Art makes life much richer. Visiting art museums improves well-being, miniature art engages even at its small scale, and viewing art and its viewers is an experience of its own.
Value of Art Museum Experiences
A recent large-scale study of 11 museums across the United States evaluated how museums contribute to the overall well-being of visitors. The study found that visitors experienced benefits in four areas – personal, intellectual, social, and emotional – well beyond their visit. In fact, in their cost-benefit analysis, they even put a number on the value, “the average ratio of benefits created relative to the costs of creating that value was equal to 1,171%, or roughly $12 of benefit achieved for every $1 spent.” Impressive!
Dollhouse with Original Artworks
Imagine a dollhouse gallery filled with original art pieces measuring just three-and-a-half-inches! The Stettheimer Dollhouse in the Museum of the City of New York has such a collection. Through the early 1900’s creatives, like Marcel Duchamp, who were visiting the Stettheimer household would recreate some of their famous pieces for the dollhouse.
Looking at Art
“I was struck, suddenly, by the tautology, the redundancy, the excess of being a person in the Met looking at a photograph of a person in the Met looking at art …” Enjoy this piece by Sebastian Smee on viewing art and being in the world.
If you have some favorite articles and stories about art, let us know! We’d love to feature them on our blog and newsletter.
