In honor of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this week, and, you know, because dogs are just so wonderful, we visited the recently opened American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog on Park Avenue near Grand Central Station. This museum features over 200 pieces in their collection including incredible paintings, sculptures, and photographs, all celebrating “the human-canine relationship.” Highlights (apart from the adorable doggies above) include a 30-million-year-old dog fossil, a terracotta paw print from a Roman archaeological dig, and a Victorian-era dog cart for children. There is also a digital exhibit that will snap a picture and tell you what dog breed you most resemble. I got Doberman Pinscher—loyal, fearless, and alert. Sounds about right.
Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.
“Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.” is a mixed media installation that celebrates small, family owned shops in the Lower East Side, most of which have shuttered. The wood frame structure, by architectural and interior photographers Karla and James Murray, features four nearly life-size and incredibly realistic photographs of a bodega, coffee shop/luncheonette, vintage store, and newsstand. In creating the piece, they wanted to recognize the “unique and irreplaceable contribution made to New York by small, often family-owned businesses” and celebrate places that “helped bring the community together through people’s daily interactions.” The installation is on view in Seward Park in the Lower East Side through July 2019.