Monet at the Gagosian

The exhibit of late paintings by Monet at the Gagosian gallery is currently one of the best things you can do for free in New York City. (At 522 West 21st Street in Chelsea, the gallery is only half a block away from the High Line park—another of the best things you can do for free.)

The four rooms of paintings begin with the classic images of waterlilies floating in an indefinite, shimmering blue-gray-violet mist, then move on to waterlilies done with bolder colors and brushstrokes. The water in the picture above (the photo doesn’t do it justice) has a streak of cobalt blue you could get lost in.

The last room is devoted to paintings of Japanese bridges and arched trellises of roses. If some of these last works seem heavy, overworked, or even muddy, they underline the achievement of the seemingly airy and effortless paintings that came before.