Cy Twombly, Roman Notes #2,#3 1997

As much as our seasonal modern American cuisine, our superb selections of food-friendly wine, and our sophisticated contemporary style of service, art has always been an essential part of the Michael’s experience

From day one, our art philosophy has been as simple and clear as our approach to food and drink: showcase only the works of the very best contemporary artists working today, and display their works in our dining rooms with all the understated style you would find in a top art gallery or museum.

In Santa Monica, we won the early guidance of Peter Goulds, founder of the L.A. Louver Gallery, and his trusted colleague Kimberly Davis. With their input, as well as that of noted artist Kim McCarty, we assembled a museum-quality collection of works by top artists, many of whom have also become regular guests at Michael’s.



At Michael’s New York, the team went on to develop a beautiful and varied collection when the restaurant opened in 1989.

Artists whose works are on display in both our restaurants include Robert Graham, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha, Tony Berlant, Richard Diebenkorn, Frank Stella, William Brice, Sam Francis, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, Jasper Johns, Jim Dine…and, of course, Kim McCarty.


Frank Stella, Sinjerli Variation, 1997


David Hockney, Celia in a Director's Chair, 1980

In the upstairs dining room gallery at Michael’s Santa Monica, Kim McCarty also curates a program of rotating exhibits featuring mid-career and emerging artists in the second-floor dining room gallery at Michael’s Santa Monica, open for public viewing on weekdays. Changing four times a year, shows have included a two-man exhibit of drawings by Joe Goode and Ed Ruscha, conceptual sketches Academy Award-winning costume designer Julie Weiss, photographs by writer/director David Mamet and his daughter Willa Mamet, and manipulated-photo-and-frame assemblages by composer Mark Mothersbaugh.


Just as we change our menus and even our floral arrangements with the season, so, too, do we rotate the art on display at Michael’s. You never know quite what you’ll see on display when you come in to dine. But you can be certain that, like the food and the wine you are served, it will be world-class.


Howard Hodgkin, Monsoon, 1987