In just about any other city, what are considered second- and third-tier museums in New York would pass not only for first-rate institutions but would be genuine tourist destinations themselves. Thankfully, here, we can visit these places with the ease and comfort we expect from tranquil and inviting Chelsea galleries, but with a much better chance of seeing something exceptional. A kind of sister museum to El Museo del Barrio, a few dozen blocks south, the Studio Museum in Harlem is the first museum in the United States dedicated to African-American art (though it occasionally branches out into Caribbean and African art, often in temporary exhibitions). The museum isn’t just a culture morgue, though; the exhibition program often highlights contemporary and living artists to contrast the permanent collection, with its basis in mid-twentieth century work, and operates an artist-in-residence program that, unlike most museums’, actually yields work that gets shown in the main galleries.