Tours of art in New York City by Dianne L. Durante

I offer private tours of art in New York City, by appointment, starting at $400 per group (maximum 8 people). Printable PDF with all contact info is here. The Innovators tours at the Metropolitan Museum require some walking. The other tours are arranged as walking tours, but can be given seated and/or indoors if the weather isn’t cooperative or attendees prefer a less strenuous tour.

Innovators in Sculpture; Innovators in Painting

In these tours, we look at innovations that gave the artist who created them – and all artists who followed – greater power to make viewers stop, look, and think. Each tour is a great introduction to the Metropolitan Museum, and will give you a framework for looking at any work of Western art in any museum. Even better, each will help you find more subjects, styles, and periods that intrigue and delight you. Each tour is about 2 1/2 hours. Click here for more information.

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Left: images from Innovators in Sculpture. Right: images from Innovators in Painting.

Alexander Hamilton: A Friend to America

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Hamilton at 141st St.

Learn about the important events of Hamilton’s life and the ideas that drove him. This tour of the four Manhattan sculptures of Hamilton includes substantial quotes from his writings, plus images of the life and times of the Founding Father who loved and lived in New York. Fellow fans of Hamilton the man and Hamilton the musical will have the opportunity to help with readings and/or burst into song. About 2 hours. Click here for more information. (And see also my Hamilton books.)

Downtown NYC Sculpture

  • Financial District. On this tour, discover two media moguls, the best Washington in the country, the spirit of 19th-century capitalism, a stunningly beautiful America, and a defiant Nathan Hale. Click here to see some of the sculptures we’ll visit. 2 hours, 1 1/4 miles (can be given seated and/or indoors).
  • Battery Park and the World Trade Center Memorial. The WTC memorial in light of nearby memorials to an inventor, an admiral, an infantryman, sailors in peril, and the NYPD. 2 hours, 1 mile (can be given seated and/or indoors). Click here to see some of the sculptures we’ll visit.
  • Washington Square. A walking tour to the elegant Washington Arch and visits with Generals Garibaldi and Sheridan, plus businessman Alexander Lyman Holley. 1 3/4 hours, 1/2 mile (can be given seated and/or indoors). Click here to see the sculptures we’ll visit.

Central Park Tours

  • Central Park: The Early Years. New York City and the Park from 1850-1880, including the Park’s “Founding Fathers” and the running battle over the Park’s purpose. Dozens of early images. 2 hours (seated), optional 1-hour walk. A few of the images used are here. I’ve published an expanded version of this tour as Central Park: The Early Years.
  • Sims to Straus. Joyful dancing maidens, Burnett’s Secret Garden, the Father of Gynecology, Duke Ellington, Frederick Douglass, and the lovely Straus Memorial. 2 1/2 hours, 1 1/2 miles (can be given seated and/or indoors). Images of some of the sculptures we’ll visit are here.
  • Jagiello to Sherman. Meet two Alices in Wonderland, poets Shakespeare and Halleck, Jagiello, King of Poland, media mogul Joseph Pulitzer, and General William T. Sherman. 2 1/2 hours, 1/2 mile (can be given seated and/or indoors). Images of some of the sculptures we’ll visit are here.

To arrange a tour

  • Email: DuranteDianne@gmail.com
  • Phone: 917-392-2695
  • Tours start at $400 per group, with a maximum of 8 guests per group.