New York Historical Society Museum and Library

More storms, so after dealing with some troubles from home and the weekly wash, we head off for culture.

But first, brunch. Today's choice is the Copplelia Diner just up the road on W14th street.

It's a Latin, which is to say Cuban, diner with the usual fare slanted towards a Latin flavour.

I go with an eggs-benedict style breakfast with poached eggs on ham and a "biscuit" and fried potatoes. Very satisfactory, with a "cafe cortadito" similar to a macchiato.

Next, the C train up to Central Park West to see the New York Historical Society Museum and Library, a venerable institution with a gorgeous library for serious researchers,

The principal exhibition is a retrospective on the NY Times caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, who specialized in show business caricatures but also did general artwork for the NYT and animations including a sequence in Fantasia 2000.

We watch a kinda breathless history of the city of New York, and then look around the ground floor displays until the docent tour. The docent speaks to the displays, and a few tidbits like the duel between Aaron Burr (the Vice President) and Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury) with led to the latter's death and a low point in political dialogues.

Upstairs, there is an amazing Picasso tapestry Le Tricorne,created as the stage curtain for the two-act ballet The Three-Cornered Hat (El sombrero de tres picos or Le tricorne).

Among the displays is an exhibition called Art as Activism, with some interesting American revolutionary posters,

The museum is charming, and next time we should be able to see more of the collection on the 4th floor, presently closed for renovations,

The Flatiron building

Drifting home, we stop off to buy some lobster tails for $10 each and some wine for dinner.