Museum of Modern Art

On the edge of art, the MoMA is one of the greatest modern art museums.

The first exhibition in November 1929 was in the Rockefeller's town house at today's location, and was opened with 100 French Impressionist paintings (all loaned). The collection grew through generous donations and soon needed its own museum. The building was dedicated in May 1939 in a modern style considered controversial at the time (English International Style) by the architects Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone and has since then been expanded on numerous occasions. In 1964 the east wing and the sculpture garden were added according to plans by Philip Johnson, in 1984 the Argentine architect Cesar Pelli doubled the exhibition area with an annex. Under his guidance the 44-storey apartment tower was built over the main house (the sale of the luxury apartments financed the continuation of the collection). At the end of 2004 the MoMA was reopened after the conversion and expansion by the Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, the façade of black granite, glass and aluminium continuing seamlessly on from the old building.
The “museum of museums” is one of the most expensive in America, with an admission price of $20. There is no admission charge on Fridays after 4pm. Avoid the long queues by reserving tickets in advance.