art tour nyc

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SCHEDULED TOURS Saturdays

PRIVATE TOURS Tuesdays to Saturdays

We offer Scheduled Gallery Tours on Saturdays, or you can arrange a Private Tour to take place Tuesdays to Saturdays.

We find the most innovative art, and lead you on an insightful, entertaining and affordable journey through the contemporary art scene.  All tours led by Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D., founder and director for 22 years.

Scheduled tours :

Sat. aug. 24 at 2:00 pm : governors island gallery tour, sat. sept. 14 at 1:30 pm : chelsea “best exhibits” gallery tour, tuesdays to saturdays: private tours.

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[email protected]

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.

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Museum Tours & Art Guides in NYC

Our museum tours are perfect for those looking for an exceptional museum experience with an art history guide in New York City

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!

Where Would You Like to Tour?

The metropolitan museum of art (the met) tours.

The Guggenheim Museum Tours

The American Museum of Natural History Tours

Whitney Museum of American Art Tours

The Cloisters Museum Tours

Brooklyn Museum Tour

Corporate Events and Art Tours

New York Family Tours

NYC and Chelsea Art Gallery Tours: Private and Guided

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

You must join the virtual exhibition queue when you arrive. If capacity has been reached for the day, the queue will close early.

Explore the vast world of art and culture through the lens of various viewpoints in programs ranging from gallery tours to storytelling sessions and interactive experiences with works of art.

MetTours connects you with works of art, with curators, conservators, educators, and artists alike guiding you through the collection and exhibitions. Program times, audiences, and topics vary.

Met Expert Talks

Hear new insights and untold stories from Met insiders, including curators, conservators, scientists, and scholars, and take a closer look at the works of art in the galleries. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions.

Gallery Talks

Engage directly with works of art in the galleries through talks led by curators, conservators, educators, and invited specialists. Talks focus on specific aspects of the collection or on exhibitions.

Gallery Talks at The Met Cloisters

The Met Cloisters offers gallery talks for adults at 12 and 2 pm every Saturday and on the first Sunday of each month, year-round.

Guided Tours

Explore highlights of the collection through a variety of tours with Museum-trained volunteers. Engaging, hour-long tours are given in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Guided Tours at The Met Cloisters

Explore the building and grounds at The Met Cloisters in tours led by Museum lecturers.

With Met experts, participate in timely and candid conversations that explore shifting perspectives on works from The Met collection.

How Did They Do That?

Peek at technique and learn how works of art were created through handling tools and materials. Stop by for hands-on demonstrations and conversations with educators, conservators, artists, and more!

Artists on Artworks

See The Met collection through artists' eyes. Each artist discusses works of art in the collection that hold personal meaning or relevance to his or her artistic process.

Art Explore (Ages 12–14)

Discover works of art from around the world and make art inspired by your ideas and The Met collection. Attend one or all of the monthly sessions.

Families with children ages 18 months–6 years are invited to look, listen, sing, and have fun with picture books.

Start with Art at The Met/Start with Art and Music

Families with children ages 3–6 are invited to share ideas and enjoy stories, sketching, singing, and other gallery activities that bring works of art to life.

Families with children ages 7–11 are invited to travel through time and around the world on a Museum adventure.

La Experiencia Medieval: Talleres Bilingües y Educativos para Familias

Niños de 4 a 12 años de edad y sus familias están invitados a participar en visitas guiadas y proyectos de arte en Los Claustros.

MetTours for Visitors with Disabilities

Join gallery tours and interactive experiences with works of art during these programs specifically designed for people with disabilities together with family and friends.

Family Tours at The Met Cloisters

Children ages 4 through 12 and their families are invited for an hour-long workshop at The Met Cloisters.

Upcoming MetTours Events

Storytime at the met cloisters, met expert talks at the met cloisters—the five senses, how did they do that—frescoes.

CONTACT   

PRIVATE TOURS

Chelsea Gallery Tour is an woman-run business, started in 2015.

Our tours are guided by artists, writers , and curators who are passionate about the history, art and architecture of the city. 

Our tours have been called “inspiring", "genius" and "the best thing to do in New York city”.  We offer an original and in-debt point of view in a fun and casual atmosphere, which allow conversation and acquaintance.

We are proud to present a variety of art tours, each one offers a unique piece of New York’s endless puzzle. No prior knowledge is necessary, just a healthy curiosity! indulge!

WHO ARE WE?

Visual Artist, lecturer and Founder. Contemporary -Art specialist

Actress and silversmith Street-Art specialist. and tours for kids.

Painter, and an educators. Public art and Architecture specialist

visual artist and a writer Street -Art specialist

Art historian and a tattoo artist. Contemporary -Art specialist

Performance artist and a writer.  Street-Art and Ubanism specialist

"I've been going on monthly tours for over a year now. Every tour is different, interesting, uplifting and thought-provoking. Tal and Maya are both great guides, the groups are a good-size (not too large) and the art we see is always top-notch. It's been one of the highlights of my life in NYC, and so I highly recommend taking a tour with them!"

Private Tours, Group Classes & Advising

Lauren A Kaplan Art Tours provides three distinct services:

Private Tours

I craft in-person, customizable tours of New York’s art and architecture. Whether you are visiting town and want to see the Metropolitan Museum’s greatest hits, or are a New York native seeking a deep understanding of the season’s most talked-about exhibition, I will create the right experience for you. I love working with groups of friends, colleagues, and families too!

Group Classes

I lead virtual and in-person classes covering special exhibitions and relevant themes. All classes are 90 minutes long. Virtual classes meet on zoom, and in-person classes meet at museums and galleries around the city. All classes are packed with information, but they are also interactive and include lots of time for discussion.

Art Advisory

I provide advising for individuals hoping to start or expand an art collection. I will work with you to figure out your taste and budget, and I am always thrilled to bring more art into your daily life.

In all cases, my goal is to blend education with wit and enthusiasm, ensuring a truly memorable experience. In the end, you will not only gain tangible information, but will also become a more savvy consumer of culture.

See what people are saying about my art tours:

“Having a person who is steeped in the art world provides a window to another dimension that is much deeper than what lies on the surface.”

“Lauren is top of her game. Knowledgeable, fun, friendly — a total trifecta. You won’t find anyone better”

“I have now taken 3 trips through different worlds of art with Lauren including the Met, the Whitney and a Chelsea gallery tour. Each was a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable time”

A Recent Interview

I recently sat down with Mark Nimar, of The West Side Spirit, to discuss some of the ways my practice has evolved throughout COVID and how becoming a mom has changed my approach to teaching and art history. Read more here !

In December of 2016, I was interviewed by Michael Shaw, an LA-based artist, for his podcast,  The Conversation.  You can hear the interview here . At the time, we talked about my pedagogical approach to teaching art history, giving tours to different audiences—small and large, young and old—and what I love (and hate) about living in Brooklyn and working mostly on the Upper East Side. I just re-listened as a means of reflecting upon how my work has changed over the past six years. The answer is: a lot.

On Kawara: Killer (and Marker) of Time

On Kawara’s Guggenheim retrospective was a surprising revelation, far more powerful–and poignant–than I’d previously expected. The artist, who died last year, was born in Japan on December 24, 1932, forcing him to experience the horrific bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when he was a teenager. Though he’d initially wanted to be a scientist, witnessing the dangerous side of scientific advancement changed his mind. After a brief career as a figurative surrealist, Kawara destroyed his early work, left Tokyo for Paris then New York, and landed on a practice that would endure for nearly fifty years. His subject was time, and his goal was to record its passage.