Nassau County Museum of Art

Tiny modern art museum in Roslyn that’s ok to kill an hour or so on a crummy, rainy day. Best to check before hand which exhibits they’re showcasing. Occasionally, they display very interesting works quite different than what most art museums house. Most of the time, the exhibits are a bore. The grounds are nice to walk around as well. Admission is $ 10 which isn’t terrible. Just wish it was larger.

The house is a two floor more of a gallery type museum. On exhibit from Mar19-​July 10, graffiti and street art paintings. Featured artist, the NYC popular 80’s artist Kenny Scharf plus the works of John Matos, Lee Quiniones, et al. I enjoyed so much the entire exhibit. Small exhibition but gathered important works of the artists. The interesting part of the exhibition is the expansive mural Pop Renaissance that surrounds the viewer, a version of the artist (Kenny Scharf) cosmic cavern club like environment that he made popular in the 80’s.
On the day of my visit was happen to be a suggested donation admission and free parking fee. It may because the exhibition has just opened. Normal admission fee I believe is like $ 8 – 10 for non-​member. The staff is nice. The museum store is a place to stop by.
The place has a very nice fair ground with a pathway to the museum house. It has walking and jogging trails surrounding the house. It has a botanical garden and picnic field that you’ll enjoy staying after the museum visit. Arts in different forms are displayed on the beautiful ground, an opportunity for photo shoot. It is a quiet place. The view of the lake is so serene.
It was gorgeous day during my visit (mid-​March), the beginning of spring, cant wait to come back for peak season to be able to enjoy it more. This place is good weekend treat.

Spent an hour or so here. It was my first time on the grounds and it was pretty nice to just tour the house. The video of the day was playing upstairs so we went to check this out for a bit. I was more intrigued by the interior design of the house more so than the paintings on exhibit, but that may just be because I’m more into design. It was a little bit sad to see that the museum needs some interior work. For example, some of the ceilings in the rooms are in need of a paint job… The staff was very friendly and we were able to get a more complete history of the house. Although they mentioned that the reason why the museum is in its current state is due to the fact that it doesn’t have too much funds since many people come using a library pass… although we actually did come with a library pass… so yeah… hmm. Anyway, I would come check this place out to walk around if you are in the area, but nothing to really write home about.

The museum itself was nice, small and 2 floors, takes about 30 minutes to see everything indoors. Staff at the front desk were cold and unfriendly, got the same impression on my way out. Had interesting facts about the artist Maxfield Parrish, collection is up until end of February.

Doesn’t house enough art at a time to be called a museum; more like a gallery, but no exhibition I’ve gone to has ever failed to wow me. Tends to favor 20^th and 21^st century art, especially modern living Americans like Red Grooms and Paris in the early 20^th century (it attracts more people, no doubt), but time and again they’ll have exhibits of artifacts and older artworks. Beautiful grounds, gardens and pathways.

Although the museum was good getting tickets was hard due to the woman working the desk who did not know how to do it and make change.
My main complaint is that both my husband and my sons shirts got ruined on the benches outside the main building. I wrote to the main office and they never even answered my e mail.
My sons shirt was brand new and now can never be worn again.
The plaques on the benches tore there shirts.
An answer would have been nice.

When we were here, the museum were closed but the ground is still open. The ground is huge! Inside there are a bunch of sculptures & a beautiful garden. There’s also a walking trail inside. You can get the map at the main office. It’s a great place to enjoy a beautiful sunny summer day. Great place to walk & jog. It’s so quiet & peaceful here. We love it! The next time we’re here, we’ll definitely visit the museum to check out the exhibit.
The ground is free & it’s close at sunset.
We’ll definitely go back!

This museum’s collection is no more sub-​par than one might expect from a small, locally run museum. They have one, not terribly interesting, Tiffany lamp and a decent (although small) collection of Tiffany paintings. I agree with Dani that most of the collection is posters… some of which can be viewed for free at the NY Public Library. The grounds are really quite lovely and well worth a visit.
The factor that makes this museum an «eek» is the awful rudeness of the volunteers at the desk. I was absolutely shocked at the poor behavior I witnessed, not simply once, but repeatedly.
If you are volunteering at a museum, the correct responses to someone walking into a museum include: «hello» and «may I help you?» Open-​mouthed annoyance at having your conversation interrupted is not appropriate, even if that is how you feel. It is not the job of the visitor to open the conversation.
It is also not appropriate to behave in a disbelieving fashion if a visitor asks for a map of the museum. They’re visitors. They don’t know everything you do.
It’s also not great to be rude to florists, even if they come to the wrong building by mistake. You should be aware that the signage is poor and small and battered and hard to read. It is also not appropriate to be rude to the museum staff members in front of visitors.
It is appropriate to make eye contact with visitors, to be gracious to them, and to get up from your chair and show them where the maps are, rather than pointing in the wrong direction. It is also appropriate to tell them how to tour the museum when they ask, rather than acting annoyed.
There is simply no excuse for what I witnessed. I’ve been told that the volunteers are well-​off financially and «just like that.» However, I find it hard to credit that people of comfortable means generally behave any less well than other people.

What a beautiful place hidden in a lushful garden. Loved it from the beginning to the end. Will visit back !

Many years ago a group of arts minded individuals gathered under the county’s urging and took on the task of creating a museum from the remains of what I believe was the Frick mansion.
Some years later and some decades back a wealthy group of socialites in what seemed like a coup, took over the reigns of this institution, removing honorary plaques of the founding members and generally erasing a fundamental history of the Museum.
Much like the Barnes…
Anyway as it turns out they have let the venue perish sadly into what is now a sad carcass with terrible lighting (misdirected spits when they do exist at all), misplaced works are banished to the back of the building near the humidity of bathroom stalls… The collection is comprised mostly of lithos and old posters.
The tent which could serve as an amazing venue for weddings or fundraisers is forlorn…
There is a beautiful garden with some important sculptures but so much could be done to improve this experience…
What has happened here? What could happen here is an even more important question.

free tours had a library pass. went there twice people are amazing n friendly there love the history of it n the secret doors n buttons amazing pictures n art. walked the grounds very romantic with many wedding the kids that use to live come every once in awhile.

Craft show today.
As soon as you turn off Northern Blvd you enter a different world. Peaceful and quiet pathways winding through the estate and interesting and unusual sculptures and constructs placed along the way. In late September the have a top line Arts and Crafts show. Great outing on a Fall day.

One of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. Aside from the fact it is nearby with free parking, the grounds are so well maintained. Often I pack a lunch and hang out by the sculptures on lawn. You can see everything in an hours time. If you go at two you can have the tour (I like this option) they will give you a history of painter and paintings. Also, they change exhibits about every two months. we just saw the photo realism exhibit. not to be missed. Just a jewel of a museum.

Hubby and I enjoyed our time here on a crisp spring day. We get free passes to local museums from our library (Port Jefferson Free Library) so we didn’t need to pay to entire. The historic house has several large rooms and smaller rooms filled with modern paintings. It only took us about 40 minutes to stroll through. They have some pretty cool Beatle Juice looking sculptures throughout the property. Worth a look but it isn’t an activity I would drive out of the way for.

Free weekday parking and good weather combined meant it was a good day to stroll the sculpture gardens and hiking trails and have a light lunch outside. Sorry for no photos, but this was a day to shut my iPhone off for an hour of Zen.

I visited the museum short after they opened for the AB-​EX/​RE-​CON exhibition. It was a small collection of paintings by lesser known but noteworthy Abstract Expressionist artists, such as Norman Bluhm and Fritz Bultman.
Being a former Frick estate, I had expected a more intimate and personal charm, like the Frick Collection in Manhattan. I wish the 19^th Century building’s character shines through to add depth to the galleries, which seemed washed down and bare.
There is no floor plan for the museum or an exhibition pamphlet to be seen. The only thing offered to visitors is the «Muse News» brochure, which doesn’t really provide any guidance on the Museum’s collection itself.
The museum shop is so random and unnecessarily overfilled with merchandise unrelated to the museum or the collection itself.
A majority of the plaques in the sculpture park were eroded or missing, so there was no way to tell who the artist was. Overall, the sculpture park seemed poorly maintained. Given the amount of time it takes to get to the museum from the city, I think a day would be better spent at Storm King Sculpture Park over NCMA.

Aside from the amazing Bryant mansion that houses the museum, the amazing collections that pass through here, and the amazing sculptures that dot the property, the grounds are what I love most about this museum. Sprawling, wooded, as rich with history as they are with various flora and fauna, these grounds are a walkers dream.
There are special trails that lead you around the property, thoughtfully routed and marked. Every once in a while, a little plaque will pop up explaining a certain tree or sculpture that you may not have noticed in the distance. Your walks can be long (over an hour), or short (a 10-​minute jaunt) depending on which way you go.
One precaution: there’s LOTS of poison ivy and it can get buggy, so spray that Off! and pull up those socks before you hit the woods.

A lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon.
I fondly recall coming hear with my father and little sister as part of summer family time before I left NY to study in Paris; aptly, the special exhibit was on La Belle Epoque.
The main building is a three-​story Georgian mansion that exemplifies Gold Coast architecture of the late 19^th century. Inside is over 500 works, with particular emphasis on the 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st centuries, and an Art Space for Children. They have an active schedule of exhibitions and educational programs.
We strolled through the grounds of this former Frick estate; this sculpture garden is one of the largest publicly accessible on the East Coast sitting on 145 acres. Founded in the auspicious year of 1989, the museum became a private not-​for-​profit institution. Among the more than 40 sculptures are works by Tom Otterness, Fernando Botero [I definitely have a photo somewhere of my sister and I dancing around one of these chubby sculptures], Chaim Gross, Alejandro Colunga, Masayuki Nagare, Richard Serra, Manolo Valdes and many others.
The Frick Estates Formal Gardens have been restored to the famous original landscape design, and many pathways through the 145-​acre property are now marked as guided nature trails.
It’s just a lovely museum with a collection that I consider «bite sized» in a good way: you can take it all in in a day and then walk through the garden trails to take in some nature and admire the sculptures. Great family bonding experience.
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Historical notes from the website:
In 1919, Henry Clay Frick, the co-​founder of U.S. Steel, purchased the property once owned by the poet and preservationist, William Cullen Bryant, for his son, Childs Frick. The architect Sir Charles Carrick Allom was commissioned to redesign the façade and much of the interior of the home which the Fricks named Clayton. The younger Frick and his wife Frances lived at Clayton for almost 50 years. Following Childs Frick’s death in 1965, the estate was purchased by Nassau County which then converted it to a museum, now the Nassau County Museum of Art.

Located on the Henry Clay Frick estate from the great gatsby era, the museum is on a 145 acre nature preserve. The museum is a county run facility and is subject to budget constraints however has been able to with the support of the community continually bring in exceptional exhibits.
There are over 500 works of art representing both 19^th and 20^th century European and American artists.

It called to me. It said «Anna, you have driven past my entrance for over a decade, why the heck haven’t you stopped in?!?» My reply was «You never invited me!» (Did I mention that I hallucinate when I drive the Mini on a sunny day? With 70’s-80’s rock blasting through the speakers and the outside world framed by a retro British instrument panel, it is intoxicating — really…)
Ok, what really happened (and I wonder why people question my driving ability) I saw their sign for «The Sea Around Us» — yep, show me a picture of a sail and a wave and I am hooked. I’m easy that way.
This museum is a converted estate owned by Nassau County, and well, the budget is slim, and the museum is tiny. I paid my $ 2 dollars for parking, was handed a yellow ticket from staples, and proceeded down a long driveway, under a trestle, and finally to the parking lot. It was EMPTY on a sunny Saturday at noon. Maybe four cars? Five?
What makes this a Museum with potential is that the landscaped grounds with eclectic statuary are accessible for $ 2.00 parking. You don’t know how much I want to make an elaborate picnic, invite some musician friends, and have a sunny afternoon with good food, good music and good friends surrounded by interesting art. Really, I am going to have to work on that. Maybe one nice September weekend.
I have uploaded pictures with comments, so this post is just setting the scene (or the possible scene).
The house is a house. Granted, a nice turn of the century house, but it is like going to grannies (well, my pretend rich WASP Grannie), but all of the furniture has been removed, and some of her friends are sitting there in the entry way asking you for $ 10.00. I shelled out my $ 10.00 and then clipped on my Museum Button, and walked into what may have been a library.
It was then that I knew my visit was fate. I’m going to digress for a moment, as I stepped into the current exhibit, «The Sea Around Us», I was looking at the boat of my obsessions, a model and pictures of the SS United States. This boat caught me by surprise the first time I saw it, and it was love at first sight. I was going to Ikea in Philadelphia, and I was a bit lost (umm, yeah, I get lost a lot), and I looked up, and there was this giant ghost of an ocean liner, just sitting there. I looked at my companion, and pulled over, and just sat there, jaw dropped. Maybe it is the romance of the high seas, I don’t know, but, it obsesses me.
And there it was in picture and model form, at the Nassau County Museum of Art. What a great surprise. And that is what this Museum is, a great surprise. A Pissaro here and there, a cute picture that I thought was in an Amateur Room upstairs and when I looked closer, it was Hopper. Duh — I love Hopper. He was no amateur.
My advice, if you are in the area, see this museum. Take a bit of time and walk through to see what surprises you. That is what art does, it surprises you, it can please you, and it can make you think «Why/​How did they do that ?» — My take on the polished chrome statue of a Whippet with a woman’s head done in a dull contrasting raw metal.
You’ll see familiar (the grand daddy of the brasses in the 14^th Street A/​C/​E station), and foreign (the distant black disc in the water as seen from the second story window in Gallery 6 — near the ladies room).
There is a lot of indoor/​outdoor potential for your $ 12.00. Go on a nice sunny day, and wander.