Art Wars! The Founding of the Met, MoMA and the Whitney with Deborah Zelcer

After the Civil War, the stewards of our young nation sought to develop artists with talent to rival that of Old Europe. Their goal was to elevate the level of refinement of the average American, and prove that we could be preoccupied with more than the almighty Buck! On this pleasant trek along Museum Mile, tour guide Deborah Zelcer will show how the keepers of our first cultural collections defined art and decided what would or would not hang within their walls. Tour includes viewing and discussion of the exterior of the National Academy of Design, the Whitney Museum uptown, the landmarked Metropolitan and Guggenheim Museums, and details about their newer incarnations. And, learn about how our government secretly manipulated the art world for political gain worldwide...(shhhh)! Cost: $30 / $20 Members.