Dia:Beacon

I recently made a trip to visit the Dia Art Foundation in Beacon, NY. From Grand Central Terminal, you can easily take the Metro-North Railroad to Beacon; the train ride is roughly an hour and a half. We had the fortune to make the trek during the Fall season. The train from NYC follows the Hudson River north and views are breathtaking—especially as the fall foliage is changing colors. (Tip: Ask the train staff what side of the train will give you a better view if you are unfamiliar.) When you arrive in Beacon, NY, the museum is a short 8-10 minute walk from the station. There are often taxis waiting if you don’t feel up to the walk.

The museum itself is housed in an old Nabisco factory. It’s such a great space to exhibit large work—and they’ve definitely taken advantage of the space to show such monumental works, such as Andy Warhol’s “Shadows” and an impressive collection of large-scale Richard Serra works. What is rather unique about the museum is the in-depth survey of each artist displayed. They devote such a large area to each artist, allowing for numerous iterations of their work or a wide variety from each artist’s career to be exhibited. The collection truly is impressive, and a must-visit if you live, or are visiting, the area.

We spent about 4 hours at the museum, I studied art in college and my companion, art history. I think it’s a great place to visit with the family, or even to take those less familiar with art. They have lots of educational materials about each artist and what is on display, so it was very helpful in viewing some of these works.

We took a quick lunch break in the museum’s café. The food was amazing!! I had the chicken and avocado sandwich. It was a great place to break and collect our thoughts on the first half of what we had seen that afternoon.