Christopher Payne photographs American factories with the patience of an architectural photographer, so a pencil plant or a piano works ends up looking like a cathedral, and more than seventy of these large-format prints are hanging in the Carnegie Mansion. Cooper Hewitt gives you a pay-what-you-wish hour at the end of every day, which makes it one of the cheapest ways into a Museum Mile mansion. If you like industry, process or just very good photographs, go.
What to expect
Cooper Hewitt occupies Andrew Carnegie's former mansion, so galleries are domestic in scale with original woodwork intact. The photographs are printed large and hung to be read across the room. The garden behind the house is open to visitors and is one of the best on Fifth Avenue.
Good to know
- Take the 4/5/6 to 86th Street and walk to Fifth Avenue at 91st Street
- The last hour of each day is pay what you wish
- The mansion garden is included with admission and rarely crowded
- Design Across Time occupies the whole first floor and is worth the extra time
- Fully accessible with elevator access to gallery floors
- Good for photography, design and engineering-minded visitors
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Common questions
How many photographs are in the show?
Cooper Hewitt describes it as more than 70 large-format photographs.
Is there a cheap way in?
Yes. Cooper Hewitt runs pay-what-you-wish admission for the final hour each day.
What else is on view?
Design Across Time fills the entire first floor, and includes The Substitute, an AI-driven installation by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg.
More this weekend
