INSTALLATION VIEW OF CROSSROADS: 1945 TO NOW, CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART, 2018; PHOTO: BRYAN CONLEY

There’s a painting I like in a far corner of the Scaife Galleries: “L’esprit de famille” by René Magritte. A calm seascape is broken up by a bizarre sphere on the beach; two tiny figures regard it, as if trying to figure out how it got there. In the foreground, a fish stands perfectly upright, staring at the viewer.

I stared back for a good long while before I remembered that there are many, many works of art to look at in these rooms.

You could spend a full day at the Carnegie Museum of Art wandering in circles around the Scaife Galleries, the labyrinth of rooms that house a selection of the museum’s venerable collection. The best way, I’ve found, is to be led by your eye; scan the room around you, peer into neighboring galleries and slowly stroll until a work catches your gaze.

No one could possibly give each work in these galleries all the time they’re due — so, freed of the burden of trying to get to everything, spend all the time you want on any piece you choose.

The galleries aren’t quite a maze — there are maps, and some order to the arrangement of rooms, and helpful docents are present to guide you — but it’s not a straight line, either. In 1976, upon the completion of the Galleries, the New York Times reported that the rooms “are arranged in a series of elongated U’s, to give the visitor a serpentine path.” You’ll get turned around, go left when you thought you were going right and get caught staring at another masterpiece.

Several of the rooms are dedicated to particular art movements or eras; others have rotating exhibits. In the best rooms, however, famed works sit next to new creations; not long after you enter, you’ll spy Van Gogh’s “Wheat Fields after the Rain” overlooking contemporary installation artist Richard Long’s “Elterwater Stone Ring.” These intriguing juxtapositions are around every corner.

You’ll learn, and you’ll photograph something remarkable for Instagram. But you should also savor fleeting moments — those occasions when you stare at a painting for the pure aesthetic pleasure of doing so, with no intention of reporting on your discovery or investigating the artist. Those beautiful, small moments are why art museums are so powerful.

And the Scaife Galleries have endless opportunities for beautiful, small moments.

While You’re Here:
Whether you’re looking for a hearty meal or a quick cup of coffee, Cafe Carnegie is worth much more than a quick stop. Peruse the wine list or try the pappardelle.

Insider’s Tip
Feel like livening up a sleepy afternoon? If you turn up at the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History after 3 p.m., you can get in for half price ($12) and stroll until closing.