Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City is a leading institution dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Established in 1929, it houses an extensive collection of over 200,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and films. MoMA is renowned for its influential exhibitions and educational programs, offering visitors a comprehensive exploration of art from the late 19th century to the present. Located in Midtown Manhattan, the museum is easily accessible and provides a dynamic cultural experience for all audiences.

Planning your visit

MoMA effectively invented the museum of modern art as an institution. Founded in 1929, nine days after the Wall Street crash, it argued that the art of the present deserved the same seriousness as the art of the past, and it collected accordingly: over 200,000 works across painting, sculpture, photography, film, design and architecture. Van Gogh's Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Monet's Water Lilies, Dalí's Persistence of Memory and Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans are all here.

The design and architecture collection is the one people underestimate — MoMA collects chairs, typography, a helicopter and a Bell telephone alongside the paintings, on the argument that these shaped the century as much as the canvases did.

The 2019 expansion increased gallery space substantially and rehung the collection so that painting sits alongside film, design and work by artists long excluded from the canon.

It is in Midtown, and it is busy: the fifth-floor rooms holding the famous paintings bottleneck badly at peak times, and timed entry helps only partly.

Bookable options include skip-the-line tickets and guided formats combining the museum with a Manhattan walking tour. Early slots on weekday mornings are the practical solution to the crowds. Current availability is listed below.