On the corner of East 57th Street and Madison Avenue is a building brimming with excellent art galleries, which feature fantastic collections of contemporary art (and sometimes older masters as well, depending on the gallery). Visiting the galleries provides an opportunity to see more contemporary, cutting edge art than is on display in museums. Check out Danese (6th floor), James Cohen (2nd floor), Ameringer/Howard Fine Art (11th floor, The Peter Findlay Gallery (3rd floor), and my favorite, the James Goodman Gallery (8th floor - they feature deKooning, DuBuffet and Leger!), among many other excellent galleries. You can spend a whole day just making your way up the floors and checking out the shows at various galleries. Most galleries are small and showcase one artist at a time. And of course, everything is for sale if you have big bucks on you. The galleries at #41 E. 57th St. provide a great opportunity to see excellent examples of modern and contemporary art in a true NY gallery setting. Visiting the galleries is free of charge. No photos. Pick up a copy of Art Now Gallery Guide (available for free in many of the galleries) to see what galleries are featuring which artists.