page_title: Grand Central Terminal art
section_title: Art featuring Grand Central
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Central Terminal art / Art featuring Grand Central
caption_attribution_description: English: Rays of sunlight beaming down on the Main Concourse floor of Grand Central Terminal. Many similar photos exist; this is the first one proven to be freely licensed. Unknown author, unknown date, published in 1950.
context_page_description: Grand Central Terminal, one of the main railroad stations in New York City, features public art by a variety of artists. Through its status as a transportation and architectural icon, the terminal has also been depicted in many works of art.
  Grand Central features permanent works of art, including the celestial ceiling in the Main Concourse, the Glory of Commerce work and the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt in front of the building's south facade, and the two cast-iron eagle statues adorning the terminal's facades. As well, Vanderbilt Hall is regularly used for temporary art exhibitions and events. The Dining Concourse has a series of lightboxes also used to display temporary art exhibits. The terminal is also known for its performance and installation art, including flash mobs and other spontaneous events.
context_section_description: Grand Central is one of the most-photographed places in New York City and the United States. One of the most famous photographs of the terminal shows light streaming from Main Concourse windows down to the floor. The work is reproduced online through hundreds of different images, with variations in angles, cropping, flipping, filters, and watermarks, as well as the author and date attributed to the works. Photographer Penelope Umbrico collected a sample of such images in Four Photographs of Rays of Sunlight in Grand Central, on display in the terminal's Dining Concourse.
  Paintings depicting Grand Central include:
  John French Sloan, Grand Central Station, 1924
  Max Weber, Grand Central Terminal, 1915
  Jim Campbell, Grand Central Station #2, 2009
  Ernest Lawson, Old Grand Central
  Howard Thain, Grand Central Station, N.Y.C., 1927
  Howard Thain, Park Avenue at 42nd Street, N.Y.C., 1927
  Johann Berthelsen, Grand Central Station in Snow
  Colin Campbell Cooper, Grand Central Station, 1909
caption: Rays of light in Grand Central, c. 1950
exif: {"Image Copyright": "Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives not to be reproduced without express written permission."}