One day, New Yorkers will talk about sunset-colored, bucket-shaped subway seats the same way they do the 9 train, $2.50 bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, and Metro Cards. But on Wednesday, the commuters’ amber-toned reprieve will be celebrated with artwork – from oil paintings to tattoos – at the New York Transit Museum in its “Ode to the Orange Seats” showcase.
The exhibit, which could be more accurately described as an elegiac tribute, will honor the warm-hued bucket seats and L-shaped, conversation-friendly sectionals that are soon to be retired by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. As outlined in its 2025-2029 capital plan, the MTA will purchase 1,500 new subway cars in a $10.9 billion move, replacing about 22% of the existing fleet — and with them, the orange buckets.
Regina Shepherd, director of the Transit Museum, said the idea for the exhibit was “sort of in the ether.”
“Everyone was talking about the orange seats retiring … we thought it’d be a good time to put out this ode to New Yorkers. And New Yorkers don’t like change,” she added.
The older cars fail about six times more on average than newer cars, the MTA says, though no one’s blaming the seats. The “R62” cars, which are primarily used on the 1, 3 and 6 lines, and “R62” cars, used on the B, D, N and W lines, will be phased out over the next few years. Made in 1984 and 1986, respectively, the cars were bought to replace the dilapidated carriages used since the 1940s.
Credit: Akiva Listman, courtesy the New York Transit Museum
The “Ode to the Orange Seats” showcase will feature works from 14 artists, and explores themes of nostalgia and personal connection among New Yorkers. Tattoos from Joshua Franklin will display how some New Yorkers will carry the subway seats with them forever; cedar blocks are the canvas for VH McKenzie’s oil paintings inspired by the seats; Chris “Daze” Ellis will present a mixed media work with a certain line in mind in Uptown B Train; and Danny Cortes, a “miniature artist,” shrinks the seats, making you squint.
“One of our inspirations for the show was people getting tattoos for the seats,” Shepherd said. “The fact that it was so meaningful that people would put it on their bodies.”
The Transit Museum, at 99 Schermerhorn St. in Downtown Brooklyn, tapped Akiva Listman, a native New Yorker and artist known for his subway-themed prints, to contribute to the exhibit in December. With “Exactly Where I Should Be,” Listman displays a warm, glossy, romantic depiction of the seats.
“They’re just an important part of New Yorkers’ lives,” Listman said of the seats. “They take me to work every day, so they deserve their thanks.”
“Subway Riders No 28,” by VH McKenzie, is part of an exhibit at the New York Transit Museum opening June 17, 2026. Credit: VH McKenzie, courtesy the New York Transit Museum
Inspired by Bronx-born Gabriel Bautista’s (now deleted) 2019 post calling on New Yorkers to share their favorite subway seat – complete with a photo of orange and yellow seats, numbered one through five – the exhibit will also include the same arrangement of five seats for museumgoers to sit and chat in. (One New Yorker called four and five “the honeymoon suite.”)
Bautista, born and raised in The Bronx, is a staunch advocate for seat number three – the one just next to the honeymoon suite. He grew up on the D train, and on his way home at 4 a.m. one morning, the train car was empty, and he posted the question to his 40-something followers. Nearly seven years later, Bautista works at New York University, and he’ll be taking his summer program students to see the art inspired by his inquiry.
“It’s very important to me because of the fact that I’ve taken the train every single day from my life to this day, like when I go to work in the office, I’m taking the train, same spot where I was taking it in high school,” Bautista said. “And it’s still the same seat, number three, that I take.”
Credit: Jun Zhang, courtesy the New York Transit Museum
That’s dedication. “What astounds me is everyone’s commitment to their seat,” Shepherd said. “And they can’t believe anyone else would pick a different one.”
On the same day, the Transit Museum will display its “50 years of Stories” showcase, featuring quirky pieces of history from the transportation system’s archives – including early architectural sketches, ads, mosaics and more.
Shepherd said she hopes museumgoers get a “little joy” out of the exhibits, and of their daily commute going forward.
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