Museum or Hotel? Properties With Amazing Art Collections

By Erica Corsano

Hip hoteliers wouldn’t be caught dead adorning their property’s walls with generic mass-produced prints. In fact, some hotels make great artwork the centerpiece of their brand and curating incredible contemporary art has become a focus for many new properties. It’s a thing right now.

Collaboration, curation, and collection are key for properties that want to create an authentic art experience. Some partner with area artists to commission original works and many hire a consultant, curator, or docent to help piece together the perfect mix. Here are some with amazing collections.

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Photo: Quirk Hotel

The Quirk Hotel in Richmond Virginia is a brand spankin’ new property designed entirely with art in mind. Inspired by the nearby Quirk Gallery, the hotel is truly reminiscent of the funky art gallery, including a lobby installation “Pile,” comprised entirely of white coffee lids collected from Richmond’s coffee shops, created by local artist Susie Ganch. The new boutique hotel (housed in a former department store) speaks to the cultural renaissance taking place in Richmond right now and offers up a fantastic refuge for artists with its Artist in Residence program. Guest rooms are soft and sweet with a bit of edge and will make you feel like your’e in your cool, creative friend’s college bedroom. Rooms are around $269 on weeknights and $289 on weekends and will drop to around $190 in November through January.

The Art Hotel lobby. (Photo: Art Hotel)

Denver, a city that’s having both a culinary and an artistic revolution welcomed the new Art Hotel early this summer. As part of the area’s cultural boom, the Art itself holds one of the most prestigious art collections in any U.S. hotel, with works curated by Dianne Vanderlip of Tate Modern and Denver Museum of Art fame. Vanderlip has assembled an impressive collection of post WWII modern masters found throughout the hotel, from creative geniuses like Ed Ruscha, Tracey Emin, Larry Bell, and Sol LeWitt. As you drive up to the entrance of the stunning and contemporary edifice a 22,000 LED light installation by N.Y.C. artist Leo Villareal flickers in waves overhead. Once inside, “Otter,” a life-size horse sculpture greets you. Original works of art are displayed on each floor and prints from the same artist are hung in each guest room.

Photo: Ludlow Hotel

At the hipster-filled Ludlow hotel on New York’s Lower East Side, it’s more about quality versus quantity. The rooms are striking, modeled after chic Manhattan lofts, and there’s a rotating art display in the hotel’s lounge and restaurant. Curated by Vito Schnabel (scion of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel and Heidi Klum’s beau), guests can gawk at works by Julian Schnabel, Ron Gorchov, and The Bruce High Quality Foundation, an art collective our of Brooklyn. Glamorous, stylish and perfect for people-watching. Rates start at $295.

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Photo: Surrey Hotel

Uptown, New York’s only Relais & Châteaux hotel, The Surrey, takes experiencing art to an entirely new level. Known for its extensive collection, which is valued at a whopping $31 million, (including works by Chuck Close, Jenny Holzer, and William Kentridge) the hotel recently named ArtMuse founder Natasha Schlesinger as its official Art Expert in Residence. One of the most striking pieces is the black and white Close photograph of Kate Moss’s makeup-free mug. And there’s more to come: Schlesinger, who is a seasoned expert known for her bespoke N.Y.C. art tours, will be tasked with broadening the hotel’s art collection, art scene partnerships, and seasonal exhibitions. There’s even a customized tour, starting at $400 for 1 ½ hours. Rates start at around $618 a night.

Photo: The Vendue

The Vendue in downtown Charleston has majorly impressive artistic flair thanks to a major renovation that happened last year. It’s now home to 300 original works displayed throughout the guest rooms and on-site restaurant (Drawing Room), and even has its very own gallery space. To fill it, the Vendue partners with area and international art galleries in three themed exhibitions per year. What’s more, the hotel even employs a full-time art docent, who conducts art tours and daily art talks and has a dedicated art studio, where the full-time artist-in-residence (currently Belgian painter Fred Jamar) works. There’s also a smaller, more private gallery that hosts local exhibits, small parties, receptions, and meetings. The best part? Most works aren’t just for décor, they’re for sale. Rates start at around $162.

Photo: James Hotel

Chicago’s James Hotel has become an important fixture within the Windy City’s local art scene. Art-insiders and curators like Monique Meloche of Monique Meloche Gallery and The Art Institute of Chicago help advise the James on retaining its permanent collection and on collections by local artists. Rooms feature an eclectic assemblage of fine art and photography by Michael Kenna, Wolfgang Ludes, and Wendy Small, and an in-room entertainment TV channel dedicated to moving video art by Scandinavian artist Lars Arrhenius. Large scale renderings of the Chicago skyline by graphic artist Nienke Sybrandy make elevator silence less awkward, while video-art projections enhance the hotel’s interior courtyard and lobby. One of the interesting sights within this artsy space (that looks like a random apartment building on the outside) is a sculpture by Chicago-based artist Joel Ross, entitled “Room 28.” Comprised of a stack of vintage suitcases and the entire remains of a dismantled Texas motel room, it sits in the hotel’s wanderlust lobby. Rates currently start at $289.

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Photo: Drake Hotel

Our northern neighbors in Toronto have no shortage of phenomenal art galleries and impressive museums. The art scene is alive and well in so many ways, and at the center of it all is the Drake Hotel. Located on Queen Street West, this small guesthouse, has been a local institution of all things cultural and cool for over a decade. When it opened in 2004, it helped transform the surrounding neighborhood from sad to sacred, boring to brilliant and acted as a visionary pied piper, calling all artists and creative types (and maybe even started this artsy hotel trend). If you can’t get a room at the 19-room boutique hotel, make like a local and just hang out there. It’s an edifying hot spot within the community and often hosts themed dinners, parties, trivia nights, live music, art talks, and more, in its concert venue, gallery, café, and restaurant. The hotel’s exhibits of work change regularly, with a new show installed every couple of months. The on-site curator can walk you through current exhibits, give you the scoop on upcoming shows, or just get all artsy fartsy with you for an informative chat. The permanent collection features spectacular contemporary Canadian art with major works by artists likeKen Lum, Micah Lexier, Isabelle Hayeur and Evan Penny. Rates currently start at around $249CA.

Here are a handful of other hotels that inspire our inner Andy Warhol: Le Meridien Columbus, The Renwick,20c Museum Hotels and Baccarat Hotel and Residences.

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