Extraordinary Art Experiences introduces readers to a variety of institutions, many of which began as private collections. Art lovers can find them inside converted industrial warehouses or in structures designed by star architects, or even in homes left intact for visitors to see how collectors lived with their art. World class curators fill their exhibition calendars with innovative shows in every medium from painting to sculpture to performance and photography. The art is borrowed and loaned, just like that in the larger public institutions.

Glorious, generous full-colour images of Cullman & Kravis's incomparably refined interiors in a luxury format showcase classic New York City penthouses, sprawling Connecticut and Florida estates, and Aspen ski retreats. All are distinguished by an enviable elegance yielded by an unparalleled attention to detail - in this volume, a visual and textual breakdown of how this coherence is achieved and which details are employed to endow a room with a sense of easy-yet-opulent harmony is provided for the reader in each chapter.

Interior design firm Cullman & Kravis infuses traditional interiors with a modern perspective, embracing historicism and referencing a wide range of cultures and contemporary design motifs. In From Classic to Contemporary: Decorating with Cullman & Kravis, Ellie Cullman and Tracey Pruzan explore the lessons from modernism that add a new and welcome dynamism to the firm's most recent projects, both traditional and modern. "We believe in the alchemy of old and new," observes Ellie Cullman, founder and principal of Cullman & Kravis. "We approach every project with the rigor of a jigsaw puzzle, but with the desire to create a magnificent tapestry." Cullman and Pruzan share how the venerable interior design firm applies principles of modernism to add a new and welcome tension to their more classical work, while in their more modern schemes, the classic principles of design guide their process. The fourteen distinct projects in this book are collaborations between Ellie Cullman and her partners Lee Cavanaugh, Sarah Ramsey, Claire Ratliff, and Alyssa Urban. Running the gamut from modest revisions to ground-up construction and complete renovations, these interiors include a sumptuous New York City duplex that is a clever mix of traditional furnishings and an impressive contemporary art collection; a glass-clad modern Miami villa with vivid colors and bold prints; an oceanfront Palm Beach house with museum-quality art and antiques; an historic Westchester estate once owned by Brooke Astor; and Ellie Cullman's own home, whose "refresh" illustrates how to renew, modernize, and reinvigorate any project.