Where to See New York City’s Most Romantic Art on Valentine’s Day Inline
1/28Whether you're based in Greenpoint or the Lower East Side, the Brooklyn Museum’s excellent—and too-often overlooked—collectsion is always a good excuse to make a trek. Breeze through the centuries by seeking out these pieces in chronological order, with some background information that’s bound to impress.
Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum2/28This soldier is clearly taken with the Dutch lady in red.
Woman Pouring Wine, Gerard ter Borch II, ca. 1650
Location: Beaux-Arts Court, North, Third Floor
Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum3/28In the ballet depicted, a hunter gives Princess Neruda a bouquet of flowers to indicate his affection, but is sentenced to death for approaching royalty.
Portrait of Mlle Fiocre in the Ballet "La Source" (Portrait de Mlle...E[ugénie] F[iocre]: à propos du ballet "La Source"), Edgar Degas, ca. 1867-1868
Location: Elevator Lobby, Third Floor
Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum4/28Cortor came across this picnicking couple in a flooded area while en route to the Georgia Sea Islands. After painting them, he once said he thought they “represent[ed] youth with hope.”
Southern Landscape (Southern Flood), Eldzier Cortor, ca. 1939-1940
Location: Fifth Floor, American Identities: A New Look, Everyday Life/A Nation Divided
Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum5/28This sculpture is of Gaston Lachaise’s muse, Isabel Dutaud Nagle, who ultimately became his wife.
Standing Woman, Gaston Lachaise, 1955-1956
Location: Connecting Cultures, 1st Floor
6/28If you have yet to see the Neue’s special exhibition on the brilliant Austrian artist Egon Schiele, now may be your moment to strike. On the third floor, see the two loves of Schiele’s life side by side, and continue downstairs for some gift inspiration—courtesy of their decorative art collectsion and bookstore.
Photo: Courtesy of the Neue Galerie7/28Portrait of the Artist's Wife Seated, Holding Her Right Leg, Egon Schiele, 1917
Location: Third Floor, “Egon Schiele: Portraits” is on through April 20, 2015.
Photo: Courtesy of the Neue Galerie8/28Wally, short for Valerie Neuzil, was Schiele’s lover and frequently modeled for his paintings.
Wally in Red Blouse with Raised Knees, Egon Schiele, 1913
Location: Third Floor, “Egon Schiele: Portraits” is on through April 20, 2015.
Photo: Courtesy of the Neue Galerie9/28Fritz Waerndorfer, an early investor in the Viennese workshop Wiener Werkstätte, gave this brooch as a gift to his wife Lili. It was one of their first pieces produced, and stands out for its rare use of rose-cut diamonds.
Josef Hoffmann, Brooch acquired by Fritz Waerndorfer for his wife Lili, 1904, Made by the Karl Ponocny for the Wiener Werkstätte
Location: Second Floor
Photo: Courtesy of the Neue Galerie10/28This postcard, entitled “Heart Leaves on Branches,” was sent by Gustav Klimt to his muse Emilie Flöge. While it is not currently on display, it is included in the book Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: A Catalogue Raisonné, currently on sale.
Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: A Catalogue Raisonné, $75
Available at the Neue Galerie Book Store and online
Photo: Courtesy of the Neue Galerie11/28Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: A Catalogue Raisonné, $75
Available at the Neue Galerie Book Store and online
12/28For a more intimate excursion, sneak away to The Morgan’s lowly lit yet glowing East Room. The thirty-foot walls of Pierpont Morgan’s Library may contain hidden romance in illuminated texts and manuscripts of music, but it’s the view above that will provide plenty of poetic inspiration. Famous love matches from literature and mythology can be glimpsed in Henry Siddons Mowbray’s ceiling mural. See if you and your beau can find all seven pairs: Tristan and Isolde; Lancelot and Guinevere; Petrarch and his sonnets for Laura; Dante and Beatrice; Venus with a dove; Mercury and Persephone; and Mars and Venus.
Photo: Graham Haber, Courtesy of The Morgan Library and Museum13/28Pierpont Morgan’s Library
The Morgan Library & Museum
Location: East Room
Photo: Courtesy of The Morgan Library and Museum14/28Mercury and Proserpina, Ceiling mural in Mr. Morgan's Library (East Room) painted in 1904 by Harry Siddons Mowbray, © The Morgan Library & Museum.
Location: East Room
Photo: Courtesy of The Morgan Library and Museum15/28Venus, the goddess of love, with two doves, Ceiling mural in Mr. Morgan's Library (East Room) painted in 1904 by Harry Siddons Mowbray, © The Morgan Library & Museum
Location: East Room
16/28For those looking for a little more guidance, head to The Met for Saturday’s Gallery Talk on Renaissance and Baroque art, “In the Heat of the Moment: Capturing Lust in Painting.” If you miss the 4:00 p.m. start time, don’t worry; you can still go hunt out these highlights with your date.
Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art17/28Venus and Adonis, Peter Paul Rubens, Probably mid-1630s
Location: Gallery 628
Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art18/28Mars and Venus United by Love, Paolo Veronese, 1570s
Location:/b> Gallery 607
Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art19/28Cupid and Psyche, Antonio Canova, 1794
Location:/b> Gallery 614
Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art20/28Venus and the Lute Player, Titian and Workshop, ca. 1565–70
Location: Gallery 607
21/28The holiday of Saint Valentine is not exclusively for those enjoying coupledom—despite what Instagram may have us believe. MOMA’s wide-ranging collectsion contains ample evidence of many different forms of love. Be it between friends, daughters, sisters, or families—it’s in the air.
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art22/28Friends, Paul Citroen, 1930. © 2015 Paul Citroen/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/Pictoright, Amsterdam
Location: Photography Gallery, Floor Three
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art23/28A drawing by Matisse of his daughter, Marguerite
Marguerite Reading, Henri Matisse, (c. 1906). Copyright: © 2015 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: Painting and Sculpture I, Gallery Six, Floor Five.
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art24/28At the Moulin Rouge, La Goulue and her Sister (Au Moulin Rouge, La Goulue et sa sœur), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892
Location: Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries, Floor Two. "The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters,” is on through March 22, 2015
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art25/28Family Group, Henry Moore, 1948-49 (cast 1950)
Location: Sculpture Garden
26/28For those with a sense of humor—or perhaps still prickling from the burn of their last flame—the Museum of Art and Design might appeal. The cheeky sculpture series, 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers by Sebastian Errazuriz was inspired by the artist’s previous paramours. Each 3-D-printed shoe is named after the defining quality of each of his exes.
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Art and Design27/28Golddigger: Alison, Sebastian Errazuriz. From the 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers series, 2013
Location: Fifth floor gallery. "New Territories: Laboratories for Design, Craft and Art in Latin America is on through April 5, 2015”
Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Art and Design28/28Installation photo of Sebastian Errazuriz's 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers series, 2013 in New Territories: Laboratories for Design, Craft and Art in Latin America at the Museum of Arts and Design 2014
Location: Fifth floor gallery. "New Territories: Laboratories for Design, Craft and Art in Latin America is on through April 5, 2015”
