Hispanic Society of America

I hadn’t seen Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’s ‘Vision of Spain’ series of 14 large-​scale paintings since its reinstallation. They fill the space of a large gallery and are a joyful display of Spanish life. The Hispanic Society has the largest collection of Sorolla’s works outside of Spain.
This museum still gets few visitors. (Of course, it would help if they called this institution a museum instead of a society.) I was again the lone visitor and I came upon a guard napping in peace. I walked softly as I moved among the paintings. In spite of the relatively small space compared to other art museums in NYC, the red walls of the ornate main gallery are lined with old masters. The guard awoke when someone began to tap the keys of the black piano on the main level. Sound filled the room as I concluded my visit.
Founder Archer Milton Huntington bequeathed in his will that the museum remain free. Take advantage of the generosity and step inside.

This museum is a little out of way and is located on the west side of Washington Heights. On the outside of it, you are greeted by a large statue of the famous Spaniard El Cid. As you enter, you come upon a large collection of paintings, sculptures, books and photos from Spain and Latin America. The highlight of this place is the Sorolla Room, a collection of large murals that represent the provinces of Spain.
Best of all, this place is free (suggested donation).

This place is amazing. Others have already reviewed the merits of the place, so I’ll add this. Make sure to take time to see the reading room, which is located immediately to the left of the entrance when you initially walk in (turn left at the stairs). Once inside, hopefully a man named Fabian is working the desk/​library, cause he is the best part of the museum.
I’ve been here several times before, but last time I took some friends that were visiting and meet Fabian for the first time, who really made the place come alive. He showed us the famous Vespucci Map of the World, which is hidden behind a cloth shade that only staff can pull up. He also showed us the oldest manuscript in the library (from the 17^th century!) and exact copies of the first edition of Don Quixote (the originals are not available for the public to see). He gave some very interesting facts about all this stuff and was friendly and funny through. So if you go here, check out the goya and Sorolla pieces, but remember, find Fabian!

The Hispanic Society of America on Audubon Terrace in Washington Heights houses major art and research collections (the later, which are open to scholars by appointment, continue to attract researchers from around the world) and perhaps due to its odd name, antiquated displays and geographic location receives only a fraction of the visitors it deserves. Founded by Archer M. Huntington in 1904, The Hispanic Society casts a broad net, but actually focuses on the culture of Spain itself. Positioned as part of a set of purpose-​built Beaux Arts buildings in what was once a major cultural district that included the Museum of the American Indian, the Hispanic Society is now a somewhat lonely outpost of high art in a diverse and vital ethnic neighborhood, easily accessible by subway. It should be noted that the American Academy of Arts and Letters remains a neighbor and often offers exhibitions for some weeks each spring. The plaza features sculptures by Huntington’s wife, the sculptress Anne Hyatt Huntington.
The Hispanic Society of America has collections of fine and decorative arts from Roman times through the Renaissance and into the early 20^th century. For many decades displays of tiles and ceramics, works in metal and ivory, paintings and works in stone and marble were in permanent and somewhat dusty displays. There is still much to see, although regrettably, in recent years many items have been taken off display, often for conservation reasons, some of which were lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Galleries for Islamic Art when they reopened in 2011. Nonetheless, the displays in The Hispanic Society primary two story gallery and adjacent spaces continue to feature outstanding works in two and three dimensions, including major paintings by Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez and El Greco and many canvases by the impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla.
Viewing angles are often not ideal on the narrow balcony along which many of the major pictures are hung and lighting is sometimes problematic as well, but they are definitely worth a trip! Call ahead if making a special journey to see a particular masterwork as in recent years several of their key pieces have been loaned for exhibitions in Madrid and elsewhere and thus been off display for prolonged periods; at the same time The Society has occasionally hosted special exhibitions. The museum is open free of charge, but is not physically accessible to those unable to climb stairs.

One of those places you just stumble on and get mind blown by. Their collection of art is quite vast and amazing for such a small space. There are classics by famous artists like el Greco and Sorolla of course but I find their rotating eclectic exhibits to be even more interesting, as they are things you can’t just google image. Part of the beauty of the museum is the red-​walled rustic interior– you truly feel like you are escaping New York and falling into some Alice-​in-​wonderland-​esque trance with a Hispanic flare.

This place is amazing! There’s almost no one there but anyone with some interest in art should check this place out. There’s such a variety too from Velasquez and Spanish golden age paintings to Mexican colonial lusterware, to large Roman mosaics. What’s unites these pieces is that they are all from Spain or Portugal (or colonies). There was one room in which I felt like I was in a colonial Mexican sacristy and another with so many great Spanish Renaissance tombs that I felt like I was in a medieval crypt. What a great collection and in a really nice architectural setting! I can’t begin to comprehensively or even representatively describe it. There’s really nowhere else like this place in New York and I’m so happy to have experienced it.

A hidden gem in NY.
The towns of Spain room, a masterpiece by Joaquin Sorolla is probably the most important highlight at the Hispanic society. These paintings were commissioned for this space and show his famous mastery of light and provide a glimpse at his view of different regions in Spain.
Worth traveling to the heights. Specially if it can be done on a Saturday at 2 pm when there is a free tour. My guide knew a lot and was amazing explaining this and Goya’s Duchess of Alba oil painting. Rest of the collection is outstanding too.
Im only giving it 4 stars because I think the Museography is not ideal, paintings are hung too high and the light fixtures reflect on the canvas and make it difficult to appreciate the art if not watched from the side.

Rate museum. I cannot believe that all these years I did not know that this museum existed. Consist of several different areas of an entire building a joke when exhibit is extraordinary soon as you enter in by the famous founder. Large rooms well presented. Exhibiting artwork on the 16^th and 17^th century all the Spain, South American, and Latin Caribbean inspired. Great arrangement of Europe and the Americas. Think more New Yorker should be made aware of this considering the huge impact of Latin America

This is a nice little museum. Definitely worthwhile if you’re up here, or if you’re looking for a hidden-​gem or an off-​the-​beaten-​path sort of place. You could give it a quick walkthrough in half an hour, probably, but they’ve got some good stuff to keep you longer. I was here on a weekday and for most of my visit I was the only person there aside from the guards.
There’s one famous Goya whose name I forget, but it’s front and center by the entrance. It’s a portrait of Goya’s mistress, the Duchess of Alba, dressed as a «maja», a Spanish peasant. This was apparently provocative, in its day, because she was a duchess, not a peasant, and this meant something to those people. It meant she was better. But she was a student of the Enlightenment, the Duchess, and she had read that all people are good and worthwhile and in some abstract sort of way equal, and to show that she was progressive and liberal, she chose to parade around in typical peasant dress and pretend she was just like them, the common people, the peasants, despite all her hereditary titles and holdings. «I’m just like you, you guys!» this painting said. «Hey,» it went on to say, «why are you cowering there in a corner as if you’re frightened of me?»
The Sorolla Room is impressive: 14 ten-​foot-​tall panels, one of them maybe 50-​feet long. Each panel is a beautiful scene of Spain. This is more of a highlight than the famous Goya. I hadn’t heard of Sorolla before coming here, but per the info at the museum, he was renowned in the early 20^th Century. He painted portraits of presidents and got a lot of commissions. He was called the «master of light», which makes him sound like his stuff should be sold in a mall kiosk but it’s actually very accomplished, especially one painting of two kids lying in a shallow surf on the beach – it really feels like their limbs are wet, glistening from the water.
Aside from paintings, there are rooms dedicated to ceramic arts, doors (or door knockers, I can’t recall any longer), and medieval Spanish architecture.
At one point a man, another visitor, asked me a question in Spanish. We had earlier exchanged looks of shared admiration at the panels in the Sorolla Room. I said, «no habla español,» and smiled my apology. He seemed to understand but then kept speaking to me in Spanish, his only accomodation to my ignorance seeming to be that he started saying the word «Spanish» in English. «Spanish,» he said. «SPA. NEESH.» I felt I had made clear to him, however, that one of the few words I actually do know in Spanish is the name of the language itself, so it remains a mystery what he was trying to accomplish. I pointed him to the staff, who all speak Spanish, and to a tour group that has just arrived and surrounded us, who were all, by the sounds of them, Spanish speakers. He nodded enthusiastically, but then shook his head and focused on me. «SPA,» he said, «NEESH.» I bade him good day. He seemed like a pleasant fellow.
This museum deserves a better review. Sorry, museum.

What a hidden gem! Original Goya paintings. A great space. I loved the San Miguel statue. Lots to see. I will definitely be back when I have to explore the books and manuscripts. Definitely worth the trip!

I grew up in North Jersey and have visited New York dozens of times. But I had never visited — or even heard about — the Hispanic Society of America museum until very recently.
This museum is truly a hidden gem. It houses a small* but very impressive collection of Spanish paintings and decorative arts, including multiple paintings by masters like Goya and El Greco. There’s a truly stunning room containing 14 massive paintings by Sorolla called «Visions of Spain,» depicting early 20^th century Spanish life and customs. You’ll also see beautiful pottery and wood/​stone carvings from Spanish cathedrals and castles. (*Their website states that their collection is massive; it must not all be on display. Too bad, I’d like to see more of it!)
And best of all: the entry is free, with donation suggested but not at all pushed on you.
Yet this museum gets only 20,000 visitors per year, and was nearly deserted when I visited on a weekday morning. There are some strikes against it, in terms of being on the public radar: an out of the way location up in Washington Heights (although a very short, safe, and easy walk from the subway), a strange name that doesn’t give you a good sense of what kind of museum it is, and a website that looks like it was last updated in 1998.
But these are not good reasons to avoid the museum; please, check it out yourself and spread the word!
One actual drawback, and why I give the museum 4 stars instead of 5: unfortunately, the lighting in the main second-​floor gallery is pretty terrible. The paintings are lit from above, and the glare is such that it’s really difficult to see them while standing directly in front of them. To see them well, you have to go far to the side and look at them from an oblique angle, or look at them from a distance (which is difficult, since the second floor is set up as a narrow gallery that runs along the perimeter of the room.) Hispanic Society, if you’re reading this, please reconsider the lighting!

A stunning museum. The collection more than exceeded my expectations. The admission is free and it is not crowded. This is a true cultural gem that is worth far more exposure and visitors.

Others have all said better than I can. This is definitely part of the Lost in New York City Tour! If the museum, and especially the courtyard within which it sits, were near Central Park, it would be one of the City’s most visited attractions. As it is, it’s a little frayed around the edges, with most of the buildings in the around the courtyard abandoned (or if not literally abandoned, fallen on hard times). It’s very quick to go through, and the paintings are not hung well due to the plan of the second floor. Lighting glares off them unless you stand far to the edge, distorting the perspective. But a great find, nevertheless. Maybe even better is it will get you to a little visited neighborhood. Take a few minutes to at least drive around here and see what’s happening.

For me, the story of the Hispanic Society itself and the Audubon Terrace in which it resides in many ways adds to the museum’s unique nature. A museum tucked away in Washington Heights, filled with treasures from the Iberian Peninsula acquired by the stepson of a Big 4 railroad baron, fallen into obscurity and a state of physical degradation, the museum is an interesting story to itself that houses an impressive selection of Spanish ceramics, metalwork, sculptures, and paintings.
Although the layout of the museum doesn’t make much sense, nor is it easy to fully appreciate the paintings inside given the awkward way that they’re displayed, the museum building and its contents give visitors a glimpse of what once was and of what the museum could potentially be. If you’re a Hispanophile like me, you’ll find the collection quite fascinating, particularly their selection of El Greco and Goya paintings, as well as Joaquin Sorolla’s impressive «Vision of Spain.» That is, in addition to ogling at the El Cid and Don Quixote statues in the front courtyard.
If you’re interested in Spanish art, or interested in visiting a little-​known museum with its own tragically romantic history, definitely make the trip uptown to the Hispanic Society. After all, it’s free (but donations seem much appreciated given the physical state of disrepair).

I had been meaning to visit the Hispanic Society for months, but was having trouble convincing anyone to accompany me. Finally, I found someone willing (not without some arm twisting) to check it out with me and off we went.
I am a HUGE sucker for «hidden» gems in New York. I feel like so much of the city is completely over-​exposed and touristy that it’s increasingly rare to have a moment to yourself in a place that feels undiscovered. The Hispanic Society hit this rare mark spot-​on. It’s a genuine shame that more people don’t know about it. It’s tucked away in a sleepy corner of Uptown somewhere between Harlem and Washington Heights in a neighborhood that could benefit handsomely from an injection of tourist dollars.
Walking into the complex from the street, there’s almost a ghostly feeling permeating the atmosphere. It’s not unlike touring the ruins of the Forum in Rome: once-​great civic building sitting in relative disrepair, standing sentry over their courtyard just as they have for generations. Entering the Hispanic Society past two well-​worn stone lions, it’s a shock at first to absorb the beauty of the building’s main hall.
Intricate wood and stone carvings, set off my the lushly red walls, draw your eyes upward to the massive glass ceiling which floods the space with light. Through doors on the right side of the entrance hall are the Society’s main attraction: the Sorolla murals. It’s an enveloping octagonal gallery, completely devoid of furniture or decoration, save the murals themselves. It takes a moment to orient yourself, pick a starting point, and begin circling the room, ingesting the content of the massive and beautiful works.
The rest of the installations in the Society, while impressive, could really use some alterations. Or at least some reorganization. The 2^nd-​level balcony ringing the main hall is completely lined with beautiful paintings. Sadly, there is not enough room for patrons to step back and appreciate the works in their entirety. You’re forced to crane your neck upward, unable to really take them in as the artists intended.
There are somewhat labyrinthine galleries off the main hall which hold impressive collections of plates, decorative porcelain and architectural details. But again, the potential of these galleries are muddied by their awkward layout. There was no cohesive sense of a story being told.
The Hispanic Society was created to honor and preserve the cultural and artistic heritage of the Iberian Peninsula and, to that end, it does its job adequately. But what great cultural potential lies just beyond its reach? This could be a mini-​Met of the North, not unlike the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park. Hopefully one day, it will be.

From the name and location, I would have thought this was going to be full of Nuyorican poetry with Latin jazz piped throughout, but instead was greeted by a huge statue of El Cid in the empty courtyard just inside the enterance… There are some nice ancillary statues scattered throughout the recessed courtyard (including a GREAT Don Quixote) and I had the place to myself the ENTIRE time before going inside.
This is a museum about SPAIN’S history, roughly following the Reconquista through the early 20thC. Unfortunately the collection (at the time of my viewing) does not include much (if any) pre-​Reconquista artifacts, thus ignoring the Moorish, Sephardic, and pre-​Christian Spanish contributions to later culture.
However, there is an extensive ceramics collection upstairs featuring nicely detailed art and metalworking (mostly medieval through Golden Age) as well as TONS of apothecary and spice jars (my own personal interest).
There is an odd collection of door-​knockers and pull-​rings that unfortunately do not offer any further detail of their significance other than the rough time period of their creation, but if one likes metalwork or folk-​art I’m sure they’ll appreciate the skill that went into creating them.
The main exhibits feature artwork and some funerary carvings which are also enjoyable since you can get up close and really notice the work that went into them.
The appealing aspects of this museum to me are it’s location (a nice prelude if you’re heading up to the Cloisters) and it’s small crowds; I had entire galleries to myself for long periods of time, and if you chat with the guards they are quite knowledgable about the museums history and some of the works inside (you may also convince them to allow you to take pictures, but I didn’t see any signs prohibiting photography)
Following up your tour through Spain with a visit to one of the nearby Tapas bars might not be a terrible plan either…
Worth the trip! (4 stars because it’s FREE, you practically have the place to yourself, and the Joaquín Sorolla gallery is also top notch)

A city gem. You can spend time contemplating some of the Iberian masters without being elbowed by another soul throughout your entire visit, allowing you to gain a good feel for Spain and it’s golden age. The Audubon Terrace complex that houses the museum is architecturally delicious with interesting masonry and sculpture that will allow you a least an hour of quiet contemplation. And afterward, head across the street to the marvelous and aged Trinity Cemetery with wonderful tranquil views of the Hudson River and across to the Palisades. If you have more time, try to explore the elegant church and grounds of the delicately majestic Church of the Intercession on 155^th and Broadway.

I like free things, like free beer.
An art museum with free admission? Sign me up.
The Hispanic Society of America is located on Audubon Terrace between 155 and 156 Streets. It’s in a Beaux-​Arts building that dates from 1908 and was founded by Archer Milton Huntington. (He apparently had an idea for this museum at the age of 19! I wasted my youth by comparison)
I was woefully ignorant of the museum’s existence but literally stumbled upon it while walking along and noticing an impressive collection of buildings, some of which make up Boricua College.
Upon entering, you’ll find two levels of various paintings and artifacts that cover a wide range of Spanish history, from early medieval times up to the early 20^th Century.
The must-​see room, however, is one dedicated to the «Vision of Spain» by artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. He depicts various scenes of Spanish life in a larger than life canvas. This work of 14 oil paintings was initially exhibited back in 1926 at the museum and recently returned after being on a tour of Spain.
I also liked the painting of the Duke of Alba, in his Dutch rebel crushing armor that earned him the nickname the «Iron Duke».
You can easily spend a leisurely hour here, if not longer, taking in the cultural legacy of Spain.

The name makes it sound like a community center, but it’s an art museum.
Everybody loves the Met, but when you’d like to try something new, go to this secret treasure! Hardly anyone even knows about the museum. From the street, you can’t even tell it’s there. It’s tucked away in the scenic, neo-​Classical Audubon Terrace, toward the back. Take photos and it will look like you are in Washington DC and Rome!
The museum itself is dark and cool, crammed full of Spanish and, to a lesser extent, Latin American art and artifacts, including several from masters such as El Greco and Velazquez. In a sunny room off to the right side, you can watch restorations underway. And ask nicely and they will show you the map room, which has pieces going back to the 16^th century.

An interesting museum, housed in an impressive building, in north Manhattan.
Currently on exhibit is «Francis Alys, Fabiola» which consists of the artist’s personal collection of more than 300 images of the Christian Saint Fabiola, all of them copies of a lost original.
Apparently the artist (Alys) created one of the works but it’s impossible to tell which one. Very interesting and contemporary.
The society itself houses an unparalleled collection of art and artifacts related to the Iberian Peninsula, with insight into Spain, Portugal and the rest of Latin America.
Not only is this museum fascinating, it’s also free.