Cafritz gave the Studio Museum more than four hundred works in 2018, a single gift large enough to change what the collection is, and this is the exhibition that finally unpacks it. It opened in mid-August, so the wall labels are still crisp and the room has not yet been photographed to death. If you want to understand how a private eye becomes a public institution, this is the show that shows the receipts.
What to expect
Painting, sculpture, photography and works on paper hung as one collector's argument rather than as a chronological survey, in the museum's new gallery floors. Fade is on the fourth floor and closes this weekend, and Kapwani Kiwanga's commission is in the second-floor project gallery. Two hours covers the building.
Good to know
- Take the 2 or 3 to 125th Street, or the A, B, C or D to 125th Street
- The museum's new building is recent, so allow time to look at the architecture too
- Combine it with the closing Fade exhibition upstairs on the same ticket
- Elevators serve every gallery floor
- Good for collectors, students and anyone interested in how museums acquire what they show
- The museum is closed on some weekdays; check before you travel
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Common questions
Who was Peggy Cooper Cafritz?
A collector, educator and civil rights activist who bequeathed more than four hundred objects to the Studio Museum in 2018.
How long does the exhibition run?
Through February 28, 2027.
What else can I see on the same ticket?
Fade, which closes September 6, and Kapwani Kiwanga's BLEED in the second-floor project gallery.
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