"Art Everywhere" Comes To The Neighborhood

"Art Everywhere" Comes To The NeighborhoodPhoto: Nuala Sawyer / Hoodline
Nuala Sawyer
Published on August 09, 2014
In a new national exhibit titled "Art Everywhere US", 58 works of art have been selected and installed around the country, and some are to be found right here in the neighborhood.  
Deemed a "public celebration of great American art," the work has started popping up in bus shelters, on buildings, on taxis, in subways—anywhere that's high in traffic and where pieces by Gilbert Stuart or Mary Cassat would not normally appear.

Selected by representatives from five museums nationwide, the exhibition focuses on American history from 1776 to present day. The exhibition's goal is to "bring us face to face with the story of our nation, told by the visionaries who captured our essence at the time they lived and worked, and who to this day compel us to find our place in the evolving story of America."

Some of the pieces may be familiar, such as the classic painting American Gothic.  Others are slightly more obscure, such as Montauk Highway.  But however popular or rare these pieces are, they're hiding in our neighborhood. 

We went on a hunt to track down a Chuck Close piece on Divisadero and Haight, and it took a few intersection crossings and some sharp eyes to finally find the hidden piece on a bus stop, pictured above (which of course has been added to by our street artist peanut gallery). 

These glimpses of art can be stumbled across accidentally or hunted down with intention, almost like a treasure hunt. Here's a map of pieces in our neighborhood to get your started (each number corresponds to a piece of art in this guide):



Happy hunting!