Perpetually Closed Gallery
If you’ve ever walked by the Solow Art & Architecture Foundation’s ground floor gallery space on 57th Street, you’ve probably noticed that it wasn’t open. No, you didn’t come on a weird day, the director wasn’t out to lunch, and the hours aren’t kept on the weekends. Truth is, it’s never open. Ever.
Through the expansive glass windows, under the fully lit track lights, the collection is revealed- works by Francis Bacon, Franz Kline, Matisse, Balthus, Giacometti and Henry Moore. The epic collection belongs to Sheldon Solow, the real estate magnate that owns the entire building. No really knows why Solow keeps his art collection here, or for his eyes only, but at least the billionaire has graced us with the presence of his collection- even if it is only viewable through a plate glass window.
Who: Bacon, Kline, Matisse, Giacometti
What: Solow Collection
Where: 9 West 57th Street 10019
Perpetually Closed Gallery: If you’ve ever walked by the Solow Art & Architecture Foundation’s ground floor gall… http://t.co/2cVYxz3l
You can peek in the window all you want, but the Solow space ain’t never gonna be open for your eyes http://t.co/7o6gWilV @artnerdnewyork
To possess such a collection – and receive special federal tax benefits for the nonprofit that holds it – is a towering expression of selfishness. The infinite joy, enrichment, learning, and solace that this amazing collection could provide to so many has been denied for years. Walking past this huge and beautifully displayed treasure, that is so inaccessible behind plate glass, is a constant tease and subtle form of torture to those who thrive on art. Sheldon Solow has also denied himself something that is priceless: the experience of sharing, enlightening, and helping to make this world a better place.