Brooklyn Museum

03/14/2025

Now Open… Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch. 📏

As an Afro-Indigenous woman artist, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet pursued her practice in the face of racism and sexism. Her sculpture is unmatched in its emotional nuance and technical skill, and her story is a model of unshakable determination.

This retrospective is the first to honor Prophet’s remarkable work and legacy, bringing together 20 rare pieces — the entirety of the artist's known works, alongside historical documentation.

Plan your visit and learn more: https://bit.ly/NancyElizabethProphetBkM

This exhibition is organized by RISD Museum.

🎥 Courtesy of CriticalPast

03/13/2025

Mind if we put Modern Gothic design on a *pedestal* for a moment? 😉

This black-and-gold pedestal features both historical-revival motifs and appropriated Asian design.

The ornamental gilded mounts are shaped like ancient pharaohs’ busts, while the gold fluted column, spiraling scrolls, and medallions of portrait busts evoke classical European designs.

The designers, Anton Kimbel (1822–1895) and Joseph Cabus (1824–1898), modernized the piece by blackening the wood surface to imitate Asian lacquer—a process known as ebonizing—which was popular in 1870s decorative arts.

See this artwork from our Decorative Arts and Design collection currently on view in through July 6.

🎨 Kimbel and Cabus 1863–1882. Pedestal, ca. 1870. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the American Art Council, 86.81. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Gavin Ashworth)

03/09/2025

👋 Hello, Washington, D.C.!

Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist opens today at the National Gallery of Art.

One of the defining artists of the 20th century, Elizabeth Catlett addressed the injustices she witnessed and experienced in the United States and Mexico through her bold prints and dynamic sculptures.

Trace the career of this cultural force—from her roots in Washington, DC, Chicago, and New York to the remarkable body of work she made during some 60 years in Mexico. In striving to make art for the people, Catlett put justice at the very center of her work.

Plan your visit to see Catlett’s commitment to both craft and causes through July 6: https://bit.ly/4bt9CN4

📷 Elizabeth Catlett. Sharecropper, 1946. Oil on canvas. Collection of John and Hortense Russell. © 2024 Mora-Catlett Family / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. (Photo: Wes Magyar) → Courtesy of National Gallery of Art

03/07/2025

👋 What’s up, Minneapolis!

Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys opens at Minneapolis Institute of Art opens this weekend, dontcha know?

From its start at the Brooklyn Museum, this groundbreaking exhibition marks the first major showcase of the Dean Collection, owned by renowned musicians and cultural icons Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

Giants reflects the Deans’ passion for supporting established and emerging artists while fostering important dialogues about art, culture, and identity.

Plan your visit to see works by Gordon Parks, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, and more through July 13: https://bit.ly/3QHDuvI

📷 Tschabalala Self. Father, 2019. Acrylic, gouache, Flashe, thread, fabric on canvas. The Dean Collection, courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. © Tschabalala Self Studio Inc. Courtesy of the artist, Pilar Corrias, London and Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich / Vienna. (Photo: Glenn Steigelman) → Courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art

03/06/2025

Let's skip to the good (p)art... 💛

On March 22, visitors from the D/deaf community are invited to tour Solid Gold in American Sign Language (ASL) led by teaching artist, Zavier.

Explore works ranging from ancient Roman jewelry to today’s high fashion, paintings, coins, and other treasures.

Save your spot, and learn more: https://bit.ly/4hSbGjL

🖼️ Hanging, France or Italy, 17th century. Silk, gilt metal, silver, and linen. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Susan D. Bliss, 51.248.16. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

03/01/2025

Who are you rooting for at the 97th Academy Awards? 🏆

Before the newest winner of the Best Picture statue is announced, please enjoy the nominees reimagined as artworks in our collection.

How’d we do, The Academy? 👀

🖼️ Léo Herrmann French, 1853–1927. Cardinal Taking Tea, n.d.. → Francisco de Goya y Lucientes Spanish, 1746–1828. Pretty Teacher! (Linda maestra!), 1797–1798. → William Holbrook Beard American, 1824–1900. For What Was I Created?, 1886. → Isidro Escamilla Mexican, active 19th century. Virgin of Guadalupe, September 1, 1824. → Stephen McMillan American, born 1949. Desert Wanderer, 1976. → Nat Finkelstein American, 1933–2009. Bob Dylan at Factory, 1966. → Lynn Hyman Butler American, born 1953. The Punks, 1988. → Eastman Johnson American, 1824–1906. Self-Portrait, ca. 1865–1870. → Maurice Brazil Prendergast American, 1858–1924. Sunset, ca. 1907–1910. → Edgar S. Thomson American, active 1890s–1900s. Bicycles at Bedford Atlantic Avenues, 1896.

02/28/2025

Now Open… Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200. 🏛️

Comprising three chapters that boast both longtime favorites and brand-new standouts, the exhibition brings fresh narratives to the fore while exploring the collection’s rich history and future evolution.

You can expect to see:

👉 Beloved artworks and design created in our borough, like the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Jan Martense Schenck House

👉 Archival materials, including original architectural blueprints for the Brooklyn Museum, that trace the development of the collection and our building

👉 Extraordinary contemporary works by artists such as Julie Mehretu, Robert Frank, Alex Katz, and Coco Fusco—gifted to us by valued donors in honor of our bicentennial

Learn more: https://bit.ly/BreakingTheMoldBkM

🎨 Installation view, Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200, February 28, 2025 - February 22, 2026. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Paula Abreu Pita)

02/27/2025

Ramadan begins tomorrow evening, Ramadan Mubarak to all who observe! 🌙

These nine tiles from Damascus reference the gardens of jannah, or Paradise, as described in the Qur’an.

Such glazed ceramic tiles remain one of the most popular forms of architectural decoration in the Middle East, often including natural and religious themes. These tiles include Arabic inscriptions painted in blue cobalt naming Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the four caliphs of the Sunni tradition.

The gateway to paradise is depicted here as three arched entryways with cypress and date palm trees, hanging mosque lamps, and blooming carnations.

🖼️ Panel of Tiles, 17th century.

02/24/2025

Anna Sui is lauded as a “Fashion DJ,” drawing from an array of sources to create her intricate ensembles. 🪡

On March 20 at 7 pm, Sui will join curator, Matthew Yokobosky for a conversation about the designer’s journey creating an independent, female-run brand as well as the ways she explores gold’s many symbolic meanings as both a color and a material in her own work.

You can see designs by Sui in Solid Gold including ensembles from:

✨ “Eames” collection Fall/Winter 2007-08 inspired by mid-century modern architecture and furniture design by Ray and Charles Eames

🧵 “Painters Painting” collection Fall/Winter 2005-06 inspired by the 1972 documentary of the same name, which follows the major figures of multiple American art movements

Save your spot for Brooklyn Talks: Anna Sui, which includes after-hours access to , at the link in our bio.

📷 Installation view, Solid Gold, November 15, 2024 - July 6, 2025. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Timothy Doyon) → Solid Gold VIP preview and dance party, 11/14/2024. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Madison McGaw)

02/24/2025

In absolute AU! 😉💛

Thanks to each of you who have shared your *glowing* reviews of with us!

Plan your visit to see this shimmering exhibition dedicated to the element that has inspired countless works of art, fashion, film, music, and design through July 6.

📷 → → .mejid → → .anna

02/21/2025

Congratulations are in order for Melissa Joseph, the newest recipient of the UOVO Prize! 👏

Selected from artists featured in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition by a team of Brooklyn Museum curators, Joseph is the fifth recipient of the UOVO Prize, which recognizes the work of emerging Brooklyn-based artists.

In addition to a $25,000 grant and a commission for a mural at UOVO’s Brooklyn facility in Bushwick, Joseph will also create an outdoor installation at the Brooklyn Museum opening later this year.

Joseph’s practice spans drawing, painting, ceramic, and fiber arts and we’re very excited to share her color-rich, acutely detailed, and sentimental work once again with the residents and visitors to Brooklyn.

📷 Melissa Joseph. Courtesy of the artist. (Photo: Mary Kang)

02/19/2025

Looking for family fun that doesn’t require the sun?! 👩‍🎨

We’re here to help you find sanctuary from the cold, explore art, and express yourself. Join us for some of our upcoming fantastic family-friendly programming:

🎨 Weekend Art: Saturday Sketch Club, February 22, March 15 and 29
🖌️ Stroller Tours: Towards Joy, February 26
🖼️ Art Explorers (Ages 2–3): Meet the Museum, March 6–April 10
🖍️Art Explorers (Ages 4–6): Families Create, March 9–23
📔Weekend Art: Sunday Art Hang, March 16 and 30

Learn more and save your spot: https://bit.ly/4i3YW9L

📷 200th Birthday Bash at the Brooklyn Museum, October 5, 2024. (Photo: Kolin Mendez Photography)

02/18/2025

Hello from the east coast, Los Angeles! ♥️

Today is the opening day of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold at Getty.

Through vivid photographs, watercolors, installations, and performances this survey of 35 years of artmaking and activism highlights the interconnectedness between people and their environments, offering an expansive, incisive, and sensorial experience.

Learn more and plan your visit if you’ll be in the Los Angeles area through May 4: https://www.getty.edu/exhibitions/campos-pons/

🎨 María Magdalena Campos-Pons (born Matanzas, Cuba, 1959). Freedom Trap, 2013. Polaroid Polacolor Pro photograph, 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)

02/16/2025

Georgia O’Keeffe is now ink-cluded on the list of tattoos inspired by artworks in our collection! ⛰️

This surreal image, of a ram’s skull and single hollyhock blossom assume monumental presence, in both O’Keeffe’s painting and tattoo artist Julia Hayes’ work.

See this painting on view now in Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art and learn more about why it is one of our 200 Brooklyn Icons: https://bit.ly/3BA005o

Do you have a tattoo inspired by art you’ve seen at the Brooklyn Museum? If so, we’d love to see! 👀

🖼️ Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986). Ram's Head, White Hollyhock-Hills (Ram's Head and White Hollyhock, New Mexico), 1935

02/13/2025

How can we sum up a love like ours?! 💏

We made you these Valentine’s Day messages so you can easily and artfully let the people in your life know they are loved.

xoxo,
Brooklyn Museum 💋

02/10/2025

King Pepy II was crowned king when he was just 6 years old. 👑

Since he was too young to be king, his mother, Queen Ankhnes-meryre II oversaw the kingdom till he was of age.

As you observe the statue of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and King Pepy II, consider these few questions to look more at their story:

👁️‍🗨️ What is the story that is presented?
📖 What is the untold story?
🤲 How might your story be connected?

See this alabaster statue in our Egyptian galleries on the 3rd floor and find out for yourself why it’s one of our 200 Brooklyn Icons.

🎨 Statue of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and Her Son, Pepy II, ca. 2288–2224 or 2194 B.C.E. Egyptian alabaster (calcite), pigment. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

02/06/2025

Kith for the Brooklyn Museum

We’re excited to kick off Black History Month through a special collaboration with Kith, celebrating Black artists and the rich history of the Brooklyn Museum. This partnership showcases a capsule collection featuring the work of Alvin Armstrong, Marcus Troy, and Penda Diakit, alongside a co-branded assortment featuring the Museum’s 200 year old facade and logos, both archival and new.

This fusion of art and fashion honors the legacy of Black creativity, while highlighting the Brooklyn Museum's ongoing commitment to fostering cultural dialogue. We’re proud to celebrate this intersection of artistry and history.

Shop the collection online at Kith.com and in-person at the Brooklyn Museum Shop during the month of February, while supplies last. Tickets to the Museum are not required to access the pop-up. Admission is subject to our capacity at the time of your arrival.

02/05/2025

“I have never cared too much what people say. What I’m interested in is what they do.” –Shirley Chisholm

During the next Brooklyn Talks on February 20, we’re reflecting on the legacy of Congresswoman Chisholm, who represented New York's 12th congressional district in Bed–Stuy for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.

We’ll be joined by artist Bisa Butler, cultural producer Barbara Bullard, and curator Stephanie Sparling Williams.

Following the event, get after-hours access to Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art where you can see Butler’s quilted portrait of Chisholm up-close.

Learn more and save your spot: https://bit.ly/40ATNjH

📷 200th Birthday Bash at the Brooklyn Museum, October 5, 2024. (Photo: Evan Angelastro)

01/31/2025

Manifesting a Groundhog's Day where Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see his shadow. Who's with us? 🙋

🖼️ John Henry Twachtman (American, 1853–1902). Meadow Flowers (Golden Rod and Wild Aster), ca. 1892 → Ogata Gekko (Japanese, 1859–1920). Cherry Blossoms at Goten-yama, from the series An Assortment of Women's Customs, 1891



PS: See Meadow Flowers currently on view on the 5th floor. 👀

01/30/2025

👋 Hey, Vero Beach!

This weekend marks the opening of French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850–1950 at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.

The exhibition showcases 59 artworks from our collection of European art, spanning the era between the Revolution of 1848 and the conclusion of World War II—a period marked by significant social, intellectual, and political upheaval in France.

Plan your visit to see works by Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and more through June 22.

📷 Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904). Portrait of Madame Léon Maître (Portrait of Madame Léon Maître), 1882. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy and George A. Hearn. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum) → Photo courtesy of Vero Beach Museum of Art

01/29/2025

This plaque is a symbol of power and status. 🐊

Among the ancient Coclé people of present-day Panama, Indigenous leaders wore embossed gold plaques on their chests when going into battle. By depicting mythical beings, they were thought to enhance the wearer’s power and connect them to the supernatural world.

Artists created these by hammering a gold sheet against a mold, and then pierced and attached them to garments. Here, the deity is surrounded by two smaller creatures, and the triangular forms around the plaque’s border emulate the animal’s protective, ridgelike scales.

See this object from our permanent collection up-close in and find out why it’s one of our 200 Brooklyn Icons.

🖼️ Coclé. Plaque with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700–900. → Madison McGaw/BFA

01/28/2025

If this week's forecast in New York City were a painting...❄️

Escape the below freezing temperatures and see this painting (and more!) from the warmth of our galleries!

Plan your visit to Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art through the link in our bio.

🖼️ Frederick Childe Hassam (American, 1859–1935). Late Afternoon, New York, Winter, 1900

01/27/2025

The Brooklyn Museum is nominated for "Best Art Museum" by USA TODAY! 🎉

We're honored to represent New York City alongside such prestigious and beloved museums across the country in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Vote for us through Monday, February 17 at 11:59 am EST. 🗳️

Voting for the Best Art Museum is open! Cast your vote daily to help pick the 2025 10Best Readers' Choice Award for Best Art Museum.

01/27/2025

Proud to be the spot where artists, community, and celebration come together! 🤝

O’Keefe’s and Bierstadt’s works shown here are two of our Brooklyn Icons—a list of 200 standout objects in our collection in honor of our 200th anniversary. Explore these singular works through our Brooklyn Icons guide on the Bloomberg Connects app during your next visit!

Check out the exciting exhibitions currently on view and see what programs are right around the corner at the link in our bio.

Bank of America is the proud sponsor of the 200th Anniversary Celebration. Special thanks to Amtrak.

01/22/2025

The Big Apple, the concrete jungle, the city that never sleeps…. and for 8.2 million lucky people, it’s also known as home. 🏙️♥️

In honor of The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition closing this Sunday, here are just a few artists who depict the scenes, the stories, and the people that contribute to the meaning and the magic of New York City:

🌳 Tabitha Whitley utilizes light in a way that recalls nineteenth-century Impressionist works, thus, reinterpreting a style that historically included only European subjects.

📷 Tracie Dawn Williams’ captured a view of the Manhattan Bridge from the Brooklyn waterfront near dusk on June 7, 2023 when smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfed New York City.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Mohammed Iman Fayaz illustrates nightclub-based scenes such as “Club One,” which reflects the compassion, resilience, solidarity, and intentionality to which q***r people hold themselves and one another.

✉️ Betty Yu unpacks the Chinese diasporic experience using archival materials, including her grandfather’s photographs in “Family Amnesia.”

💟 Ilisa Katz Rissman's photograph, "Three Dancers," shows three young Brooklyn dancers using a community dance studio as a safe space.

🃏 Rick Secen’s paintings reveal the rhythms of urban experience, wherein light and atmosphere interact with architecture and residents, sharing in silent chaos.

See these artworks on view in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition through January 26, 2025.

Sponsored by UOVO.

🖼️ Tabitha Whitley. Botanic Luncheon, 2024. Courtesy of the artist. © Tabitha Whitley. → Tracie Dawn Williams. The collective malaise of an uncertain future, 2023. Courtesy of Nick and Sasha Olney. © Tracie Dawn Williams. → Mohammed Iman Fayaz. Club One, 2023. Courtesy of the artist. © Mohammed Iman Fayaz. → Betty Yu. My grandparents in NYC during Chinese Exclusion in the 1950s, from Family Amnesia, 2020–23. Courtesy of the artist. © Betty Yu. → Ilisa Katz Rissman. Three Dancers, 2020. Courtesy of the artist. © Ilisa Katz Rissman. → Rick Secen. Game of Crazy Eights, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and the Collection of Margaret S. Y. Chu. © Rick Secen.

01/21/2025

On February 1 join us at First Saturday: Toward Joy where we’ll celebrate dynamic Black artists who have shaped art, music, film, and other cultural expressions that define what it means to be American.

Remember: this event is free, we just ask that you RSVP. Save your spot now, because admission is subject to our capacity at the time of your arrival: https://bit.ly/3DUyBMu

February First Saturday is presented by Kith

01/18/2025

IYKYK: growing up in New York City provides an unofficial second education. 🏙🍎

Between the Great Depression and the mid-20th century, a generation of street photographers applied knowledge from this “second education” to their images.

Photographers like Arthur Leipzig, Walter Rosenblum, and Vivian Cherry created a tradition of street photography that spotlights childhood playtime on the streets and sidewalks of New York City.

Trace this tradition through our latest edition of Brooklyn Snapshots: https://bit.ly/4g06lp1

📷 Vivian Cherry (American, 1920–2019). Harlem, Watching a Sky Writing Plane, 1952 → Arthur Leipzig (American, 1918–2014). Rover, Red Rover, 1943 → Walter Rosenblum (American, 1919–2006). Hopscotch. 105th St., New York, 1952

01/14/2025

It’s your last chance to see Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies.

Discover Catlett’s art and story as a deft sculptor and printmaker, devout feminist, and lifelong social justice advocate.

Plan your visit to , which has been dubbed a “can’t-miss” exhibition by The New York Times and Essence through, through January 19.

Generous support is provided by Christie's

📷 (on Instagram) → → → →

01/13/2025

NYC Teens where y'all at? Join us for our first Teen Night of the year, Teens Parkway on January 24. 🚇

Inspired by The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, spend the night celebrating Brooklyn’s creativity and 14 years of Brooklyn Museum’s Teen Night. Join us for various art-making activities, a scavenger hunt, and a panel discussion with Ruby Chishti and Ghetto Film School. There will be great food, great vibes, and amazing performances by:

Urban World Poets
BRIEL the Artist
Big Steppa Lani
DJ SYNCHRO

Open to all ages 14-19. Come through! Register for free and learn more: https://bit.ly/3ZxEnL8

01/13/2025

Colin Radcliffe’s figurative ceramic sculptures chronicle his personal successes and failures in q***r love. 🫂

Combining the digital, emotional, and tangible, he focuses on the navigation of q***r digital space and the pursuit of love and intimacy in the face of chronic illness through a lens of humor to heal and ultimately assess q***r relationships in a world where the lines between virtual and real are blurred.

“I am inspired by the ethos of Brooklyn, how the culture and history permeate contemporary q***r culture and then get translated into physical art objects,” Radcliffe says.

See his ceramic sculptures close-up in The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition through January 26.

🖼️ Colin Radcliffe. Cupid & Psyche, 2023 and Sculpting in the Studio, 2023. Glazed ceramic. Courtesy of the artist. © Colin Radcliffe. (Photo: Courtesy of the artist)