The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), nestled right in Midtown Manhattan, New York, is a hive of creativity and innovation. Founded in 1929 by a trio of influential ladies—Lillie P. Bliss, Mary Quinn Sullivan, and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller—MoMA was conceived as an institution dedicated to contemporary art. It was the first museum in Manhattan exclusively committed to the modern art movement, a pretty radical idea at the time!
The museum's opening exhibition showcased works from European modernists like Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Seurat. MoMA has been a trendsetter ever since.
Fast forward to 1939, MoMA moved to its current location on 53rd Street which was designed by the architectural powerhouse, Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone. This building has undergone numerous renovations and expansions, the most notable being the $450 million overhaul completed in 2019, which added 40,000 square feet of gallery space.
MoMA's collection is nothing short of legendary, featuring over 200,000 works of modern and contemporary art. This includes Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Dalí's "The Persistence of Memory," and Van Gogh's "The Starry Night." Fun fact: Van Gogh’s "The Starry Night" was actually a gift from Lillie P. Bliss's personal collection.
Did you know MoMA has its own film department? Founded in 1935, it's one of the oldest in the world, preserving over 30,000 films and 4 million film stills! The museum also played a significant role in legitimizing photography as a fine art form, thanks to Edward Steichen and John Szarkowski, who were instrumental in establishing MoMA’s photography department.
The museum also has a quirky side. In 2010, it hosted a performance art piece by Marina Abramović titled "The Artist is Present," where she sat silently at a table, inviting visitors to sit across from her and engage in a silent exchange. It became one of the most talked-about events in the art world, proving that MoMA is not just a museum but a continual dialogue between artists and the public.
And get this: MoMA was the birthplace of the term "International Style!" The 1932 exhibition "Modern Architecture: International Exhibition," curated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock, coined the term, which has since become synonymous with modernist architectural design.
So next time you’re in New York, pop by MoMA. Whether it's high art or a hidden gem, there's always something new to discover!