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Transit

NYC subway art: Second Avenue-72nd Street, Court Square and more stations

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  • A five-panel mosaic tile series by Owen Smith,
    Photo Credit: Polly Higgins
  • Sometimes the art at a subway station isn't where you would typically expect to find it. Case in point:
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • The glass mosaic artwork on the walls connecting the 4, 5, 6, N, Q and R trains at the Lexington Avenue-59th Street station are simply impossible to miss. The glass mosaic called
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • The glass and ceramic tile mosaics along the walls of the mezzanine and transfer hallways at the Metropolitan Avenue and Lorimer Street station in Brooklyn leaves much in the way of interpretation of their meanings. Jackie Chang's
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • In a nod to the Harlem Renaissance, the mosaic artwork at the 135th Street 2 and 3 subway station is part of the MTA's series titled
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • Not all of the MTA's art is inside. At the Jackson Avenue 2 and 5 station in the Bronx, the aboveground platforms feature stained glass by George Crespo titled
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • The glass mosaic tiling in the connecting hallway between the E, M, G and 7 trains at the Court Square station in Queens is one of the more well-known subway artworks, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Elizabeth Murray's
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • The next time you find yourself in the Myrtle-Wyckoff avenues station in Brooklyn, be sure to walk up to the top where the M train is located and look up. There, you will find a beautiful mosaic made of ceramic, glass and marble covering the circular ceiling. Cadence Giersbach's
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook
  • Some liken the bustle of Penn Station to a circus, so it may be of no surprise that the murals inside the 34th Street-Penn Station stop for the downtown A, C and E draw on that inspiration. Artist Eric Fischl's
    Photo Credit: Lauren Cook

The subway may feel like a necessary evil to some, with its slow or delayed service and overcrowded trains.

But in its own way, the MTA makes up for the harsh realities of public transit by providing beautiful artwork at many of its stations.

Since the MTA Arts & Design was established in the 1980s, the agency has commissioned more than 300 works from artists, creating a broad spectrum of entertainment for our eyes as we get to and from our daily destinations.

Take a look at some of the interesting works of art you can find around New York City — all of it just a train ride away.

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