Art and beyond. The artists featured in U.S. art museums and installations represent a variety of styles, often drawing inspiration from the areas in which they lived and worked. With a vast collection of museums, sculptures, public art and more, these tours provide students with the chance to become well-acquainted with creative works from all across the nation and the world.

Amazing Art Tours All Over the United States

Our selection of domestic tours allows you to choose from multiple artistically diverse cities all across the United States. Your guided tour group will experience the abundance of culture contained within some of the most artist-friendly cities in the United States. Some of our popular art tours include:

Atlanta Art Tours for Art Students

Although Atlanta has many claims to fame, including being the birthplace of international figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Atlanta also has a diverse art scene. One of the Southeast’s most celebrated centers for creative expression is Atlanta’s own High Museum of Art . You’ll find exhibits from world-renowned artists year-round and collections that span multiple genres. Students may even find vibrant, sometimes interactive, public artwork installed outside of the museum.

Washington, D.C. Art Tours for Art Students

Art students who take a tour of Washington, D.C. have the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum , the country’s very first collection of American art. Other notable museums include the National Gallery of Art , located on the National Mall. There, you’ll find works by famed American and international artists, including Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Henri Matisse, and many others.

New York City Art Tours for Art Students

Known as a melting pot of cultures, New York City was the stomping grounds for many American artistic pioneers such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. From artistic approaches to fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology , to contemporary creations at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) , New York City offers art lovers a wide range of areas to explore.

Philadelphia Art Tours for Art Students

Philadelphia’s now-iconic John F. Kennedy Plaza , better known as LOVE Park thanks to Robert Indiana’s large LOVE sculpture, is a favorite of tourists. With its thriving art scene, Philadelphia attracts art creators and admirers alike. You’ll find the Institute of Contemporary Art , African American Museum , Philadelphia Museum of Art , and many other museums and facilities that feature collections from artists created throughout the years.

Why Choose Son Tours to Plan A U.S. Art Tour for Your Students?

Booking domestic and international tours for art students doesn’t have to be a headache. Son Tours does the work for you by offering tour packages customized to your educational goals and direct invoicing that saves you time. Each of our student tours is led by knowledgeable guides, and we also handle private security, accommodations, transportation, and more. Find out about all that we offer by clicking here .

Previous Tour

Booking for u.s. art tours.

Son Tours, Inc. P.O. Box 1839, Duluth, GA 30096

Phone: (800) 416-8212

Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

STUDENT TOURS

Useful links, customer service.

© 2024 by Son Tours, Inc. All rights reserved.

My question concerns an existing trip (required) --- Yes No Full Name (required)

Email (required)

School Name

Group Size --- 25-49 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

Please leave this field empty.

Sign up for our Newsletter

We value your privacy. We promise not to sell or share your information with a third-party.

home Art tours europe rest of the world

Enjoy some of the world's most iconic art with our dedicated range of art holidays. The range of itineraries we offer are imaginative, authentic, balanced and often include guest speakers. Whether you are looking for a short trip to learn more about art in the UK or a longer trip to discover more about Art Deco in New York then we have an art trip for you. 

Flight free

Highlights of Normandy: Monet’s Garden, Rouen and Honfleur

William the Conqueror, D-Day, atmospheric Honfleur, medieval Rouen immortalised by Monet plus delightful Bayeux. This...

Monet's Garden, The Loire Valley and Fontainebleau

from £1,169

If you are looking to visit one of the most beautiful regions of France, then our tour of the Loire Valley is ideal –...

Madrid, Salamanca and Toledo

from £1,299

It seems incredible that despite Spain being one of the most visited countries on earth, so much of it still remains...

Signature tour

Timeless Provence

from £1,499

Striking natural beauty, immortalised by Van Gogh and Cezanne, home of the Papacy and capital of Roman Gaul. Provence...

Florence and Tuscany

from £1,549

Its cities, Florence, Siena and Pisa, together with smaller towns and medieval villages like Lucca and San Gimignano,...

History and Art of the Rhône - MS Lord Byron

from £2,099

Magnificent Roman remains, the remarkable architecture of the Middle Ages and the light and beauty of the Provencal...

Save £100pp

Central Europe: Castles, Culture & Capitals

from £2,149

A must for any inquisitive adventurer, Central Europe is a treasure chest of cultural wonders and architectural...

Highlights of Romania

from £2,199

Immerse yourself in Romanian life, sample traditional food and meet craftsmen still mastering ancient techniques. This...

rest of the world

India's Golden Triangle

Discover the Golden Triangle – a classic route linking Delhi, Agra and Jaipur – on a pulsating tour that takes in...

Marrakech & the Sahara

Experience the grandeur of the Sahara as we journey from Marrakech across the High Atlas Mountains to the palm groves of...

Marrakesh and The Atlas Mountains

Immerse yourself in a truly captivating city filled with intriguing souks, vibrant squares and superb architecture, plus...

Sri Lankan Highlights

With so much diversity, Sri Lanka has enough to keep even the most jaded traveller engrossed for several weeks. However,...

Highlights of Morocco

Experience the very best of Morocco, from mazey medinas and lively souks to the broad-shouldered Atlas Mountains and...

Highlights of Vietnam

from £1,049

This highlight-packed trip encapsulates the magic of Vietnam: the conservative north, imperial cities, majestic...

Colours of Rajasthan

from £1,149

Immerse yourself in Rajasthan, known as the Land of Kings for its countless palaces, forts and monuments to warriors...

Highlights of Northern India

Discover the best of northern India on this highlight-packed adventure. Led by an expert tour leader, we marvel at the...

Highlights of Northern India - Summer itinerary

from £1,195

Croatia's Istrian Riviera & Lake Bled

This website may ask your browser to store cookies. See our Cookies Policy for more information about our use of cookies.

• site navigation
• main content
• +44 (0)20 8742 3355 +44 (0)20 8742 3355
• [email protected]
• +44 (0)20 8742 3355

Art & Architecture tours

From Classical orders to modernist innovations, our art and architecture tours examine many protagonists and periods in the history of civilisations around the world, whether the rich artistic traditions of Japan or the private palaces of Venice .

Explore the most famous and celebrated galleries in the world, such as the Uffizi, Prado and the Hermitage, and study countless lesser known gems on our art tours – and on our architecture tours, learn about great buildings as monuments and dwelling-spaces, as works of engineering as well as works of art, and as vital components in a city’s mythos. 

Filter your search

• View all tours
• Destination Africa Americas Asia Australasia Europe Middle East & Central Asia
• Country Albania Algeria Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Belize Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Bulgaria Cambodia Chile China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Guatemala Honduras Hungary Iceland India Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan Latvia Lithuania Malta Mexico Montenegro Morocco Myanmar Netherlands Norway Oman Palestine Peru Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom USA Uzbekistan Vietnam
• Theme Archaeology Art & Architecture Gastronomy History Houses & Gardens Literature & Drama Music, Opera & Ballet Walking
• Holiday type Lecture Afternoons London Days Music & History Weekends Music Festivals Private groups Tours for small groups

Start typing lecturers's name

• Departure date September 2024 October 2024 November 2024 December 2024 January 2025 February 2025 March 2025 April 2025 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025 January 2026 February 2026
• Price Up to £1,000 £1,000 to £2,000 £2,000 to £3,000 £3,000 to £4,000 £4,000 to £5,000 £5,000 to £6,000 £6,000 to £7,000 £7,000 to £8,000
• Featured Late availability Most popular New tours

Samarkand & Silk Road Cities with Tashkent, Shakhr-i-Sabz, Bukhara and Khiva

Sardinia Archaeology, architecture and art

The Etruscans Italy before Rome

Civilisations of Sicily Mediterranean crossroads: three thousand years of creativity

Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity Archaeology, history, art and landscape

West Coast Architecture A century of building in Arizona and California

Dark Age Brilliance Late Antique & Pre-Romanesque

Ancient Rome Art & architecture of the classical world

Georgia Uncovered Treasures of the Southern Caucasus

Footpaths of Umbria Walks, art and wine between Arezzo and Assisi

Raphael, in celebration A pilgrimage from Urbino to Rome

Granada & Córdoba with Úbeda & Baeza

Arts & Crafts in the Cotswolds Art and artefacts in the buildings they were designed for

The Cathedrals of England Ely, Lincoln, Durham, York, Coventry, Gloucester, Bristol, Wells, Salisbury, Winchester

The London Backstreet Walk Hyde Park to the Tower

Belgian Modern Masters Ensor, Magritte and fellow individualists

Extremadura Landscape, history and food in rural Spain

Bulgaria Archaeology & art from prehistoric to modern

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago School

Courts of Northern Italy Princely art of the Renaissance

Basilicata & Calabria Italy’s undiscovered south

The Douro From Porto to Pinhão

Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden Art and architecture in Brandenburg and Saxony

Palermo Revealed Art, archaeology, architecture and gastronomy

Le Corbusier Through France and Switzerland

Italian Design Modernism in Turin and Milan

Walking in Southern Tuscany Art, architecture & landscapes in the Val d’Orcia & Chianti

Castile & León The magnificent heart of Spain

Art in the Netherlands A spectrum of the finest

Roman & Medieval Provence The south of France in the Middle Ages

Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and their contemporaries

Istanbul Revealed Byzantine & Ottoman metropolis

Sicily: from the greeks to the baroque temples, churches and palazzi: three thousand years of history, gastronomic catalonia fine food & wine, art & architecture.

Florentine Palaces Defence, humanism, magnificence and beauty

Art in Madrid The Great Galleries

Venetian Palaces The greatest and best-preserved palaces of La Serenissima

The Making of Argentina A creative history from the Atlantic to the Andes

Essential India Hindu temples, Rajput palaces and Mughal tombs

Venice Revisited From prison to palazzo: art and life in historic Venice

Ravenna & Urbino Byzantine capital, Renaissance court

Paris at Christmas Art and music in the Ville Lumière

Christmas in Emilia-Romagna Art, architecture & gastronomy in Northern Italy

Vienna at Christmas Art and architecture in the Habsburg capital

Bruges at Christmas and the ancient cities of Flanders

Naples at Christmas Art, antiquities & architecture –with Caserta, Amalfi & Ravello

Venice at Christmas Painting, sculpture & architecture in the world’s most beautiful city

Caravaggio The master of painting in Milan, Rome and Naples

Oman, Landscapes & Peoples Desert, coast and mountains

Renaissance Rivals Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael: the tumultuous trio

Palaces & Villas of Rome From Empire to Papacy: the power of magnificence

Essential Rome The complete spectrum of art, architecture and antiquities

Florence & Venice The finest and best-known art and architecture in the Western world

L'Ancien Régime Paris before the Revolution

Indian Summer Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Shimla

Strauss in berlin a celebration of richard strauss in the german capital.

Walking in Sicily Crater & coast: in the footsteps of history

Florence Revisited Art off the beaten track and in private collections

Normans in the South Castles and cathedrals in Puglia, Basilicata and Campania

The Venetian Hills Renaissance art in the foothills of the Dolomites

Tuscany Revealed Highlights and hidden treasures of Cosimo de Medici’s Grand Duchy

Morocco Cities & empires

Romans & Carolingians Germany from Augustus to Charlemagne

Cities of Catalonia 2,000 years of art and architecture, from Romans to Modernistas

Val D’Orcia and the Sienese Hills lesser-known delights of Southern Tuscany

The Heart of Italy Umbria’s finest art and architecture

Cornish Houses and Gardens Landscapes, flowers, buildings and art

Medieval Saxony Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque

The Ligurian Coast Arts, history and scenery on the Riviera di Levante

Palladian Villas The greatest house builder in history

Aragón: Hidden Spain Teruel, Zaragoza, Sos

Art in Scotland Great cities, spectacular museums

Arts & Crafts in the Lake District Churches, houses and museums

The Venetian Land Empire A spectrum of north-east Italy’s finest art and architecture

Moldavia & Transylvania Towns, villages and painted churches on the edge of Europe

Medieval Burgundy Abbeys and churches of the High Middle Ages

Great Private Houses in Norfolk Special arrangements and in-depth visits

Art in Japan Art, craft, architecture & design

The Road to Santiago The pilgrimage route through northern Spain

Traversing the Tyrol From the foothills of the Dolomites to the capital of the Austrian Alps

Moving on: Architecture & Memory Bauhaus to the present in Stuttgart, Ulm and Munich

The Welsh Marches Castles, abbeys and parish churches

Galleries of the American Midwest From Chicago to Detroit

Lincolnshire Churches Major and minor, from cathedral to parish

Stockholm Modern A century of inspirational building and design

Chichester & the South Downs Great houses & gardens

Medieval Oxfordshire and the Southern Cotswolds

Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern borderlands Cities, palaces and gardens along the Oder-Neisse Line

Versailles: Seat of the Sun King The greatest palace & garden

French Gothic The great cathedrals of northern France

The Hanseatic League Cities and abbeys of Germany’s Baltic Coast

Opera in Santa Fe Summer music in the mountains of New Mexico

Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania with Warsaw

Baroque & Rococo In Southern Germany

Mitteldeutschland Weimar and the towns of Thuringia and Sachsen-Anhalt

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Engineering modern Britain

The Age of Bede Anglo-Saxon Northumbria

Castles of Wales Conquest and colonisation in medieval Britain

Trecento Frescoes The age and legacy of Giotto

Parma & Bologna Churches, cathedrals and castles in Emilia-Romagna

Walking to Santiago On foot for selected sections of the pilgrims’ way

Essential Andalucía Spain’s southern province

Friuli-Venezia Giulia The border lands of northeast Italy

Piero della Francesca A pilgrimage from Umbria to Milan

Habsburg Austria Castles & churches, houses & palaces, town & country

Bauhaus The birth of modern architecture and design

Fiesole to Lucca: Tuscany on foot Country walks and Renaissance art

Siena & San Gimignano Hilltop towns of Tuscany

Traditions of Japan Art, crafts, history, society

Painted Palaces of Rajasthan Jodhpur, Nagaur, Bikaner, the Shekhawati & Jaipur

Art History of Venice Painting, sculpture & architecture in the world’s most beautiful city

The Art of Florence Cradle of the Renaissance

The Printing Revolution Renaissance print culture in Rome & Venice

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

• Icon Link Plus Icon

81 Museum Exhibitions and Biennials to See This Fall

By Alex Greenberger

Alex Greenberger

Senior Editor, ARTnews

In a word, this fall’s offerings are electric. The word shows up in the titles of not one but two tech-minded shows—one devoted to Op art and its influence, the other to the rise of digital art, at the Buffalo AKG Art Gallery and Tate Modern, respectively. It may as well also have figured in the name of a survey of women artists who involved computers in their art at MUDAM in Luxembourg, or to an exhibition about digital effects technologies at LACMA.

But the word “electric” might also be used to characterize a number of more analog offerings as well. The Centre Pompidou’s long-awaited Surrealism blowout is finally nearly upon us, as are retrospectives for well-established figures such as Lygia Clark, Thomas Schütte, Amy Sherald, Elizabeth Catlett, Sophie Calle, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, and more.

Art history nerds will find much to geek out about: the Metropolitan Museum of Art is mounting a blockbuster about pre-Renaissance Sienese art, the Qatar Museums are putting 19th-century French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme under the microscope, and the Getty Foundation’s science-minded edition of PST ART will reintroduce many deep cuts in more than 60 shows at venues across Southern California. Other shows will add new chapters to the discipline’s annals: there are expansive surveys of Indian and Pakistani art on the horizon, as well as shows about 1970s documentary photography and lens-based art in the UK during the 1980s.

Perhaps you crave something more spectacular? For that, look no further than a long-awaited survey devoted at Seoul’s Leeum Museum of Art for Anicka Yi, whose past works have involved AI and cutting-edge technology. You could probably apply the word “electric” to that show, too, in more sense than one. Below, a look at 81 museum shows and biennials to see this fall.

“Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists” at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

In recent years, Seoul’s top modern art museum, known as the MMCA for short, has made a concerted effort to acquire more works by Asian women artists. The results of that project form the basis of this show, a wide-ranging survey that stakes a claim for the importance of these artists, many of whom are still awaiting greater recognition outside Asia. Among those artists is Hong Lee Hyun-sook, a giant of feminist art in South Korea, where she is known for artworks that emphasize collaboration and solidarity with animals as a means of liberation.

September 3, 2024–March 3, 2025

“Surrealism” at Centre Pompidou, Paris

A year of celebrations for Surrealism , the avant-garde movement launched a century ago, reaches its apex with this blockbuster, which aspires to be just as perplexing as much of the art associated with the movement. In lieu of the traditional exhibition format, this one will be shaped like a maze, with André Breton’s 1924 Surrealist manifesto at its core. Surrounding it will be 14 sections that chart how Surrealists of all kinds interpreted literary texts and symbols. Agreed-upon masterpieces abound—Salvador Dalí’s The Great Masturbator (1929) and René Magritte’s Personal Values (1952) have made their way from Madrid and San Francisco, respectively, for the show. Yet the exhibition, in keeping with other recent surveys that have globalized Surrealism, also seeks to lure in some lesser-known figures, from the British nonpareil Ithell Colquhoun to the Japanese draughtsman Tatsuo Ikeda.

September 4, 2024–January 13, 2025

“Anicka Yi: There Exists Another Evolution, But This One” at Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul

Anicka Yi has awed audiences worldwide with high-tech works that consider the increasingly thin divide between humans and nonhumans, with dried flowers, AI, bacteria, scents culled from mega-galleries and New York’s Koreatown, and more among the materials for her innovative sculptures. Part of what makes her work so fascinating is its enigmatic quality, and that may be why the artist hasn’t said much about the new works she will unveil in this show, leaving us only with a Buddhist koan for a title. The show, whose 30 works act as a survey of Yi’s oeuvre, is significant in that it will Asia’s big introduction to her art, since the region has never before seen a museum show by this Korean American artist.

September 5, 2024–December 29, 2024

Aleksandra Domanović at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna

In the late 2000s, just before post-internet art took off, Aleksandra Domanović began to make available PDFs that, when printed using specific settings, resulted in stacks with imagery on their sides. These images were sometimes unsettling: some produced pictures related to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Her unusual blend of sleek digital art and rough post-Soviet political matter made her a key artist of the era, and in the decade and a half since, she has continued producing off-kilter, thought-provoking art, from cyborgian sculptures to prints of stills from sci-fi movies. Domanović’s first survey includes new works such as If These Walls Could Talk (2024), a piece that will combine images of Ian Donald, the physicist credited with developing ultrasounds for obstetric usage, and Slovak folk patterns.

September 5, 2024–January 26, 2025

“Scott Burton: Shape Shift” at Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis

Scott Burton once said his artworks could be considered “sculpture in love with furniture,” a reference to the way that pieces imploded the boundary between art and design. Many of his sculptures could be sat upon, though they hardly functioned like chairs; other works by him looked like tables, though not of the sort you’d want in your home. Burton’s art doubled as a sly subversion of Minimalist aesthetics and an off-kilter inquiry into how a sculpture might invite forms of engagement beyond looking. Here, for the first time since his death of AIDS-related complications in 1989, this underrated artist will receive a proper survey, this one with a specific focus on his queer identity.

September 6, 2024–February 2, 2025

Carl Cheng at the Contemporary Austin, Texas

In 1967, Carl Cheng began to take the name John Doe Co., a moniker that referred to a faux company that produced unusable emergency kits, TVs with rocks in them, and more. These objects—which were, in fact, sculptures, not products made available for sale—mocked how corporations molded the natural world to their purposes and made it available for purchase. As more and more artists turn their attention toward climate change, it is no surprise that Cheng’s work has become the source of newfound interest. At long last, this octogenarian Californian will receive his first retrospective, which opens first in Texas before traveling to Philadelphia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Los Angeles.

September 6, 2024–December 8, 2024

“Mark Bradford: Keep Walking” at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin

For his 2022 piece 500 , Mark Bradford created 60 painted versions of a 1913 ad imploring Black families to move to a colony in New Mexico called Blackdom. Bradford painted the ad in uneven shades of black and orange, a color palette that made the posting appear as though it were smoldering—an effect meant to mirror the destruction that has repeatedly threatened Black communities across the nation. Similar works dealing with Black history will appear in Bradford’s latest show, the first staged by the Hamburger Bahnhof in the newly reopened Rieckenhallen, an expansive exhibition space that was nearly lost to a real estate developer several years ago.

September 6, 2024–May 18, 2025

Gwangju Biennale

The curatorial ambitions of Nicolas Bourriaud, the figure behind the term “relational aesthetics,” have rarely failed him, and that alone makes his edition of Asia’s top biennial worth attending. His focus, as usual, is broad: multiverses, climate change, and sound will all play a role in his biennial, which is titled “Pansori, a soundscape of the 21st century,” its name a reference to the Korean word for “the noise from the public place.” Providing that noise are dozens of artists from across the globe, including Gaëlle Choisne, Dora Budor, Frida Orupabo, Yein Lee, Philippe Parreno, and more.

September 7, 2024–December 1, 2024

Noah Davis at Das Minsk, Potsdam, Germany

In one of Noah Davis’s dreamy paintings, Black ballet dancers in tutus perform outdoors, seemingly unaware that they are sited among sidewalks and grass, not in a studio. There is no audience to watch them, and there are no people at all around them. The piece exemplifies Davis’s tendency to transplant Black figures into settings that have no clear meaning, causing them to appear intentionally illegible, lost in their own worlds. Works like this one are immersive—no small feat for an artist who died at 32—and some 50 of them will be include in what is being billed as a retrospective for an artist gone too soon.

September 7, 2024–January 5, 2025

“Christopher Kulendran Thomas: Safe Zone” at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels

Even before AI became the stuff of general conversation, Christopher Kulendran Thomas had been using it to create videos and paintings that braid together a wide array of topics: pop stars, viral sensations, the history of Tamil Eelam, the story of abstraction, and more. His WIELS show will continue his usage of AI, here in the form of new paintings. There will also be a never-before-shown 24-screen video installation, Peace Core (2024), which appropriates a news report aired in the US and re-edits it using the style of the TikTok trend corecore, in which unlike video clips are massed together and set to a melodramatic soundtrack.

“Emily Karaka: Ka Awatea, A New Dawn” at Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates

Emily Karaka’s raucously colored paintings bridge the gap between Abstract Expressionism and traditional Māori craft, infusing modernist styles with political import. Aptly, these works, which depict verdant forests and scrawled heads, have been termed “political landscapes” by the Māori artist, a reference to how the land imagined in the paintings should be viewed as imbued with Indigenous history—and subject to exploitation by white colonialists. A leading figure of the Aotearoa’s art scene, Karaka will here receive her first survey.

This roving biennial has historically taken place in one city or region imperiled in a debate over its very existence. This year’s locale is no different: Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, where pro-independence parties recently lost their majority in the autonomous community’s Parliament. Against that backdrop, organizer Filipa Oliveira—formally titled the biennial’s Artistic Creative Mediator—has sprinkled works by 85 artists across 12 cities in the Barcelona metropolitan area. Emilija Škarnulytė, Judy Chicago, Larry Achiampong, Claudia Pagès, and Binta Diaw are among those lined up to participate.

September 8, 2024–November 24, 2024

“Saodat Ismailova: A Seed Under Our Tongue” at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan

Saodat Ismailova’s slow, meditative film installations tend to feature long takes of landscapes complemented often by shots of women cloistered in domestic settings. These works are intended to communicate the histories of Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Ismailova’s homeland. While her art may seem culturally specific, it has had broad appeal, memorably appearing in both Documenta and the Venice Biennale in 2022 alone. Her fast ascent in the international art world continues with this survey, which includes a re-edited version of a film about a forest in Kyrgyzstan and a resin cast of a cave.

September 12, 2024–January 12, 2025

“Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” at Brooklyn Museum, New York

In her 1968 sculpture Black Unity , Elizabeth Catlett portrays a clenched fist, its knuckles and fingers hewn from a block of softly sanded cedar. The sculpture, with its revolutionary content and its minimalist aesthetic, typifies Catlett’s legendary oeuvre, with married Black leftist politics and modernist styles. Some 150 of her works—many depicting people in Mexico, the country where she resided for much of her career—will be assembled for this hotly anticipated retrospective, which starts in New York before traveling to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (its co-organizer) and the Art Institute of Chicago.

September 13, 2024–January 19, 2025

“Erwin Wurm: A 70th-Birthday Retrospective” at Albertina, Vienna

With Erwin Wurm now moving into his seventh decade, the Albertina is giving him a full-dress retrospective. There will, of course, be the works for which this giant of the Austrian scene is best known, his “One Minute Sculptures,” which call on laypeople to enact brief performances with quotidian objects. These works, like many others by Wurm, question whether art can serve any purpose within the world—and, if the answer is no, whether that matters much at all. Consider that a winking critique of modernism’s obsession with functionalism, or think of it as joke on the pieces’ participants, who often must go through some physical labor to perform nonsense gestures.

September 13, 2024–March 9, 2025

“Neïl Beloufa: Humanities” at Renaissance Society, Chicago, and Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland

This multi-continental double-header of shows will feature two new bodies of work by an artist whose known for shrewdly taking up the ills of colonialism and capitalism, sometimes with a sci-fi edge. In Chicago, Beloufa will show what the institution describes as a “custom, interactive multimedia system” that will enable each visitor to chart their own rise in the business world. In Basel, there will be works dealing with the concept of financial tombstones, which are issued by companies to publicly advertise transactions.

Renaissance Society: September 14, 2024–November 10, 2024 Kunsthalle Basel: October 4, 2024–January 19, 2025

“Knowing the West” at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas

As new attention is paid to violence and racism weathered by Native communities, the American West has come under the microscope, viewed not as a land of possibility but as an area exemplifying the horrors of white-led colonialism. Accordingly, this show about it does not center cowboys and vast vistas but Indigenous art of roughly the past two centuries. Though not exclusively a survey of art by Native Americans, the exhibition puts the focus on figures such as Nellie Two Bear Gates (Gathering of Clouds Woman), whose beaded suitcases produced in the late 19th century testified to interactions between Native people and white cowboys.

September 14, 2024–January 27, 2025

“Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” at National Gallery, London

There are exactly seven versions of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1889), and one of them is a destination point at the National Gallery, which owns it. Now, for a brief period, the institution will be home to a second one, on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art for this exhibition. With just 60 works, this show may be on the smaller end for high-profile van Gogh surveys, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in prestige: its checklist includes well-known still lifes and nightscapes that have made their way from across Europe.

September 14, 2024–January 19, 2025

“Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice” at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

One of the premier exhibitions of this year’s science-focused, Getty Foundation–funded initiative, PST ART (formerly Pacific Standard Time), this show surveys how 25 artists have used their art to highlight our vulnerable ecology. While its artist list is bedecked with stars (photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and painter Yoshitomo Nara among them), the focus here is on the unclassifiable and the bizarre. Witness the case of Garnett Puett, a beekeeper by training, who enlists these insects as collaborators for his works known as “apisculptures.” Visitors will be able to interact with those sculptures, along with a garden by Ron Finley and an installation made of debris by Yangkura.

September 14, 2024–January 5, 2025

“Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue” at Museum of Modern Art, New York

Robert Frank’s 1958 photobook The Americans remains a classic because it crystallized a rot in postwar America’s collective consciousness. The book’s pictures, many showing disillusioned people across the country, are the ones most commonly associated with Frank. But he kept working for 60 years after that tome, producing a range of films and photographs that continued to develop the book’s themes. With 200 works on hand, this show seeks to expand the general public’s conception of Frank, focusing specifically on those in his artistic network—among others, his wife, the artist June Leaf, who died earlier this year; his film editor, Laura Israel; and his frequent collaborator, Danny Seymour.

September 15, 2024–January 11, 2025

Ming Smith at Various Venues, Columbus, Ohio

Though photographer Ming Smith may typically be associated with New York, a quartet of shows this season—two at the Columbus Museum of Art, as well as one a piece at Wexner Center of the Arts and the Gund—seek to reclaim her as an Ohioan, given that she was raised in Columbus. But geography can hardly contain Smith, who took significant strides for Black female artists like herself, and many of the pictures in these shows were taken far beyond Ohio. The Wexner, for example, is spotlighting some of Smith’s photographs shot in Africa, where she imaged sights seen and people encountered in an unusually high level of darkness that typifies her art.

Columbus Museum: September 19, 2024–January 26, 2025 Wexner: September 22, 2024–January 5, 2025 Gund: Through December 15, 2024

“For Dear Life: Art, Medicine, and Disability” at Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California

Among the most exciting offerings of this year’s PST ART is this survey of how artists contended with illness and disability, from the 1960s through the Covid pandemic. The 80 artists included take many different approaches to the subject: a Joey Terrill painting featured here offers a visually stunning meditation on living with HIV, while Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose’s rarely seen Video Coffin (1994), an installation featuring footage of the former inside a casket, sounds a more somber note.

September 19, 2024–February 2, 2024

“Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991” at Mudam, Luxembourg

“The clitoris is a direct line to the matrix,” wrote the art collective VNS Matrix in its famed 1991 manifesto, a text that has been credited with introducing the term “cyberfeminism” to the contemporary lexicon. But even before that, women artists of all stripes—painters, sculptors, filmmakers, and more—had asserted a female claim to computing technology, which some of them believed could induce a new kind of gender parity. This enterprising exhibition surveys that bunch, with the offerings ranging from Ulla Wiggen’s paintings of computer circuitry to Tamiko Thiel’s pioneering digital artworks.

September 20, 2024–February 2, 2025

Toronto Biennial of Art

Canada is a microcosm of the world writ large in the third edition of this biennial, which considers how the nation’s dark history of colonialism mirrors that of other countries across the globe. Perhaps that sounds dour; curators Dominique Fontaine and Miguel A. López have suggested otherwise. They’ve said their biennial features art that will “conjure sparks that light a fire amidst the fragility of existence.” Works by Ahmed Umar, Cecilia Vicuña, Hangama Amiri, Morehshin Allahyari, Raven Chacon, Sonia Boyce, and others will attest to that premise.

September 21, 2024–December 1, 2024

Michael Craig-Martin at Royal Academy of Arts, London

Can a glass of water really be an oak tree? Perhaps, if an artist says so. That, at least, was the suggestion made by a 1973 conceptual art piece by Michael Craig-Martin, whose provocations went on to inspire future shockers by artists such as Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, and Sarah Lucas, all of whom were his students. As his influence continues to be highlighted in British institutions, the Irish artist is getting a proper retrospective that will include his famed conceptual artworks alongside recent paintings that mash together elements borrowed from art historical masterpieces, rendered here in neon green, pink, and red.

September 21, 2024–December 10, 2024

“Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Tranquility of Communion” at Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio

Despite his fanbase counting legions of photography historians and Black and queer artists, Rotimi Fani-Kayode has remarkably never received a proper US survey. That will change this season with this show, a 200-work presentation that explores how this Nigerian-born photographer navigated his status as a gay man living in England at a remove from his homeland. His lush portraits, many paying homage to Yoruba lore, often obscure parts of his sitters’ bared bodies or allow their forms to multiply. Fani-Kayode’s point was that the self is an unknowable, mysterious thing, only occasionally coming into focus for seconds at a time.

September 22, 2024–January 5, 2025

“Louise Bourgeois: I have been to hell and back. And let me tell you, it was wonderful.” at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

Louise Bourgeois’s is beloved for having transmuted her complex feelings about her father and mother into uncomfortable sculptures hinting at bodily containment. Like good therapists, the curators of this show spend their time here mapping out Bourgeois’s tortured family dynamics, suggesting her career as an arc from repression to liberation. The exhibition’s selection of 100 works—from early paintings to examples of the late-career spider sculptures—peels back some of the psychological mystique that surrounds Bourgeois, whose life story continues to provide plenty of intrigue more than a decade after her passing.

September 25, 2024–January 19, 2025

“Edges of Ailey” at Whitney Museum, New York

Might we be experiencing a renaissance of dance-oriented museum shows? Following surveys devoted to the Judson Dance Theater at MoMA and Simone Forti at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, there is now this expansive show about choreography Alvin Ailey, who launched an iconic dance company in his name that is still active today. The sprawling exhibition has been afforded all 18,000 square feet of the Whitney’s fifth floor, and while there will be paintings and sculptures on offer there, by the likes of Faith Ringgold, Kevin Beasley, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and many more, the main attraction will be performances staged two floors beneath. In that space, choreographers and artists ranging from Bill T. Jones to Okwui Okpokwasili will create works that pay homage to Ailey, whose dances memorably merged the centuries-old traditions of ballet with modern dance and contemporary Black culture.

September 25, 2024–February 9, 2025

“Soledad Sevilla: Rhythms, Grids, Variables” at Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid

The last time Soledad Sevilla showed at the Reina Sofía, in 2012, she covered the glass walls of its Palacio de Cristal with polycarbonate panels, altering this famed space by causing it to appear blue. More than a decade on, this Spanish painter has returned, this time for a survey of her work more broadly, which has subjected abstraction to rigorous geometries. During the ’60s, while many of her colleagues were experimenting with irregular pours and dribbles of paint, Sevilla was using computers to produce her art; she later moved in an analog direction, though she continued to rely upon rule sets, resulting in what she has called “rational abstraction.” Alongside a selection of more than 100 of these works, Sevilla will debut a new installation made of cotton thread.

September 25, 2024–March 10, 2025

“Tao Hui: In the Land Beyond Living” at Tai Kwun Contemporary Art Centre, Hong Kong

This young Chinese artist has gained a reputation for making incisive video art about alienation and capitalism, often in ways more mystifying than outright dour. Recent works have drawn upon the fast-paced, meme-friendly styles seen on TikTok. His 2023 video Hardworking , for example, is displayed on an iPhone-shaped screen that slopes onto the floor and features a saleswoman who repeatedly tries to peddle products, all while digital effects surround her. That work, along with several new commissions, appears in this show, which is among this rising star’s most high-profile exhibitions to date in Asia.

September 26, 2024–February 2, 2025

“Helen Frankenthaler: Painting Without Rules” at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence

Helen Frankenthaler did not so much paint on canvas as she did in canvas, soaking and staining her colors to create faint blooms of pink and blue. That unusual technique caused her to stand out in the (largely male) field of Abstract Expressionists, and it has continued to place her at the forefront of the movement in the years since. Perhaps owing to her nationality, Americans have seen far more sizable Frankenthaler shows than Europeans. That makes this modestly scaled sampler of her art major among the few high-quality shows staged on the continent in recent years.

September 27, 2024–January 26, 2025

“Electric Op” at Buffalo AKG Art Gallery, New York

Op art, the 1960s movement known for its warping abstractions, is generally seen as an attempt to muck with viewers’ sense of perception, demanding onlookers to see paintings and sculptures with their minds as well as their eyes. But what if Op was also about making art become like new machinery? That’s the thesis of this survey, which suggests that Op’s foremost adherents—Carlos Cruz-Diez, Bridget Riley, and Victor Vasarely, among others—may have been thinking through the rise of video and a multitude of screens in their art. To make the point, the show also lures in post-Op art, from computer-oriented pieces by Vera Molnár and Zdenek Sýkora to digital art by Leo Villareal and Casey Reas.

September 27, 2024–January 27, 2025

“Paula Rego: Power Games” at Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland

Angel (1998), one of Paula Rego’s most famous works, features the artist’s muse Lila Nunes posing as a divine being brandishing a sword and a sponge. The piece concluded a series of pastels that Rego made to protest Portugal’s oppressive laws regarding abortion, with this angel present to “punish everyone” who’d contributed to that culture. Rego has justly earned international attention for works such as these, which enlist images borrowed from fairy tales and religious scenes, then reposition them to speak to imbalanced gender dynamics and violence committed by conservative regimes. The biggest Rego show since her death in 2022 will feature Angel as well as 120 other works that show how this gimlet-eyed artist pushed back against power structures.

September 28, 2024–February 2, 2025

Thomas Schütte at Museum of Modern Art, New York

A Pringle balanced on a matchbox, sculptures of grotesque men entangled with each other, a column with two cherries on top: Thomas Schütte has done it all and then some, working in no signature style along the way. That makes the MoMA retrospective for this celebrated German sculptor a prime opportunity to take stock of his diverse oeuvre. Despite having won the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion award and having received big shows of this sort abroad, his art has never been seen in such a large quantity on US soil. His MoMA show aims to fix that.

September 29, 2024–January 18, 2025

“Lygia Clark: The I and the You” at Whitechapel Gallery, London

Are we on the verge of a Lygia Clark–aissance in Europe? It certainly seems that way, given that there are two retrospectives due to open in the continent within the next year alone. The first alights at the Whitechapel Gallery, which has brought on a curatorial team that includes Golden Lion–winning artist Sonia Boyce to consider the Brazilian Neo-Concretist. During the 1950s, Clark devised a groundbreaking group of folding sculptures that encouraged viewer participation. Then, in the decade afterward, she brought her work into the public sphere, creating performances that broke art free from the elite institutions that had long held it. Rather than merely presenting those pieces via documentation, the Whitechapel Gallery will reanimate these performances regularly throughout the show, ensuring that Clark’s uncontainable energy remains present more than 30 year after her death.

October 2, 2024–January 12, 2025

“Paulo Nazareth: Luzia” at Museo Tamayo, Mexico City

In 1974, an 11,500-year-old skeleton was discovered in a Brazilian rock shelter. She was subsequently given the name Luzia, and she was discovered to have shared genetic material with Indigenous Australians. In 2020, seeking to exhume the full breadth of her lineage, Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth began charting Luzia’s history using found objects, which he assembled as a means of charting those that came before her. Part scientific inquiry and part speculative conceptual art project, this grouping of works will be the primary focus of his first exhibition in Mexico, yet another attempt by Nazareth to show how borders rarely contain people from moving beyond them.

October 3, 2024–February 9, 2025

“Lauren Halsey: emajendat” at Serpentine Galleries, London

The distant past, the immediate present, and the near future merge in Lauren Halsey’s sprawling installations, which mix styles derived from ancient Egypt with appropriated images related to South Central, the Los Angeles neighborhood the artist calls home. In the past decade, these installations featuring carved columns, clipped pictures, found ephemera, and more have won her acclaim in the US; now, her international influence is expanding, with new sculptures featured prominently at the Venice Biennale. Her Serpentine commission, one of her grandest projects to date, will see her install a faux garden within the museum’s galleries, which are also set to feature objects Halsey gained from South Central residents.

October 4, 2024–March 2, 2025

“The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography” at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Documentary photography is commonly thought to be a truth-telling form of picture-making, but the 1970s, a decade marked by widespread distrust of power, demanded that the genre evolve. This 100-work survey explores that shift. Traditional documentary photographs abound—Helen Levitt, Larry Fink, and Anthony Hernandez will feature here—but so too do more conceptual works that present lies to viewers. Take the case of Tseng Kwong Chi, whose photographs involved the artist wearing a Mao suit and venturing out into public, allowing people to decide for themselves how to engage with his concocted persona.

October 6, 2024–April 6, 2025

“Caillebotte: Painting Men” at Musée d’Orsay, Paris

In Gustave Caillebotte’s paintings, men are pictured doing a vast number of activities: walking dogs, scraping floors, rowing boats, gazing at boulevards on balconies, looking forlornly at trains. That he so often focused on men is not a coincidence, according to this show, which theorizes that the French Impressionist took an active role in recasting masculinity for the modern age. Though the show is notable for grouping dozens of his 19th-century canvases in one space, it is also significant for examining Caillebotte’s biography through the lens of gender, paying mind to the fact that he remained single at a time when this was unusual for a wealthy Parisian male.

October 8, 2024–January 19, 2025

“Arte Povera” at Bourse de Commerce, Paris

Of all the various avant-gardes that sprung up in postwar Europe, Arte Povera must rank among the strangest. Its purveyors, who worked in Italy in the 1960s, made oddball sculptural installations that combined organic elements—branches, horses, water—with industrial materials, suggesting that nature had been profoundly reshaped following World War II. Celebrity curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, newly retired from her post as director of the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, charts the movement anew here. She is set to focus specifically on 13 artists, among them Mario and Marisa Merz, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Pino Pascali, the subject of a recent retrospective at the Fondazione Prada in Milan.

October 9, 2024–January 20, 2025

Mire Lee at Tate Modern, London

This South Korean–born phenomenon makes large sculptures that are horrifying, disgusting, and visually resplendent all in one. Those squelchy works, which are often outfitted with mechanized elements, have channeled mystifying psychological states and envisioned indefinable bodies, and they have been a hit at biennials, from Venice to Busan. Her latest work, a commission for Tate Modern’s cavernous Turbine Hall, looks to continue her international rise.

October 9, 2024–March 16, 2025

“Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy” at Modern Art Museum, Shanghai

Will crystals heal us? Marina Abramović certainly thinks so. The performance artist has said that hematite, quartz, and tourmaline have “medical property, scientific property and energy property,” and she’s determined to show it in her biggest exhibition to date, which includes sculptures known as “Transitory Objects” that collectively feature 6,600 pounds of minerals. Viewers can interact with these objects and, hopefully, gain some spiritual fulfillment from them. Perhaps, too, they’ll come away with a new understanding of Abramović’s less warm performance art, for which the artist has subjected her body to painful situations.

October 10, 2024–February 28, 2025

“Charles Atlas: About Time” at Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

This video art giant has never been one for traditional gestures—his 2018 video installation The Years , an assortment of past works about queer culture and dance arranged to look like gravestones in a cemetery, was conceived as a retrospective unto itself. Therefore, do not expect this 125-work show to be your average Charles Atlas survey. Conceived as an immersive grouping of installations, the show culminates in the debut of a new work featuring video portraits of artists such as Marina Abramović, John Waters, Lady Bunny, and Yvonne Rainer.

October 10, 2024–March 16, 2025

La Trienal at El Museo del Barrio, New York

This recurring survey of Latinx art is back for a second edition, after the first, focused specifically on the US and Puerto Rico, debuted in 2021. This time, though, the geographic purview has been expanded , so that now, artists from the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean will figure here. Alongside rising talents based in this country, from Ser Serpas to Alina Perez, there will be artists to watch from far abroad, such as Noberto Roldan, a Filipino known for his vast assemblages contending with forces of globalization.

October 10, 2024–February 9, 2025

“Nástio Mosquito: King of Klowns” at M HKA, Antwerp

“I don’t want to make this shit about irony. I don’t want to make shit about sarcasm,” Nástio Mosquito once said, referring to the fact that he was not so interested in postmodern strategies, since he didn’t have a formal art education. Perhaps fittingly, his work is characterized by an unusual directness. It is sex-positive, anti-colonial, and generally pretty uproarious, taking the form of performances, poetry, videos, and more with a comic edge. It’s a lot of art to wrangle, and in many different styles, too; the Angolan-born artist’s first major museum survey in Belgium, the country where he is now based, allows viewers to take stock of it all.

October 11, 2024–January 26, 2025

“Tacita Dean: Blind Folly” at Menil Collection, Houston

Tacita Dean may be best known for slowly paced 16mm films that contemplate landscapes and others’ artworks—decidedly analog gestures in our sped-up digital moment. But the focus in this show, the British artist’s most high-profile museum show in the US to date, will be on her drawings, prints, and sculptures, all of which further her films’ quest to visualize the passage of time. Alongside some of her moving-image works, there will also be her tree “portraits,” photographs of flowering plants, many printed at a monumental scale, that Dean augments her own drawn marks.

October 11, 2024–April 20, 2025

“Carol Rama: A Rebel of Modernity” at Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt

Artists who do not fit neatly into the art historical rubric of a given moment tend to slip through the cracks, and that may explain why Carol Rama was never canonized during her day. Her paintings of crowned women, people fornicating with animals, and fecal-looking splatters did an excellent job of breaking taboos, but they certainly did not conform to Arte Povera or any dominant movements in Italy, where she was based. They have, however, found an international audience following her death in 2015, and with this show, her first big survey in Germany, her following is poised to grown even more.

October 11, 2024–February 2, 2025

Tamara de Lempicka at de Young Museum

During the 1920s, Tamara de Lempicka was among the artists involved in the epic project of crafting the “New Woman,” a female persona that suited the fast-changing modern times. This Polish-born painter contributed canvases featuring modish women riding in cars and posing before urban metropolises, her subjects’ skin rendered using an off-kilter sheen that sometimes mirrored the machines pictured. Though some critics have labeled her art kitsch, Lempicka’s art has earned some avid admirers, among them the pop star Madonna, who has collected the artist’s work. Finally, more than four decades after her death, Lempicka is receiving a scholarly retrospective in the United States, where she worked for a majority of her career. Lempicka , a recent Broadway musical that played up the artist’s liberated sexuality and lifestyle, was a notorious flop; this much-anticipated show is likely not to suffer the same fate.

October 12, 2024–February 9, 2025

“Fluxus and Beyond: Ursula Burghardt, Benjamin Patterson” at Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

The two artists surveyed here have largely been considered secondary figures in the history of Fluxus, the 1960s movement that claimed everyday objects as the stuff of art, and unjustly so. The exhibition suggests that their identities played a role. Ursula Burghardt, who made slight alterations to trinkets and offered them as her sculptures, was a Jewish German; Benjamin Patterson, whose unconventional music sometimes invited audience participation, was a Black American. While both were well-known to Fluxus-affiliated artists (Patterson was even vocally acclaimed by Nam June Paik), neither is quite so widely recognized today. This exhibition may change that.

Tarek Atoui at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria

Much of Tarek Atoui’s art is devoted to the production of surprising sounds. Those sounds emanate not from conventional instruments but from places and objects of Atoui’s own making. These unusual artworks have all asked a perplexing question: Which peoples, and what objects, deserve to be heard, and how? The subject of his latest work is being kept under wraps, but the Kunsthaus Bregenz has tantalizingly teased the project by noting that its spaces are acoustically sensitive, meaning that visitors should keep their ears peeled.

October 12, 2024–January 12, 2025

Olga de Amaral at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris

Textile artist Olga de Amaral weaves rich abstractions that translate the look of modernist painting into fiber, with her gorgeously hued threads even sometimes allowed to hang loose, creating sculptural installations that can be seen from multiple angles. Even in a time when fiber art has become pervasive in the institutions that once shunned it, this nonagenarian’s work stands out. The Colombian artist’s first retrospective in Europe will feature decades’ worth of art paying homage to pre-Columbian traditions and centuries-old handicrafts.

October 12, 2024–March 16, 2025

“Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350” at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Just about every Art History 101 course tends to place due emphasis on the explosion of creativity that occurred in Florence and birthed the Renaissance during the 15th century. But this blockbuster exhibition suggests that none of that would have been possible were it not for 14th-century Siena, where a group of painters set painting in a new direction by shearing Christian imagery of the staid styles associated with Medieval art. Duccio, for his part, began using egg tempera and gold leaf, and started painting figures that contained greater depth, like the humans that appeared in real life. His famed Madonna and Child (ca. 1290–1300), featuring the Christ Child playfully tugging at his mother’s veil, features here alongside works by Simone Martini, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and others in this jewel-box blockbuster, which heads to London’s National Gallery following its appearance in New York.

October 13, 2024–January 26, 2025

“Figures du Fou: Du Moyen Age aux Romantiques” at Louvre, Paris

Should Todd Phillips’s Joker: Folie à Deux (out October 4) leave you wanting more, there is this sprawling survey focused on the figure of the madman in artworks dating from between the 13th and 19th centuries. The expressions of insanity that figure here are not all so dour as Joker , however: some focus on love and passion, others on religious ecstasy, and still others on madness as a logical response to a culture obsessed with reason. Craziness takes many forms here, and so too do the artworks included, which include illuminated manuscripts, oil paintings, engravings, and more.

October 16, 2024–February 3, 2025

“Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann & …” at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris

This mega-exhibition may sound like yet another retrospective for Tom Wesselmann, the Pop artist known for his paintings of sprawled-out nude women and domestic interiors stuffed with consumerist goods. Wesselmann fans, fear not: there are 150 pieces by the artist on hand here. But the show is more than Wesselmann, with another 70 works by 35 other artists whose work the curators have tied to his. Some of those pieces are critical of Wesselmann’s famed and famously polarizing “Great American Nude” paintings. Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas, for example, similarly portray odalisques, but theirs are focused on Black models. Seen in the context of Wesselmann’s paintings, the tenderness of Adams and Thomas’s gazes will become apparent.

October 16, 2024–February 24, 2025

“Malala Andrialavidrazana: Figures” at Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Since 2015, Malala Andrialavidrazana has been working on the series “Figures,” for which the Madagascar-born French artist mashes together pieces of maps, colonial paintings, currency, scientific diagrams, and more. The results are expansive, maximal photomontages that are intended to chart the world without a colonialist perspective. The sweeping ambition of these pieces may be one reason the Palais de Tokyo chose to award Andrialavidrazana its biggest space: a gallery whose 196-foot-long walls she will cover with preexisting “Figures” works that she will enlarge to a new, epic proportions.

October 17, 2024–January 5, 2025

“Silhouettes in the Undergrowth” at Museo Jumex, Mexico City

Starting in 1973, Ana Mendieta began to visit sites in Iowa and Mexico, and scrawl an abstracted female form into the landscape. Sometimes, she set this form on fire; in other instances, she left it to disappear as it was exposed to the elements. For her, the series, known as the “Siluetas,” became a way to imply an intimate connection between the land and the body, a project taken up in the intervening decades by a range of other Latin American women artists, five of whom appear alongside the late Mendieta in this show. Among them are Frieda Toranzo Jaeger, a young Mexican-born artist whose paintings have featured women arrayed in verdant nature, where they party and have sex alongside seemingly disused car parts.

“Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture” at mumok, Vienna

The title of this exhibition stakes a bold claim for Medardo Rosso, a sculptor who made a solid contribution to 19th-century art with his lumpy sculptures of expressive faces. Perhaps these works, made using a lost-wax casting technique more often associated with classical sculpture, are nowhere so transgressive as what followed them—they seem aesthetically conservative compared to the abstract sculptures European modernists produced thereafter. But the show places dozens of Rosso’s sculptures alongside more recent pieces by Jasper Johns, Phyllida Barlow, and Eva Hesse to prove that his work had lasting power, no matter how easy it may be to toss it off today.

October 18, 2024–February 23, 2025

Everlyn Nicodemus at National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh

Most self-portraits depict exactly one head—the artist’s—but Everlyn Nicodemus’s from 1982 contains five faces, all apparently belonging to the same body. Each of those faces looks a bit like Nicodemus. Her point with this work, the first by a Black woman to enter the collection of London’s National Portrait Gallery, was that the self is not always so easy to define, especially when one is diasporic like Nicodemus, a Tanzanian-born painter who has resided in Sweden, France, and Belgium. For the past 15 years, this influential artist has been tackling the aftermath of colonialism and the intricacies of Black identity from her studio in Edinburgh. At long last, she gets her first-ever retrospective; fittingly, it’s being held within the city she now calls home.

October 19, 2024–May 25, 2025

“Sophie Calle: Overshare” at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

The titular verb in this retrospective’s title is a reference to French artist Sophie Calle’s unique ability to leave nothing to the imagination. In her conceptual projects of the past few decades, she has regularly invaded people’s privacy—taking up a job as a hotel maid in order to rifle through people’s belongings in one famous project, and following a male stranger and documenting her travails for another. Her photographs, installations, and more will be assembled for her most comprehensive US museum show to date. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Calle, who, working on commission for a Minneapolis bank, once clandestinely photographed people withdrawing from an ATM for a project called Cash Machine (1991–2003).

October 26, 2024–January 26, 2025

“Steina: Playback” at MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Steina’s name may hardly be a household one, but to video-art enthusiasts, she is an icon, having produced key tapes that explore the flow of time and the landscapes of Iceland and New Mexico, her birth country and her current home state, respectively. To properly encapsulate the octogenarian’s output is just about impossible, given the many forms it has taken. She cofounded the Kitchen, the New York art center that has fostered generations of media and performance artists, and she often worked collaboratively with her husband, the late Woody Vasulka. But this retrospective endeavors to try—and is likely to bring Steina wider recognition.

October 26, 2024–January 15, 2025

René Magritte at Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Walk into any of the biggest modern art museums of Western Europe and the US, and you won’t have to go far to find a painting by René Magritte, the Belgian Surrealist known for depicting floating boulders, pipes that aren’t pipes, and canvases that shatter as though they were made of glass. Many of these famed works are located thousands of miles away from Australia, which is why this show, billed as his first retrospective ever on the continent, is being treated as such an event. One of the works making the trek for the occasion is the Museum of Modern Art’s The False Mirror (1929), in which the iris of an eye is replaced with a cloudy sky.

October 26, 2024–February 9, 2025

“Ei Arakawa-Nash: Paintings Are Popstars” at National Art Center, Tokyo

While Ei Arakawa-Nash is best known for performance art, much of his work has involved painting, a medium that has historically been largely about the final product, not the process of making it. The beauty of Arakawa-Nash’s art is that it shows that painting can be similar to performance art for those willing to view it that way: he has had people dance around paintings and even flung a person through a canvas. He is set to feature live performance art alongside painting once more with this show, which will include works by Oscar Murillo, Leidy Churchman, Trevor Shimizu, and more alongside events of Arakawa-Nash’s making. “This exhibition will definitely come only once in my life,” the artist said in a statement. “Please let me deliver it to you with a playful attitude.”

October 30, 2024–December 16, 2024

“Salvo: Arrivare in tempo” at Pinacoteca Agnelli, Turin

Salvo’s colorful paintings of landscapes lined with bulbous trees and squat houses made him an outlier during his day, but this Italian artist has received a surge of interest in recent years, with his one of his canvases selling for over $1 million last year at Christie’s. Here comes the biggest exhibition ever afforded to him—in Turin, the city he called home, no less—to prove that he is more than just a market phenomenon. The show seeks to prove that even though Salvo may have had a light touch, he had big ideas on the brain, with a special interest in how a contemporary artist could reinvent historical genres for new eras.

October 31, 2024–May 24, 2025

“Meriem Bennani: For My Best Family” at Fondazione Prada, Milan

During the first lockdown, in 2020, Meriem Bennani and her collaborator Orian Barki charmed audiences worldwide with 2 Lizards , a grouping of videos posted to Instagram that featured computer-generated animals navigating a Covid-altered New York. Bennani and Barki are set to enchant once more with a new film, titled For Aicha , whose protagonist is a 35-year-old jackal named Bouchra who has acquired the ability to make movies. That work will be complemented by a fresh installation by Bennani composed of hundreds of flip flops; the shoes will be moved about by a machine, causing them to hit objects around them and produce a symphony of sound.

October 31, 2024–February 24, 2025

“MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today” at National Museum of Qatar

With around 200 works included, this epic exhibition charts Pakistan’s art scene roughly from the time of Partition onward, attesting to a wealth of experimentation conducted along the way. Some artists, like Imran Qureshi and Shahzia Sikander, have remixed traditional styles like miniature painting and made them new—something made literal by Amin Gulgee, who will here recreate a Mughal garden with a contemporary twist. Others, like Lala Rukh and Salima Hashmi, have dealt with Pakistan’s present, taking up issues like women’s rights and nuclear disarmament. Across all these pieces, these artists attempt to envision the future of Pakistan, a nation that has experienced tumult since gaining independence in 1947.

November 1, 2024–January 31, 2025

Prospect New Orleans

All biennial-style exhibitions are saddled with the possibility of becoming parachute-in shows: curators and artists spend a brief period engaging with a specific locale, then depart once they’re done and never look back. Curator Miranda Lash and artist Ebony G. Patterson, the organizers of this year’s Prospect New Orleans triennial, have actively sought to avoid that quagmire with a show that they say asks: “What does it mean to ‘hold’ a city, a gesture that suggests care and reverence?” Works by Teresa Baker, Bethany Collins, Cathy Lu, Karyn Olivier, Stephanie Syjuco, Joiri Minaya, and more may offer some answers.

November 2, 2024–February 2, 2025

“Seeing Is Believing: the art and influence of Gérôme” at Mathaf, Qatar

Of all the 19th-century French painters credited with doing something new, Jean-Léon Gérôme may not have the greatest name recognition, even though his paintings have influenced the way many white Westerners conceive of North Africa and the Middle East. His canvases showing snake charmers, encampments in Egypt, and enslaved people seduced Europeans of his day with alluring, eroticized, and casually racist visions of lands largely unknown to them. In recent decades, this has all made these works ripe for critique, with Edward Said even famously plastering one such Gérôme painting across the cover of his 1978 book Orientalism . Gérôme was born 200 years ago, but he is not exactly getting a birthday celebration with this mega-exhibition, whose 400 works—some by him, some not—show how the artist crafted negative stereotypes that continue to pervade Western culture.

November 2, 2024–February 22, 2025

“Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930” at Guggenheim Museum, New York

Of all the – isms of the early 20th century known to the general public, Orphism is not likely to rank highly for name recognition. The Guggenheim aspires to change that with this big survey devoted to the movement, which upheld color as a primary means of experimentation, even as contemporaneous movements like Cubism opted largely for blacks, whites, and grays. The twinkling compositions that resulted—the whirling abstractions of František Kupka, the prismatic orbs painted by Sonia Delaunay—charm the eye with their bold palettes, which will provide plenty of excitement in this museum’s predominantly white interior.

November 8, 2024–March 9, 2025

Renata Lucas at Pinacoteca de São Paulo

In 2010, Renata Lucas tilted the sidewalk of a Berlin street exactly 7.5 degrees, forcing a circular swatch of the walkway to lead into a wall. The project typified this Brazilian artist’s practice, which has sought to create interruptions in the way people view and move through spaces. By turns humorous and slightly menacing, her interventions break down the reigning sense of order that guides daily life. For that reason, her biggest survey to date in her home country ought to provide a disorienting experience.

November 9, 2024–April 6, 2025

“The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970–2020” at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

The notion that painting is a fundamentally analog medium has come to seem passé as artists have begun to enlist video and software alongside their brushes and canvases. In this survey, the focus is artists who have lured technology into the painterly process, at times barely even touching the works that result with their own hands. Take the case of Avery Singer’s paintings made using Google SketchUp, for which the artist created the underdrawings of her canvases on a computer and then filled in her digital figures by hand using acrylic, effectively marrying brushstroke and keystroke.

November 9, 2024–April 13, 2025

“Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon” at MoMA PS1, New York

Starting in 2002, choreographer Ralph Lemon began to visit Yazoo, Mississippi, to spend time Walter Carter, a former sharecropped whom Lemon engaged as his collaborator. Together, the two would reenact portions of Solaris and Alphaville , and use the language of those famed arthouse films to speak to alienation resulting from years and years of racism. Photographs and videos related to that ongoing project, formally titled 1856 Cessna Road , is among the 60 works in this survey, which highlights this influential artist’s sprawling network. Accordingly, though its title makes it appear like a one-person show, its participants are many: Kevin Beasley is set to debut a new video and sound installation with Lemon here, and Okwui Okpokpwasili, Darrell Jones, and more are on tap to perform live in the museum’s galleries.

November 14, 2024–2025

“Cassils: Movements” at SITE Sante Fe, New Mexico

In 2022, for a Cassils performance called Human Measure , six trans and nonbinary performers moved around on stage in low light on a muslin canvas treated with cyanotype solution. That canvas ended up recording their bodies, acting as a “visual language that denies [the] kind of invisibility” typically afforded to trans and nonbinary people, as the artist as put it. Cassils will continue honing that visual language with sound and video installations that rework Human Measure for a gallery space, effectively ensuring that the artist’s temporary performances are made permanent.

November 15, 2024–February 3, 2025

“Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream…” at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Texas

Two years before Philip Guston’s paintings of Klansmen initiated widespread controversy, Vincent Valdez faced similar scandal for showing his own 30-foot-long painting of these hooded white supremacists. With its grand scale and its piercing detail, the piece exemplified Valdez’s unique ability to stare back at forces of evil and present them to the public, whether it is ready to look at these images or not. Valdez’s first-ever museum survey marshals his drawings, paintings, prints, and more, taking up subjects such as violence inflicted upon immigrants and the strength of the Latinx community in the face of it along the way.

November 15, 2024–March 23, 2025

“Luc Tuymans: The Past” at UCCA Contemporary Art Center, Beijing

Well before the current craze for figurative painting, Luc Tuymans made a name for himself during the ’90s with canvases featuring imagery appropriated from the media, then largely drained of color. His subjects would go on to include Condoleezza Rice, stills from Singin’ in the Rain and Mulholland Drive , and alienated-looking people; though not always political, the paintings seemed to allude to the loss of history and the pervasiveness of evil. Eighty of Tuymans’s pictures will figure in this show, which places a specific focus on his work about China, a country whose globalized economy has long fascinated the Belgian artist.

November 16, 2024–February 16, 2025

“Amy Sherald: American Sublime” at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Amy Sherald made a splash when, in 2018, she unveiled her official portrait of Michelle Obama, who was pictured wearing a Michelle Smith–designed dress that flowed beautifully across her legs, cutting through Sherald’s eggshell blue background. This sharp painting looked like few other official portraits before it, and it cemented Sherald’s reputation as a painter of note. This show, her first mid-career survey, seals the deal, bringing together 50 paintings of Black men, women, and children, all pictured against monochromatic backgrounds. Expect the exhibition to attest to how Sherald altered the trajectory of figurative painting.

November 16, 2024–March 9, 2025

“Joseph Beuys: In Defense of Nature” at the Broad, Los Angeles

Around the same time as this exhibition, a reforestation project called Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar , organized by archaeologist Desireé Reneé Martinez and artist Lazaro Arvizu Jr., will see 100 California oak trees planted in Elysian Park. It’s a gesture that blurs the line between conceptual art and ecological renewal, and one that’s meant to recall Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks, 1982), for which the German artist planted thousands of trees in Kassel, Germany. Did that work make Beuys an accidental eco-art pioneer? This 400-work survey suggests that when Beuys manipulated the landscape around him, he thought deeply about humanity’s shifting relationship to the environment, whose tenuousness he understood well before climate change became a public concern.

November 16, 2024–April 6, 2025

“Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now” at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This ambitious show proves that for many Black artists of the past century and a half, the Egypt of millennia ago remains a force in the present. Expected artists figure in the show’s 150-person list: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, a Harlem Renaissance sculptor who recycled pharaonic imagery for a new age; Kara Walker, who sexualized sphinx sculptures have provoked controversy and admiration; Awol Erizku, whose photographs have featured miniature recreations of Egyptian statues. But the participants also include multihyphenates such as Sun Ra and Solange, whose works in various fields have ensured that ancient Egyptian styles continue to infiltrate pop culture.

November 17, 2024–February 17, 2025

“The 80s: Photographing Britain” at Tate Britain, London

A miners’ strike, the AIDS pandemic, a conservative crackdown on the queer community: all this and more happened in England during the 1980s, a decade whose tumult gave way to a photographic revolution. Rather than making overarching pronouncements about all the pictures that resulted, this 350-work show opts for variety, spotlighting both documentary and conceptual modes alike while also featuring works that sometimes do not look much like traditional photography at all. Many artists here blend multiple modes of working; the Scottish photographer Maud Sulter, for example, often pictured Black women playing semi-fictional characters as a means of questioning how race is performed.

November 21, 2024–May 5, 2025

“Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet” at Tate Modern, London

Many technologically minded art exhibitions in the past decade have used the birth of the World Wide Web, in 1989, as a starting point. Here, however, it is the endpoint, with nearly all this show’s contents focusing on artworks made in the pre-internet age. Staples of postwar art history will figure here, among them Atsuko Tanaka’s Electric Dress (1957), a wearable sculpture formed from multicolored light bulbs. But generally, the focus is on art awaiting canonization, from experiments done by the Yugoslavian New Tendencies artists of the 1960s to Samia Halaby’s abstractions done on an Amiga 1000 computer during the 1980s.

November 28, 2024–June 1, 2025

“Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film” at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Not quite an art exhibition yet not quite a design show either, this cross-disciplinary survey sets out to explore how digital technologies have reshaped artists’ ability to portray reality since the 1980s. It’s a wide-ranging inquiry, and so the offerings are unusually expansive, with a clip from Jurassic Park placed within the same galleries as work by Petra Cortright, whose webcam-shot videos, often augmented with chintzy digital effects, made her a closely watched artist during the post-internet era. Then again, tools like Photoshop can be used to many different ends, from digital design to conceptual photography, and the show is meant to be open-ended as a means of reflecting that.

November 24, 2024–July 13, 2025

“Ordinary People: Photorealism and the Work of Art since 1968” at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles

The paintings of Photorealist artists such as Audrey Flack and Robert Bechtle look like camera-made images, even though they were produced by hand using oil and acrylic. That, of course, was the point: these artists sought to question whether painting could function like photography in its quest to portray life itself. Often derided as kitsch (even though these artists were sometimes trying for just that, “good” taste be damned), Photorealism gets proper consideration with this survey. The show charts the movement’s evolution during the 1970s and then expands it to the current moment, offering up figurative painters such as Gina Beavers and Sayre Gomez as modern-day inheritors to artists like Flack and Bechtle.

November 23, 2024–May 4, 2025

The Small Dress Watch Is Back

Kate Winslet Favors Glittering Floral Embellishments in Kate Middleton-loved Designer Jenny Packham for ‘Lee’ London Premiere

Marvel’s Nova show is inspired by Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica

Court OKs Diamond Sports’ NBA, NHL Deals Ahead of Key Fall Hearing

The Best Yoga Mats for Any Practice, According to Instructors

ARTnews is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Art Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.