Special Topic Tours

Our private tours indulge your interests and passions.....
Pick from one of the ideas below, or we'll curate your tour from scratch.

American Legacy

Did George Washington really cross the Delaware standing up in an oversized row boat? This tour through the exquisite American wing confronts the truth and the fiction in paintings by John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer, stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and a living room by Frank Lloyd Wright.
(At the Met)

Frolic for Foodies

Rendering foodstuffs and wine in naturalistic detail, artists through the ages have invited us to taste with our eyes. On this journey, we wander from Ancient Rome through the Renaissance and land at Cezanne, building a healthy appetite and admiring the masterworks of some 15 artists along the way.
(At the Met)

Fantastic Animals

Wolves and foxes. Sphinxes and dragons. Art wouldn't be complete without fanciful creatures as star attractions. This private museum tour starts in Ancient Egypt with a look at female pharoah Hatshepsut as sphinx. Then, we confront the wild animals of Peter Paul Rubens, some docile cows, an exquisite pheasant and a squirrel.
​(At the Met)

Mid-Century Modern

We adore the furniture and clothes of America at mid-century. What about the art? At the dawn of the atomic age that would level Hiroshima and Nagasaki, artists, too, sought to test the limits of their two-dimensional canvases. On this fascinating private tour, see what Abstract Expressionism brought to American art, as well as the rarities of realism that were still to be found.
​​(At MoMA)

Impressionism

Canvases tucked underarm, the men and women we call the Impressionists headed to the countryside to paint outdoors, defying every convention the Art establishment had laid down for centuries. What were these artists out to prove? Don't miss this juicy private tour that will delight your senses at every turn.
(At the Met or MoMA)

Love & Lust in Art

For centuries, artists have found ways to translate erotic and emotional desires onto canvas, marble and more. In this private tour for lovers and lusters alike, we'll delve into the art of at least 10 artists to explore the visual culture of passion from the romantic Romans to the frolicking French.
(At the Met)

EgyptianMagic

The Egyptians believed the brain was worthless and the dead would be reborn forever. Why? Egyptian art tells the story of this vibrant culture that spanned 3,000 years in northeast Africa. On your custom, private tour, we discover mummies, tombs, temples, and more as we look at an art that is easy to recognize but harder to understand.
(At the Met or Brooklyn Museum)

Kids & Teens in Art

For a fabulous custom family tour, we visit some darling (and mischievous) kids in art. From a boy in a dress to girls at the piano, from the most famous infant in art (Jesus, of course) to frolicking teens out for a joyous escape, we'll find kids you'll be eager to know.
​(At the Met)

Dragons & Genies

A fascinating king once reigned in Assyria, and large portions of the palace he built are on view in New York. Come see the winged creatures of this dynamic monarch while your private custom tour also ponders the fabulous dragons of Chinese lacquerware and porcelain.
​(At the Met) 

Black Art & Artists

An ordinary black man replaces Napoleon in a remake of a Neoclassical masterpiece. Kara Walker creates a molasses-and-sugar sculpture to illustrate the horrific existence of Civil War-era child slaves. This tour takes you on a journey of American and black history as we step through 150 years of some of the finest art on view in New York.
(At the Met, Brooklyn Museum, MoMA or Whitney Museum).

LGBTQ Art & Artists

This custom tour looks at the work of such monumental contributors as Andy Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Jasper Johns, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg and David Hockney. We will consider the masterpieces of these artists as well as the degree to which their sexual preference impacted their choice of subjects and their creative process.
(At the Met, MoMA or the Whitney)

Horse Lovers Dream

Carrying kings, queens and dreamers, no animal stars in art more proudly than the horse. This custom tour visits the equine masterpieces of Peter Paul Rubens and Paulo Veronese and pauses along the way to see horse whips, armor, toys and the story of a bold woman artist who dressed as a man so she could paint a Parisian horse fair in 1852.
​(At the Met)

Canines in Art

Kings, queens, countesses, and gods often appear in art with their loyal canines nearby. This private tour will take us to no fewer than 10 works to find man's best friend at the heart of the action, ever-nuzzling up for love. Plus, you won't want to miss the 17th-century gilded dog kennel, a bonus on this tour. (Rfff!)
​(At the Met)

Now, I Could Live Here!

A Renaissance study carved of wood parquet. A bed chamber for Louis XVI. A living room by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Met's period rooms allow us to step back in time and imagine ourselves living in grand style in other eras. Learn about the sumptuous materials, beautiful furniture and lifestyles of the grand and glorious on this rich and vibrant private tour on the history of interior design.
​​(At the Met)

Lovely Landscapes

A majestic landscape tradition looms large in American art, centered by the work of the Hudson River School artists who started painting just 95 miles north of New York City and took their talents as far west as Yosemite and as far south as Ecuador. The Met's collections of American and Dutch landscapes are among the finest in the world; see the standouts on this private tour that reminds us we have only one planet to love.
​(At the Met)

Do you have a special interest? Tell us, and we'll craft a custom museum tour for you or your group!

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​​​Contact: emily@heartartnyc.com or 718-644-5789