Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Nativity Scene at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents its annual Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene—embellished with small, lifelike attendant figures and hovering, silk-robed angels—adorn the candlelit spruce. Merry Christmas.

Gabriel Orozco's MOBILE MATRIX at the MOMA Atrium

Part of Mexican artist GABRIEL OROZCO's retrospective exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art is an installation called MOBILE MATRIX at the expansive six-story atrium. It is a whale skeleton excavated from the sands of Baja California, fitted onto a metal armature and intricately inscribed with graphite rings and circles by a team of 20 members who exhausted 6,000 mechanical pencil leads. Orozco  was considered the "leading conceptual and installation artist of his generation by The New Yorker Magazine in 2001. The exhibit runs through March 1, 2010.

Nostalgia Train: 1930's Vintage Subway Trains In Service for the Holidays

Subway cars from the 1930s are in service on the V line from 10 AM to 5 PM every Sunday through December 27. The V line runs between Second Avenue and Queens Plaza. These cars are from the collection of the NYC Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn. The price to ride a vintage subway train is the same as any modern-day train - a $2.25 MetroCard swipe. I happened to see one of the classic trains while waiting for the F train yesterday.

SANTAcon New York 2009: Scenes At Washington Square Park

SantaCon is a mass gathering of people dressed in Santa Claus costumes parading in public places like the streets, parks, train stations and in bars in cities around the world. The focus is on spontaneity and creativity, while having a good time and spreading cheer and goodwill. According to organizers, it is a "not-for-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-logical Santa Claus convention, attended for absolutely no reason." In New York City, the event started at 10:00 AM yesterday at different boroughs of the city, toured popular sites in Manhattan, and converged on Washington Square Park at around 3:00 PM. I captured these images mainly at Washington Square Park, a landmark public park in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village surrounded by buildings belonging to New York University.
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Magnificent TIFFANY Table Lamps at Christie's, Rockefeller Center

Two of TIFFANY TABLE LAMPS auctioned last week at Christie's were "Trumpet Creeper" (leaded glass and bronze, c. 1905), and "Dragonfly" (leaded glass and bronze, c. 1910). Both are from Tiffany Studios. 

UNICEF Crystal Snowflake at the Fifth Avenue and 57th Street Intersection

This is the UNICEF Snowflake, a dazzling, illuminated crystal street ornament that graces the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. Each holiday season, it is hung on the famous intersection as a symbol of hope, peace and compassion for vulnerable children around the world. The other snowflake is in Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.