Ella Fitzgerald famously sings, “Autumn in New York, why does it seem so inviting?” As we approach the new season, New York’s museums and galleries begin to stir with excitement. Here are our top 10 must-see highlights in New York City this fall.
The exhibition Jazz Greats | Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection at the National Arts Club (September 5 – November 27) showcases iconic black-and-white images of jazz legends, capturing the spirit and rhythm of the era, allowing visitors to almost hear the music through the imagery.
Nicole Eisenman: Fixed Crane for Madison Square Park is on view at Madison Square Park Conservancy from October 24, 2023, to March 9, 2025. The installation features a 1969 Link-Belt construction crane adorned with small figures, serving as a provocative commentary on the ideals of human progress and technology.
The Whitney Museum of American Art is showcasing Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard, an installation by Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison, featuring 18 citrus trees designed as a sustainable food source. The exhibition, which reflects on ecological sustainability, is open until January 1, 2025.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts hosts FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT, a retrospective celebrating the artist’s evolution from graffiti on NYC subways to abstract painting on canvas. Running from September 8, 2023, to March 30, 2025, it includes a range of works such as drawings, prints, and site-specific installations.
At Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, The Socrates Annual focuses on the theme of invasive species, with nine artists exploring sociopolitical topics related to land and displacement. The exhibition, featuring works created on-site, is open from September 14, 2023, to April 6, 2025.
Brooklyn Museum presents Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies, highlighting over 150 works by the renowned Black feminist artist. Running from September 13, 2023, to January 19, 2025, the exhibition showcases her contributions to collective liberation through powerful sculptures and prints.
Another show at the Brooklyn Museum, opening in October, The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, running through January 26, 2025, is featuring works by artists who have lived or worked in Brooklyn over the past five years. Organized by a committee of artists including Jeffrey Gibson, Vik Muniz, and more, this exhibition highlights the borough’s vibrant contemporary art scene.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan presents the most comprehensive exhibition of Thomas Schütte’s work to date, running from September 29, 2023, to January 18, 2025. This show highlights the German artist’s diverse oeuvre, featuring watercolors, architectural drawings, and figurative sculptures, emphasizing the connections among them.
MoMA is also hosting Nour Mobarak: Dafne Phono, running from October 26, 2024, to January 12, 2025, marking the Lebanese-American artist’s first New York City museum show. Mobarak reinterprets the myth of Apollo and Daphne through an innovative opera, featuring 15 singing sculptures that tell the story in multiple languages.
The Jewish Museum presents Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston, from November 8, 2023, to March 30, 2025. This exhibition features contemporary Black artist Trenton Doyle Hancock’s exploration of race relations and White supremacy through the lens of Philip Guston’s controversial legacy, revisiting the postponed retrospective of Guston’s work amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
