Captivated by the holiday windows in New York City? So is Michael Greenberger, a 17-year-old senior at Montclair High School, who has been documenting the store windows on and around Fifth Avenue for the past year, setting up his tripod in front of Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany, Ralph Lauren and Kleinfeld. With his collection of photos, Michael has launched his website Store Windows of NYC and has even added a walking tour route so that spectators can visit the windows for themselves.
Michael’s craving for art started at the early age of two. He would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art regularly with his parents, Randy Simon and Lee Greenberger, and his older brother, Alex. Art runs in the family, as Randy does portraits and incorporates art therapy into her practice as a psychologist. Alex, a junior at NYU, is studying art history and film. But it was Michael’s mother who started his fascination with window displays, after she showed him a book about Tiffany’s windows which she was given when she worked at the store many years ago.
On the weekends, Michael works at Tiny Doll House, located on East 78th Street between First and Second Avenues, the only remaining miniature store in Manhattan. After work, Michael visits store windows to photograph them for his collection.
In addition to photography, Michael excels in drawing and painting, earning him an early acceptance to the BFA in Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Michael hopes to publish a book of his Store Windows of NYC photographs someday.