The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in New York, New York, US, is one of the most influential modern art museums in the world. Established in 1929 by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan, it was the first museum devoted exclusively to modern art.
The museum's collection boasts more than 200,000 works, including masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Claude Monet. Notably, The Starry Night by van Gogh and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Picasso are part of its esteemed collection.
A hidden fact is that MoMA was initially housed in the Heckscher Building at 730 Fifth Avenue. It moved to its current location in Midtown Manhattan in 1939. The building itself has undergone several expansions and renovations, the most recent one completed in 2019, adding 47,000 square feet of gallery space.
The museum's film collection is notable, holding over 30,000 films and four million film stills. It is one of the most comprehensive film libraries in the world, featuring works from pioneers like Georges Méliès and Alfred Hitchcock. MoMA’s film department was founded in 1935, a testament to its long-standing commitment to cinematic arts.
The MoMA Library and Archives hold over 300,000 books, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals, plus more than 40,000 files on individual artists and groups. It is an invaluable resource for researchers and scholars.
One of the lesser-known facts about MoMA is its role in the development of the Abstract Expressionist movement. The museum played a crucial role in supporting artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko through exhibitions and acquisitions.
MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, is an affiliate of the museum and one of the largest art institutions in the US dedicated solely to contemporary art. It was founded by Alanna Heiss in 1971 and merged with MoMA in 2000.
The museum’s sculpture garden, known as the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, was designed by architect Philip Johnson. It features works by Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, and Alexander Calder.
MoMA was also the site of the first retrospective of Henri Rousseau in 1942 and a groundbreaking exhibition on Frank Lloyd Wright in 1940, highlighting its historical role in recognizing and promoting avant-garde artists and architects.
In 1951, MoMA acquired its first photograph, ushering in a new era of art collection. Today, its photography collection includes over 25,000 works by artists like Ansel Adams and Cindy Sherman.
Overall, MoMA continues to be a dynamic cultural institution, offering a comprehensive overview of modern and contemporary art through its extensive and diverse collections.