The Louvre is the world's most famous art gallery, and we regularly arrange private tours of the Paris institution for our members. But we also organise trips to galleries where art lovers can escape the crowds.
We've asked our art expert Margaux Carel to pick her favourite art galleries. Call our travel team to arrange a trip to any of the below, or for more information on where to see art in your area or anywhere else in the world.
Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park
Seattle, USA
The Seattle Art Museum's waterfront sculpture park is nine acres of occasionally surreal and frequently astonishing large-scale works from some of the world's best contemporary sculptors.
Margaux says: ‘Look out for Wake, Richard Serra's immersive steel pathway, and Riviera, a pioneering abstract work from Sir Anthony Caro, one of Britain's greatest 20th-century sculptors.'
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Venice, Italy
Venice's reputation for galleries is often overshadowed by its more famous counterparts in Florence and Rome. However, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in the city has the best collection of 20th-century European and American art in Italy. The small gallery is packed with big names, so visitors can give Picasso, Dalí and Magritte the attention they deserve. Margaux says: ‘The gallery is located in Peggy Guggenheim's former home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal.'
Margaux also recommends the Palazzo Grassi, which hosts temporary exhibitions largely drawn from the vast private collection of its owner, French businessman François Pinault.
Your lifestyle manager can recommend a boutique hotel in the city and arrange private tours of its winding streets.
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In 1808 King John VI fled Portugal ahead of the French invasion during the Peninsular War, taking with him some of his favourite paintings. This embryonic collection was the foundation for Brazil's national museum of fine arts. This Rio landmark now features more than 16,000 works from across the globe, alongside seminal pieces from Brazilian masters such as Portinari, Américo and Meireles, including the latter's iconic The First Mass in Brazil.
‘Its forte is 19th-century painting, and the neoclassical building that houses the museum is an astonishing piece of architecture,' Margaux adds.
We can arrange transport, accommodation and restaurant recommendations here, as well as put together a bespoke guide to the city based on your interests.
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto, Japan
Spared from firebombing during World War Two because of its historical value, Japan's imperial city is a UNESCO World Heritage site containing more than 2,000 superbly preserved temples, monasteries and palaces. But the best place to gain an impression of Kyoto's enduring influence on Japanese art is the National Museum.
Margaux comments: ‘The museum focuses on mainly pre-modern Japanese works and there are some important examples of lacquerware and metalwork.' Key pieces include Tawaraya Sotatsu's silver and gold Anthology with Cranes, the 12th-century scroll depicting Stories of Hungry Ghosts, and its collection of Zen ink paintings.
Your lifestyle manager can book a traditional ryokan inn during your stay in Kyoto, advise on the best places to sample the city's famed kaiseki cooking, and offer some tips on dining etiquette.
Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Art lovers will have the perfect excuse to visit Abu Dhabi over the coming years. The emirate is spending billions of dollars to convert Saadiyat Island into its cultural hub. It's an ambitious project, apparently designed to make Abu Dhabi a world-class tourist attraction when the oil runs out.
A new outpost of the Louvre will open its doors in 2012 and promises to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art, showcasing works from a number of French museums. Meanwhile, architect Frank Gehry has designed the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the foundation's only museum in the Middle East, which – like its siblings – will focus on contemporary art when it opens in 2012.
Call us if you would like to be among the first through the doors of Abu Dhabi's landmark galleries and attend the various VIP events that will herald their openings.
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