The Bookstore

Renowned as a cultural icon since the Pop art movement of the 1960s, Red Grooms has forged an illustrious career marked by his mastery of painting and sculpture and characterized by bright colors, expressionist verve, and theatricality. In 1979, the Hudson River Museum unveiled The Bookstore, a commission and tribute to the allure of books, epitomized through an unexpected yet thrilling mash-up of the stately Pierpont Morgan Library and the eclectic Mendoza Book Company.

The resulting masterpiece, which Grooms calls a “sculpto-pictorama,” incorporates many of the themes that are present throughout his body of work: the marriage of art and commerce, the clash of high and low, and humor—all arranged in a compelling three-dimensional space. The immersive installation holds a special place at the Museum, whose millions of visitors have experienced this beloved and witty work of art.

Learn more about The Bookstore here.