Go Here Now: Cooper-Hewitt joins the Google Art Project

Of all the incredible museums in New York, The Cooper-Hewitt has long been one of our favorites. Since their Upper East Side location is currently closed for renovations--a process that's estimated to last two years--they've had to get creative with housing and showing their collection. Most of their library, for example, has been moved into a townhouse next door and their next exhibition, "Graphic Design: Now in Production," will open on Governor's Island in late May.

The museum's latest effort to make their collection available to the public during construction is their partnership with Google's Art Project. Cooper-Hewitt is only the latest in an impressive lineup that includes many the world's best museums who've joined in with the project's mission to make art accessible to people, no matter where they live. If you haven't taken a tour of the site yet it's an absolute must, but make sure you have a few hours to spare: You can easily lose track of time exploring Berlin's Gemaldegalerie or the LACMA in Los Angeles. One of our essential go-to's right now is the Korean Art Museum Association, which makes over 4,000 works public.

The Cooper-Hewitt hosts an impressive 1,569 works by 493 artists, a more diverse offering than most. The collection includes turn-of-the-century architectural drawings, fabric samples dating back to the 1600s, artwork by Winslow Homer and drawings by Frederic Edwin Church. There are more modern items as well, like Marcel Breuer's B5 chair and furniture from the last decade. Since the Cooper-Hewitt's current and recent exhibitions focus on new work, we were completely unaware their design archives reached back so far. Their showing on Art Project doesn't just feel like a casual scroll back through time, but possibly an invaluable resource for designers today.