One of the finest amenities available to those who live in Manhattan’s Upper East Side condos and penthouse apartments is the immediate proximity of some of the finest art in the world.
And while everyone knows about the Met and the Guggenheim, they are perhaps less aware of the area’s eclectic private galleries, which are equally world class. Some are evident from street level, but many are tucked away in commercial buildings, well-maintained brownstones, and townhouses, giving them an air of exclusivity.
The variety of gallery locations throughout the Upper East Side results in an impressive array of represented artists and works. Collectors and aficionados can view the work of up-and-comers at the Gagosian Gallery’s expansive fourth- and fifth-floor location at 980 Madison Avenue, inside the grand Parke-Bernet building. The gallery is currently showcasing works of the late American artist and sculptor Walter De Maria, who was vital to the evolution of Minimalism and Conceptualism. Also in the building, on the third floor, are the Yoshii Gallery, which combines Modernist masters with Oriental antiques, and Wright, which exhibits historic and contemporary art and design.
The more traditionally-minded might prefer Arader Galleries, which offers antique maps, natural history engravings, and rare books in a magnificent Beaux Arts townhouse at 1016 Madison Avenue. The building is furnished with European, Continental, and American furniture as well, making it feel like the sumptuous pre-war mansion it originally was rather than a commercial space. Not far away, the Hubert Gallery has a more contemporary commercial feel with its street-level blue awning at 1046 Madison Avenue. There one can sample works on paper from Modern and Contemporary masters, in particular Matisse.
Like the Arader, Acquavella Galleries on 79th Street specializes in paintings of the past two centuries. Located in a neoclassical townhouse, the five-story gallery recently hosted a showing of paintings and works on paper—some never before exhibited—by iconic American artist Wayne Thiebaud. One block down and on the other side of Madison Avenue, the more intimate Joan B. Mirviss on the fourth floor of 39 E. 78th Street showcases modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics. Its current exhibit is a small but exquisite collection of celadon featuring a new glaze not previously seen outside Japan by contemporary master Kawase Shinobu.
Other highlights of the Madison Avenue gallery scene include Fiegen at 34 East 69th Street, which specializes in European paintings and drawings from medieval to contemporary eras. The building’s dignified and gentlemanly residential-appearing exterior gives little indication of the broad wealth of art within.
Nearby another hidden gem, Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts, offers the works of old masters as well as European portraits on the fourth floor of 23 East 69th Street. Easier to spot are the broad windows on the corner of 73rd and Madison where the Jane Kahan Gallery showcases a mix of modern masterpieces, from paintings and prints to tapestries and sculpture. Right next door is Jason Jacques, open only by prior arrangement; an appointment is well worth the minor trouble of a phone call for the sake of viewing their fine collection of fin-de-siècle European ceramics.
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