Summer is the perfect time to Travel on an Art Expedition…Here are a few NOT TO MISS Art Exhibits throughout the US in Summer 2023 and beyond.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City:

While its always a good time to visit The MET, if you have chance definitely make your way to NYC in the coming months for an amazing Van Gogh exhibit.

Van Gogh lovers know that the artist often depicted the mystical looking cypress tree in his works. From May 27 to August 27th, The MET will be hosting Van Gogh’s Cypresses, the first exhibition to focus solely on his Cypress trees.

The exhibit will pair The Met’s holdings, including Wheat Field with Cypresses along with NYC neighbor – The MOMA’s Starry Night (rarely loaned out). The exhibit will also feature some 40 of works from around the world depicting Van Gogh’s cypresses.

“Juxtaposing landmark paintings with precious drawings and illustrated letters—many rarely, if ever, lent or exhibited together—this tightly conceived thematic exhibition offers an extraordinary opportunity to appreciate anew some of Van Gogh’s most celebrated works in a context that reveals the backstory of their invention for the first time.” – Learn more about this exhibit on Met website.

If you cannot get to NYC, you can purchase the exhibit’s curated companion here.

The second blockbuster art event at The MET is an amazing Manet and Degas show starting in September. The Met has a huge collection of Degas and Manet works, but what makes this unique exhibit special is that one of Manet’s most famous works – ‘Olympia’ will be on loan from The Musee d’Orsay in France. Olympia was inspired by Titian’s Venus of Urbino. Manet thought it would earn applause by the Salon, but faced criticism. It continues to be a haunting work to this day.

The Art Institute of Chicago

The MET isn’t the only museum with an all-star Van Gogh exhibit in Summer 2023…The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting Van Gogh and The Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape.

Hands down, The Art Institute of Chicago has one of the best Impressionism and Post-Impressionism collections in the US and the world. It is one of my favorite art museums, and this exhibit has me checking flights to Chicago.

Open through September 4th, the exhibit focuses the avant-garde work of Van Gogh and other post-Impressionist artists like Seurat, Signac, Bernad and Angrand. From their website: “Unlike the earlier Impressionists, who in the previous decade had spent significant time in suburban locations further from the city, this next generation of ambitious artists preferred the northwestern suburbs around Asnières. This area along the Seine River had long been a popular spot for recreation and relaxation but was becoming increasingly populated with coal, gas, and manufacturing facilities in the last decades of the 19th century. And while its industrial development was an unappealing aspect to many, these artists found in the changing physical and social landscape a fresh and rich source of creativity, as Van Gogh’s letter indicates.”

On view, discover over seventy Post-Impressionism paintings, including twenty-five Van Gogh works together for the first time.

• Pro Tip: See George Seurat’s larger than life Sunday at The Grande Jatte – arguably the treasure of The Art Institute’s permanent collection.

Plan your visit to The Art Insitute here.

The Museum of Fine Arts – Houston, Texas

One of the premier art museums in the United States, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts has a strong permanent collection from Medieval to Impressionism and beyond. This summer The Museum is also hosting a phenonmenal exhibit –

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from The Pearlman Foundation

“See outstanding works by art stars including Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Manet, and Modigliani presented within the context of their experiences. This exhibition examines the friendships the artists developed in Paris as well as the many locations and sites—regional, national, and international—that shaped their work individually.

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces brings to Houston paintings from the collection of the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation. The collection was assembled by New York–based Henry Pearlman (1895–1974), the son of Russian immigrant parents. He loved discovering hidden masterworks and learning about the social bonds among artists and their aesthetic influences on each other.” – MFA description

Plan your trip to the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston here.

Taubman Museum – Roanoke, Virginia

Enjoy the beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway and fine art…The Taubman has a wonderful permanent collection featuring works by Sargent to Pendergast and more…This summer The Taubman is playing host to an amazing exhibit focusing on the PAINTINGS of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

We often associate Tiffany with his glorious stained glass windows and silver jewelry, but L.C. Tiffany was a skilled painter of landscapes inspired by his travels around the world.

About the exhibit: “This exhibition features 60 paintings by Louis Comfort Tiffany from the Nassau County Museum of Art in New York.  Extraordinary examples of Tiffany Studio glass are also on view from the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York and the personal collection of Susan S. and David R. Goode, as well as the Taubman Museum of Art’s permanent collection.”

Plan your Roanoake and Taubman adventure here.

Hunter Museum of Art – Chattanooga, TN

The Hunter is one of my favorite museums – I used to visit regularly when I lived in Tennessee. Chattanooga’s location in the Applachian Mountains is a prime spot for vacationers looking to ‘See Rock City,’ Ruby Falls and other natural wonders the city has to offer…but don’t overlook their renowned art museum.

The Hunter focuses on American art – this summer they are curating and exhibit specifcally on Landscape Painting from The Hudson River School to American Impressionism and beyond.

See over sixty-five paintings by George Bellowst, Frederic Church to George Inness and Childe Hassam and more…

Plan your visit here.

Know about an awesome exhibit in your local museum – please share in the comments below and I’ll feature it on a future Art Expeditions post.