New York museums are packing in major retrospectives and new openings this November. The Met's Krasner and Pollock show, MoMA's Brancusi exhibition and the Whitney's Lichtenstein retrospective are all on view. In mid-November, the Neue Galerie's 25th anniversary show, the Frick's Kent Monkman exhibition and a solo show by Korean artist Na Mira at MoMA open. Yoshitomo Nara's show in Chelsea is free. Here are the dates and locations in one place.
November is the busiest month of the year for New York museums. Major retrospectives that opened for the fall season are in full swing, and new shows open one after another in mid-November. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is also a good time to visit with family. NY&NJ has picked 10 exhibitions worth seeing this month and compiled their dates and locations. Admission prices and reservation requirements vary by museum, so check each museum's website before you go.
At a Glance
Major Retrospectives Now on View
1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous." This exhibition places the married Abstract Expressionist painters Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock side by side. It includes more than 120 works, drawn from the Met's collection and loans from more than 80 lenders. It is the first major show in New York in about 20 years for each artist, and the first at the Met. Many critics say it invites viewers to see Krasner, long introduced as "Pollock's wife," anew as a master in her own right. Through Jan. 31, 2027.
2. MoMA, "Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio." The show spreads the work of Constantin Brancusi, who opened the door to modern sculpture, across the entire sixth floor of the museum. Works from the Brancusi studio collection preserved by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, pieces that rarely leave the collection, have come to New York for the show. Through Feb. 27, 2027.
3. Whitney Museum of American Art, "Roy Lichtenstein: Like New." This retrospective of the Pop artist famous for his comic-book-style Ben-Day dot paintings is the first large-scale exhibition of his work in New York since 1993. It features more than 130 paintings, prints, sculptures, drawings and videos, along with a room that reunites the eight works shown at his 1962 debut at the Leo Castelli Gallery. It runs through May 10, 2027, so you can take your time and go toward the end of the year.
4. Guggenheim Museum, Taryn Simon, "Father Country I Do Love You." The exhibition takes over the entire spiral rotunda and tells the story of a real retired FBI agent in 42 chapters. Photographs, records and installations are mixed together, so it feels less like an exhibition than like walking through and reading a work of nonfiction. Through March 14, 2027.
Free to Visit
5. David Zwirner Gallery, "Yoshitomo Nara." This is a solo show in New York by the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, who has many fans in Korea as well for his paintings of sharp-eyed children. It is his first show with the gallery and his first large-scale solo show in New York in 10 years, featuring new paintings and drawings, recent sculptures and early works chosen by the artist himself. It is split between two spaces in Chelsea (533 W. 19th St. and 537 W. 20th St.), and admission is free. Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Dec. 12.
6. MoMA PS1, "Hard Art." The show surveys abstract painting by Black American artists from 1969 to the present through the work of more than 40 artists. It follows up on the "Afro-American Abstraction" exhibition held at the same venue in 1980. It opens Nov. 5 in Long Island City, Queens, and runs through March 2027.
New Shows Opening in Mid-November
7. Neue Galerie, "25th Anniversary Exhibition." Neue Galerie on Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side opens an exhibition on Nov. 12 to mark its 25th anniversary. It will display early 20th-century German and Austrian works from its collection on every floor, including Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I," along with works by Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka and Max Beckmann. It is a good time to see the "Woman in Gold" known from the film of the same name. Through Jan. 11, 2027.
8. The Frick Collection, Kent Monkman, "Officer and Laughing Girl." Kent Monkman, an artist of Cree descent from Canada, presents new work inspired by Johannes Vermeer's "Officer and Laughing Girl" (c. 1657), which is in the Frick's collection. The show rereads the traces of trade and colonialism reflected in 17th-century Dutch painting through an Indigenous perspective. It is held in a small cabinet gallery, making it easy to view alongside Vermeer's original. Nov. 12 to Feb. 22, 2027.
9. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "A Long Shadow: Postwar Japan Through the Lens." The exhibition shows how Japanese photographers documented Japan through the U.S. occupation after World War II and the era of rapid economic growth. Okinawa and the towns around U.S. military bases are major subjects. It is the first Japanese photography exhibition at the Met since 1995, featuring works by Tomatsu Shomei, Ishiuchi Miyako and others, along with rare photo books. Nov. 12 to May 2, 2027, Gallery 851.
10. MoMA, "Na Mira: NO SMOKING." This is Korean artist Na Mira's first solo museum show in New York. The artist, who has woven together Korean shamanic rituals and the history of experimental film, presents a new media installation created for this exhibition in MoMA's Kravis Studio. For Korean visitors, it is the exhibition to catch first this month. Nov. 14 to Feb. 15, 2027.
How to Combine Them
An efficient plan is to see the Brancusi and Na Mira shows together at MoMA in Midtown, then head uptown to the Upper East Side on another day and walk along Fifth Avenue from the Metropolitan Museum (Krasner and Pollock, the Japanese photography show) to the Neue Galerie and the Guggenheim. The Frick Collection is also on Fifth Avenue, at 70th Street. The Yoshitomo Nara show in Chelsea is within walking distance of the High Line and the Whitney Museum, so it is easy to combine into one day. Weekend afternoons are crowded, so it is better to aim for weekday mornings or extended evening hours.