Artist Daniel St. George (right) and assistant Max Decker painting the Andaz doors.

Sometimes a door isn’t just a door.

Last week the double doors leading to The Bar Downstairs at the Andaz 5^th Avenue were a work in progress (witness the protective plastic, brush-wielding artist, passersby taking pictures).

And this week? The doors are a mural — a witty, cartoon-inflected study of contemporary New York that toasts (and roasts) its subject in black, white and gold.  (Passersby are still taking pictures.)

Brooklyn artist Daniel St. George engineered the transformation. But he wasn’t the first to do so. In fact, St. George ushered in year two of tbd Art, the hotel’s rotating series that taps artists to splash their idea of New York — Today onto the hotel’s Fifth Avenue doors.

It’s a sweet deal. In addition to a chunk of prime real estate across the street from the New York Public Library – and a mere dozen blocks south of The Museum of Modern Art — each artist becomes an Artist in Residence, scoring a suite at the hotel during the time it takes to complete the work (alas for the artists, it’s mere days not weeks). (more…)

The hotel's latest show.

New York hotels discovered eons ago that empty walls and fine art go together like poached eggs and Hollandaise. Consider the Audubon and Piranesi prints in the Carlyle guest rooms. Or the contemporary art by one-time residents like Larry Rivers and Susan Olmetti blanketing the Chelsea Hotel lobby.

So many hotels boast noteworthy art we’ll revisit the subject from time to time. For now, picture the black marble lobby of the Jumeirah Essex House, the 509-room, 78-year-old Art Deco tower overlooking Central Park. (more…)