The Katonah Museum of Art celebrates the unique pleasures of the visual arts as a non-collecting facility devoted to changing exhibitions and educational programs. In a building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the Museum originates six major exhibitions annually and offers an extensive range of activities to engage visitors of all ages. Exhibitions present the "best of art" from the past to the present, spanning the spectrum of cultures, media, historical periods, and social issues.
The many artists living in the area represent an important constituency for the Museum. A very active Katonah Museum Artists Association offers lectures, workshops, and other events of special interest to its more than 300 members. The Museum also presents tri-state juried exhibitions, selecting outstanding curators to serve as jurors.
Brief History: The Katonah Museum of Art was founded 50 years ago as The Katonah Gallery, a small volunteer-run institution dedicated to encouraging the enjoyment, appreciation, and study of the visual arts by visitors of all ages. The Gallery, initially located in a small room over the Katonah Village Library, was committed to presenting "the best of art from the past to the present" and, as a "teaching museum," to communicating the special pleasures of the visual arts to its visitors.
By the late 1980's, the need for expanded space became critical. The Museum launched $5 million capital campaign and engaged the distinguished architect, Edward Larrabee Barnes, to design its new home. In 1990, the renamed Katonah Museum of Art moved to its present site and hired its first Executive Director. The Museum's elegant new facility provided space for a more comprehensive treatment of exhibition material, a wider range of participatory art education activities, and a greater variety and frequency of public programs.
As it made this growth-driven expansion, the Katonah Museum of Art reaffirmed its commitment to its mission. It remains a non-collecting institution dedicated to the study, appreciation, and enjoyment of the visual arts. It remains committed to its innovative and challenging range of educational programs, its lively array of public programs, and its uniquely effective use of talented volunteers. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, The Learning Center, Programs and Events, and more about the Katonah Museum of Art.
The Hammond Museum was designed by Natalie Hays Hammond who borrowed the basic principles and ideas of the Stroll Garden incorporating indigenous plantings with popular and rare Japanese and Chinese specimens. "As people often travel to escape routine problems and obligations, or to escape themselves, so should they find peace in an unhurried journey through a stroll garden."
"To please the eye, there are the textures of stone scrolled with the delicate designs of lichen, the patterns of tree trunks and clusters of foliage, the play of light and shadow, the varying shades of green as well as the seasonal colors of great beauty. To please the ear, there are the songs of native birds, the hum of insects the chorale of frogs and the occasional splash of carp in the lake, the crunch of pebbles underfoot, the whisper of wind through the pines. To please the sense of scent, there are dry pine needles in the sun, the fragrance of flowering shrubs, a breeze through mimosa or the pungency of loam after a night rain."
The museum serves as an East-West cross-cultural center where, through programs and events, exhibits, music and art, Americans and peoples of the East and West can appreciate and share their heritage. The museum also seeks to showcase the talent of artists in the New York Metropolitan area. Collectors in the region are also encouraged to explore the exhibiting at the Hammond.
Points of Interest: Stroll Garden, Birding, Brush Painting, Children's Workshops, Educational Tours, Silk Tree Cafe
The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art is located at 1701 Main Street, Peekskill, NY 10566. The Center is dedicated to the development and presentation of exhibitions and interdisciplinary programs that enrich our understanding of contemporary art, its contexts, and its relationship to social issues. HVCCA is also committed to the enrichment of Peekskill, a multicultural community that has recreated itself as a major arts destination. HVCCA operates a 12,000 square foot exhibition space and is the primary sponsor of the Peekskill Project, an annual, city-wide exhibition of site-specific artwork.
Press "Blue Button" for more about Exhibition, Arts-in-Residence, Education and Public Outreach, and Special Projects programs at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art website.
The purpose of the Peekskil Museum is to collect, preserve, study, and interpret objects and documents pertaining to Peekskill and the surrounding area. The Herrick House is home to the Peekskill Museum, located at 124 Union Avenue, Peekskill, NY 10566, in the business district on the edge of the Artist's District.
The Herrick House is a restored Victorian building that was owned by Dwight S. Herrick, a prominent Peekskill attorney. The Peekskill Museum was presented to the Field Library by Mrs. Ida M. Adams by deed dated January 3, 1944. It is one of Peekskill's most famous Victorian houses. The house was designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and Bigelow. The Herrick House is a fine example of a "well to do" Victorian home - with a spacious staircase, library, parlor and a fireplace with Dutch 'Delft' tiles depicting Biblical scenes.
The house was built between 1873 and 1877, occupied by the Herrick family until approximately 1912. Mr. Herrick's picture, presented to the Museum by Jennie Mabie in 1948, hangs on the wall in the front foyer, ready to greet visitors as Mr. Herrick would have done. The house itself was published in the best architectural journal of it's day, "The American Architect and Building News" on June 2, 1877. More recently, the house has been mentioned by Vincent Scully, a professor of Art History at Yale, in his book "The Single Story". Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Herrick House and the Peekskill Museum.
The society maintains a museum/library at 255 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge. The building was erected in 1853 by the Presbyterian Church of Pound Ridge to serve as a lecture room. In 1921, the building was sold to the town of Pound Ridge for use as a Town Hall. The building was leased to the Historical Society in 1982.
Neuberger Museum of Art is located in SUNY Purchase, at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577. Presenting 12 changing exhibitions annually in addition to ongoing exhibitions from the permanent collections, the Neuberger Museum of Art offers visitors insights into the work of 20th century masters, and mid-career and emerging artists, as well as exposure to the Westchester County's only permanent exhibition of African art. Neuberger Museum is one of Westchester's finest cultural resources, featuring 12 changing exhibitions of modern, contemporary and African art annually. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, Collection, African Art, Events and more about Neuberger Museum of Art.
Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo
914-253-2900
The Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens is located at 700 and 735 Anderson Hill Road, PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, NY. The Sculpture Gardens and the Purchase campus of SUNY are across the street from each other. Visit the sculptures and gardens and see works by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, George Segal, Jean Dubuffet, Auguste Rodin, Max Ernst, and more artists.
The sculpture gardens feature 45 sculptures by some of the best-known artists of the 20th century. “Capricorn,” Max Ernst’s largest freestanding sculpture is among the inspiring works. The grounds themselves are 168 acres of green lawns, trees, ponds, fountains, and landscaped gardens with a topiary, well-tended hedges, flower beds and water-lily ponds. These spectacular grounds were conceived as an integration of architecture, landscape, and sculpture. It is a landscape exhibiting superior thought and attention, a thorough knowledge of plants, a respect for what has come before, and a working effort to remain true to a vision.
Attractions Wonderful sculptures and gardens.
Map is available from the security guard at the headquarters entrance. Admission is free.
The Westchester Children’s Museum will be a vibrant new learning center that will nurture curiosity, enhance knowledge, and ignite imagination in our children as they explore the history, arts, environment, and cultural diversity of their local and global communities.
Imagine a unique learning space – colorful, clean, with “a sense of space, light and air…” Filled with creative hands-on exhibitions and public programs. The Westchester Children's Museum will be an institution of distinction for our children, one that is fun and educational, and which reflects the true needs and interests of this community, from children and teenagers, to parents and caregivers, to teachers and educators. Drawing from the dramatic history, extensive cultural diversity, flourishing environments and ecosystems, and the rich literary and artistic traditions of Westchester, the exhibitions and programs of the Museum will be state of the art and:
Highly innovative, dynamic, engaging, fun and enriching
Appeal to audiences of different generations, backgrounds, emotional, physical, and learning abilities
Present visitors with the opportunity for hands-on interaction
Stimulate repeat visitation with changing exhibits, performances, and public programs
Press "Blue Button" for Westchester Museum Events and more information about The Westchester Children’s Museum.
The Hudson River Museum is located at 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701. The Hudson River Museum collects 19th and 20th century American art and cultural, social and historical material related to the Museum's historic Mansion and the wider Westchester County and Hudson River Valley region. Though the Museum's collecting focus has evolved over its 84-year history, the trustees and staff have always been concerned with the institution's value and relevance to the surrounding region and its residents. The majority of the collections have been donated by Museum members and other local residents.
The Museum's collections have evolved from the original holdings of the Yonkers Museum, which was founded at City Hall in 1919 and relocated to the Yonkers Museum of Arts and Science in 1924. In 1937, H. Armour Smith, an avid collector of fine art, Americana and documentary materials, became director. Smith advocated changing the Museum's name to The Hudson River Museum to acknowledge that its collections documenting the Hudson River Valley were of primary importance to the Museum's goals. In 1956, the transfer of the stuffed elephant Tip, a popular display since 1929, to the Elephant Hotel in Somers, New York, was indicative of the changes that had occurred in the Museum's perception of its mission.
By 1948, the collection had grown to include a small group of 19th and 20th century fine arts, paintings, sculptures, and graphic works, as well as Victorian furniture, decorative arts and costumes, and materials documenting local history. In 1969, the New Wing added approximately 15,000 square feet of gallery space. Whereas previously much of the museum in the Mansion had been devoted to permanent displays, the new galleries were used for changing exhibitions of art, history and science. At the same time, the Mansion's first floor was partially restored, with four furnished period rooms and two small galleries for displaying decorative and historical materials from the collection.
Today, the Museum's collections reflect its mission to provide for development, preservation, and display of 19th and 20th century American art and history. The staff regularly organizes special collection exhibits and loan exhibits in which the permanent collections can play a role. Paintings, furniture and decorative arts are also always on view in the six period rooms in Glenview Mansion and its second floor hall and Lifflander Galleries. Press "Blue Button" for more information about The Hudson River Museum.
On November 28, 1776, the same year that 56 Americans signed the Declaration of Independence, well over 200 colonial New Yorkers placed their signatures on a "Declaration of Dependence". These signers were Loyalists, citizens who remained faithful to their sovereign, George III, King of Great Britain. Prominent among the signatures was that of Frederick Philipse III, Lord of the vast Manor of Philipsburg and resident of the elegant mansion known today as Philipse Manor Hall.
Frederick Philipse III and his family lived in luxury, well supported by rents from the many tenant farms on his property. Times were changing, however, and while others rebelled against Great Britain, Frederick III defended the Crown. His Loyalist beliefs were so strong that General George Washington ordered him arrested in 1776. Philipse and his family later fled to British occupied New York City and then to England, where the last "Lord of the Manor", broken in spirit and health, died in 1786. His land and his mansion were confiscated by the New York State Legislature and sold at public auction.
In 1868, after passing through the hands of many owners, the house became Yonkers Village Hall and, in 1872, the first City Hall. By the 20th century, city growth threatened the Manor Hall’s future until it was acquired by New York State in 1908. Today, Philipse Manor Hall serves as a museum of history, art and architecture, as well as host to community organizations, meetings, educational programs and special events. Highlights of the Hall include its 18th century, high style Georgian architecture, a 1750s papier mache Rococo ceiling, and an impressive collection of presidential portraits, including the six Presidents from New York State.
Attractions Collection of Presidential Portraits Educational Services Georgian Architecture, 18th century high style Group Tours Guided Tours Interpretive Sign
Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries is located at 3 Beekman Street in Beacon, NY 12508.
In May 2003, Dia opened Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, a museum to house its renowned but rarely seen permanent collection comprised of major works of art from the 1960s to the present. Located on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, Dia:Beacon occupies a nearly 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory.
The Beacon museum’s expansive galleries have been specifically designed for the display of the artworks to which Dia is committed, many of which, because of their character or scale, could not be easily accommodated by more conventional museums.
Works installed at the museum range from Andy Warhol's 1978 Shadows (a single work comprising multiple canvases); to three of Richard Serra's monumental sculptures in the Torqued Ellipses; "monuments" for V. Tatlin, a series of fluorescent light works by Dan Flavin; several mixed-media installations by Joseph Beuys and Agnes Martin’s 1999 paintings Innocent Love, among others. Each artist’s work is displayed in a dedicated gallery or galleries: in many cases these presentations were created in collaboration with the artists themselves.
The Building and Site Built in 1929 by Nabisco (National Biscuit Company), the historic steel, concrete, and glass factory building, designed by Nabisco’s staff architect Louis N. Wirshing, Jr., is a model of early-twentieth-century industrial architecture. Press "Blue Button" for visitor information and more about Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children is located at Mathews Park, 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850 in Fairfield County. Our educational philosophy at Stepping Stones is based on the knowledge that children learn best through direct hands-on interaction with their environment. Stepping Stones strives to provide a safe, nurturing environment that stimulates a child's natural curiosity and supports their innate desire to learn.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children, named one of America's top 50 children's museums, features interactive exhibits, educational programs and fun for the whole family. With four main galleries, a toddler's-only gallery and more than 80 hands-on activities, Stepping Stones offers visitors ages 10 and under plenty to explore and discover.
At Stepping Stones, children can climb a kapok tree and learn about tropical rainforests and conservation, report the weather from a real weather station, fly a simulated helicopter, or take a journey through the water cycle. With new exhibit experiences and programs introduced all year long, each visit is truly unique. Press "Blue Button" to learn more about the wonderful activities available at Stepping Stone Museum.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located at 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877. Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is one of those great "what-if" places where the permission to imagine things differently is the everyday modus operandi. Challenging, questioning, and beckoning visitors with innovative programming linked to groundbreaking art on view, The Aldrich offers programs and events that cater to just about everyone. From children, students, families, and community organizations, to artists, collectors, and galleries, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's programs and events are a resource to experience the new, meet the artists, gain a behind-the-scenes perspective, and speak directly with our curators and educators about the art on view. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, Events, Education, and more about Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located at 39 Scofield Town Road at High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT in Fairfield County. The Stamford Museum & Nature Center has miles of beautiful walking trails. These trails cover much of the 118-acre property, offering short hikes along Poorhouse Creek to more challenging excursions along the High Ridge Trail. A walk through any trail may afford glimpses of wood duck pairs, painted turtles sunning on rocks, or even a pileated woodpecker. Spectacular glacial erratic boulders are strewn throughout the trail system. An enthusiastic hiker will find a number of different walks to suit a particular mood or season, like finding a secluded bridge on a bird-watching morning, or discovering a cave where coyotes have slept. The trails wind through a mature forest of American beech, oaks, black birch, and other native plant species.
Playground Did you ever wonder what the world is like from an animal's point of view? Scamper through the giant hollow log into Nature's Playground and find out. This exciting new playground in the woods at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center is nestled into a rocky hillside and is part of the Overbrook Natural Science Complex. Kids (or adults) can scale a spider's web to a tree house with a lookout, then wind their way down a tubular slide or zoom down the otter slide.
They can jump on a bouncing bug, try to walk across a moving bridge or climb into a hawk's nest to survey their territory. Wiggle like a worm across two huge maple leaves, and crawl through an ant's nest. Dig for fossils in the huge sand pit. They also can become the captain and crew of the boat that's anchored here.
Nature Trails Our trails connect with the 88 acre-Bartlett Arboretum on the north end of the Museum's property.
New England Working Farm Heckscher Farm is open between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for "Down on the Farm" programs. Explore our traditional working farm and discover the sounds, smells, and textures that evoke memories and reveal the nature of farmlife. Observe staff conduct the daily chores that maintain this active, productive farm. Heckscher Farm is a living resource for learning. Children and families make personal connections to a not-so-distant past when farming was a major way of life in the region. Through observation, exploration, and participation, visitors can immerse themselves in the experiences of farming.
Education We are an Educational Institution. The Museum's 10-acre farm provides educational and recreational activities. At the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, we offer year-round classes in art and nature for toddlers through adults. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.
Attractions include: Hiking / Walking Playground Nature Trails Working Farm
The D&H Canal Park and the Neversink Valley Area Museum are located in Cuddebackville, Orange County, NY along the banks of the Neversink River. The Neversink Valley Area Museum preserves and documents the history of the peoples and industry of the Neversink and Shawangunk valleys of New York's Catskill region.
The Neversink Valley Area Museum occupies historic canal-era buildings in the D&H Canal Park right on the Neversink River.
For the Kids The Neversink Valley Area Museum has a number of activities that are especially suited to kids and their families.
The County Park, our home, has lots of grass and a playground.
Children love our Narrated Boat Rides along the D&H Canal (Sundays: 30 minute boat rides, boat seats 12 people, rides are $5.00).
Discover the beauty of the Neversink Valley This lovely region of Orange County is home to the Neversink, the Minisink, the amazing D&H Canal, a rich archaeological history and a network of small museums and historical societies devoted to presenting it all to you. Join us at the Neversink Valley Area Museum and our sister institutions for a tour of the natural beauty and rich history of our little corner of New York State. Press Blue Button for Kids & Family, events, and more about Neversink Valley Area Museum
Storm King Art Center is a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Storm King comprises 500 pristine acres of carefully maintained fields, hills, and woodlands, on which more than 100 works by major international artists are thoughtfully sited. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. The grounds are surrounded by profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience.
Storm King takes its name from Storm King Mountain, located five miles from the Art Center, whose dramatic slope and peak were favorite subjects for the painters of the Hudson River School. The experience of Storm King, which beautifully unites art and nature, is different with each visit, as changing seasons, light, and weather conditions transform the landscape and the work.
Founded in 1960, the Storm King Art Center is among the world’s most vital modern-art organizations. Its permanent collection of sculpture dates from 1945 to the present and includes works by many of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. The art is meticulously integrated into a landscape of superb vistas of rolling hills and fields—planted with native grasses—and forests. The permanent collection, which includes several specially commissioned site-specific works, is often complemented by both temporary outdoor installations and exhibitions in the museum building.
Among the artists whose work may be seen at Storm King are David Smith, represented by thirteen major sculptures; Alexander Calder, with the fifty-foot-high stabile The Arch (1975); Isamu Noguchi, whose Momo Toro (1977–78) was commissioned by Storm King; Mark di Suvero, with four monumental works; Richard Serra, whose Schunnemunk Fork (1990–91) is installed on ten acres; Louise Nevelson, with City on a High Mountain (1983); and Andy Goldsworthy, whose Storm King Wall (1997–98), a 2,278-foot-long, serpentine wall made of fieldstone, was also commissioned by Storm King.
Visitors may walk through the grounds or take a self-guided tour aboard a handicap-accessible tram that travels through the main portion of the grounds. An audio-guide is available for rental at the museum shop.
Special Note: Bring a picnic and the children to this magnificent Sculpture Museum.
As a department of the United States Military Academy, the Museum supports cadet academic, military and cultural instruction. Its collections include nearly all aspects of military history and encompass the history of West Point and the United States Military Academy, the evolution of warfare, and the development of the American Armed Forces. While only a portion of the collection is on display, all artifacts are available for cadet academic instruction, special exhibition and research.
Based upon captured British materials brought to West Point after the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777, the Museum collections actually predate the founding of the United States Military Academy. When the Academy opened in 1802, many Revolutionary War trophies remained to be used for cadet instruction. By the 1820s, a teaching collection of artifacts existed at the Military Academy and after the Mexican War (1846 - 1848).
West Point was designated by Executive Order as the permanent depository of war trophies. In 1854 the first public museum was opened and in 1989 the West Point Museum in Olmsted Hall opened at Pershing Center. Today it represents the culmination of more than two centuries of preserving our military heritage. Press "Blue Button" for West Point Gallery, History of US Army Gallery, American Wars Gallery, and more about West Point.
Bear Mountain Park: Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center The study of native animals and their habitat at Bear Mountain has a long history. In 1921, the American Museum of Natural History installed a facility at the Boy Scouts headquarters on Lake Kanawauke. Four years later, the same Museum began a program for the study of insects in Harriman State Park. The Commission added a bear den in 1926, which became a small zoo, as the facility took in more injured animals in need of shelter.
Today's Trailside Museums and Zoo occupy 40 acres on a bluff 250 feet over the Hudson River. The trails, including the first section of the Appalachian Trail, are among the oldest in the country; they link the various homes of Samantha, the eagle, and other birds of prey, the bear den, as well as habitats for beavers, a river otter, foxes, coyotes, and more.
Children enjoy the various presentations of indigenous wildlife, geology and herpetology. On display are Native American artifacts, models of Revolutionary War battles fought on-site, and an exhibit of the origins of the Boy Scouts, and four Museum buildings. See the bald eagle, black bear, owl, river otter and more animals local to Bear Mountain.
The Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center also highlight the history of the area. Learn about the importance of Bear Mountain in the American Revolutionary War. Visit historic 1777 & 1779 Trails that retrace the routes taken by the British army during the American War of Independence. Visit Fort Montgomery, a Revolutionary War fort built to defend the Hudson Highlands and protect American control of the Hudson River and learn about the Battle of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton.
Young children, older children, and adults all enjoy visiting each of the Museum buildings that house different exhibits. Visit the Local Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish Museum, the Geology Museum, History Museum and Nature Study Museum.
Museums - Westchester & Nearby
Directory of Museums located in Westchester County and Southern Connecticut. List of Museums include: West Point Museum, Pound Ridge Museum, Peekskill Museum, Godwin-Ternbach Museum and The Westchester Children's Museum.
- Westchester & Nearby
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