Wender·Vista
Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, along Museum Mile

Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue

— — the staircase that holds the whole afternoon.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The wide limestone steps along Fifth Avenue between 80th and 84th. Pretzel carts at the curb, students sketching, hundreds of people sitting and not in any hurry to go inside. Central Park is across the street, the doors are open until five-thirty, and the steps are the meeting place before the museum is. A whole afternoon, easy.

from the studio
Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue
— bring it home

Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Metropolitan Museum of Art faces Fifth Avenue between 80th and 84th streets, on the eastern edge of Central Park along Museum Mile. The Beaux-Arts central facade and its grand staircase were designed by Richard Morris Hunt and his son Richard Howland Hunt, and completed in 1902; later wings followed by McKim, Mead & White. The museum was founded in 1870 and now holds more than 1.5 million works, making it among the most visited art museums in the world.

— the stone

The facade is Indiana limestone, cut from the Bedford-Bloomington belt that also supplied the Empire State Building and the Pentagon. The steps were rebuilt in 2014 in a project that widened the landings and improved drainage; the new stone matches the original warm cream. Four pairs of uncarved blocks remain above the columns — left rough by Hunt for sculptural groups that were never commissioned, a small visible joke for anyone who looks up.

— the visit

The museum is open Sunday through Thursday until 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m. General admission is pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents and New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut students, and 30 dollars for other adults as of 2024. The steps themselves are public at any hour and cost nothing to sit on. The 4, 5, and 6 trains stop at 86th Street, two blocks north.

— informed by Met · Plan Your Visit
— where
United States · Manhattan, New York
— position
40.7794° N · 73.9632° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Central Park
urban park
1 km N
Guggenheim Museum
art museum
1 km SW
Bethesda Terrace
park landmark
1 km N
Neue Galerie
art museum
N
Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue
Central Park
Guggenheim Museum
Bethesda Terrace
Neue Galerie
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Metropolitan Museum of Art steps Fifth Avenue — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Met was founded in 1870 by a group of businessmen, artists, and civic leaders who wanted a public art museum for New York. It opened in its present Fifth Avenue building in 1880, with the central facade completed in 1902.

Richard Morris Hunt designed the central Beaux-Arts facade and the grand staircase; his son Richard Howland Hunt finished the work after his death, with the building opening in 1902. Later wings were by McKim, Mead & White.

The 2014 rebuild widened the steps and landings to handle the crowds that already used them. Films and television shows including Gossip Girl shot scenes there, and the steps are now a recognized public gathering point on Fifth Avenue.

Adult general admission was 30 dollars in 2024, with seniors at 22 and students at 17. New York State residents and tri-state students pay what they wish. The steps and exterior are always free to use.

More than 1.5 million works spanning 5,000 years — Egyptian galleries with the Temple of Dendur, European paintings, the American Wing, Asian art, the Costume Institute, and a rooftop garden open in warmer months with a view over Central Park.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a meaningful gift for many of our customers with Manhattan ties — people who studied here, who took children to the steps on Sundays, or who keep a Met membership from out of town. A Small or Medium carries well.

The warm limestone tones and the soft afternoon light read well in classic prewar interiors, Upper East Side traditional, and warm neutral palettes built around oak, brass, and putty. It also lifts a quieter modern room.

Limestone, antique frames, and a soft golden hour palette are the textures grandmillennial and new-traditional rooms lean on, and the artwork picks them up. A Large above a console table reads as quiet anchor.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large is the easiest answer. For a longer console or wider wall, a 4-tile Mural reads with more presence; a 9-tile Mural is the choice for a full feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation behind a sink or in a shower. The Glossy finish is best kept to dry rooms.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and lives beneath the finish, so there is nothing on top to scrub off.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville. We don't license stock art and we don't reprint other photographers. The eye is Reid Wender's, the hand-finishing is in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

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