New York extra - Whitney, Cloisters, Met

Broadway shows dominated our month in New York, but we still managed to squeeze in a few museum visits.

The Whitney Museum of American Art had a Jasper Johns retrospective. We were surprised to learn that this prolific artist's body of work extends far beyond his signature targets and flags. Johns is 91 years old and still creating!

Reaching the Met Cloisters involved a long subway ride up to Washington Heights and a walk through Fort Tryon Park. The museum was at the top of the hill, with views of the Hudson River. The reward for the train and the climb was a magical place that was part spiritual retreat, part treasure trove of art and architecture from medieval Europe. Stunning.

We decided to walk from our apartment to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, enjoying the cool weather and the fall foliage in Central Park (the park itself is a wondrous thing).

At the Met, the Costume Institute's special exhibit showcased iconic designs from the 1940's to the present, assigning each one a word reminiscent of its creator's impact on American fashion. It was fun to see the evolution of fabrics, construction, and social norms. Fascinating, even for those less familiar with (or interested in) fashion.