There is no shortage of cultural institutions in New York. Museums, plays, musicals, sports, dining – you could spend a lifetime taking it all in! Today we’re covering the best art museums in New York City. There are roughly 150 museums in the city and 1,000+ galleries to explore but if you’re a new museum goer, these are New York’s must-see art museums!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
It would be wrong to start with anything but The Met. Did you know it’s the largest museum in the United States and fourth largest museum in the world?! Here you’ll find over two million pieces of art covering a span of 5,000 years: Greek and Roman sculptures, European paintings, an Egyptian temple, five of Vermeer’s 36 surviving paintings, Islamic art and that’s only scratching the surface!
Be warned, you won’t be able to see it all at once. The Met is 2.2 million square feet (how many times can a NYC apartment fit in that?). The sheer amount of art will have you coming back for more and more but if you need a reprieve, the surrounding neighborhood is a great place to unwind. On warm days, I love to stroll through Central Park right nearby. During the winter, I love to indulge in a world-famous JG Melon burger.
Solomon R. Guggenheim
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim is one of the most famous museums in the world. In fact, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. Like much of New York, the building is concrete. However, the crisp white ribbon-like spiraled shape is unlike any other building in the city. Inside, light pours through the glass dome top and the white winding path to the top feels a little bit like walking to Heaven?
Aside from the architecture and fascinating visiting experience, the Guggenheim houses modern art pieces of Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, Paul Klee, and Jackson Pollock. They also have the largest collection of Wassily Kandinsky’s art in the United States!
Fun fact: to ensure the interior stays in tip-top shape, any spots or marks on the white surface get painted each night after the museum closes.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)
If modern art is your vibe, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) is the museum for you! Take a deep dive into contemporary art and browse through the collection of 150,000 pieces ranging from Post Impressionist to Surrealist to Pop Art. The MoMa also has a large library of 20,000+ films and screens roughly 1,000 per year.
Some of the most iconic pieces that live here are Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Monet’s Waterlilies, Andy Warhol’s Campbells Soup. Don’t miss the bookstore before you leave! They have great books, gifts, and souvenirs.
Cooper Hewitt
The Cooper Hewitt is a Smithsonian Design Museum located on the Museum Mile. Unlike its flashier neighbors, this museum is tucked away on a quieter street in a lavish Georgian mansion built in 1902. The Cooper Hewitt Museum is the only museum in the country dedicated to historic and contemporary design and has a collection of over 200,000 pieces.
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is housed in a gorgeous Beaux-Artes building and is the third-largest museum across all of the five boroughs. Their collection includes 1.5 million works and is organized into period rooms. Here you’ll find one of the largest Ancient Egyptian art collections in the world as well as African art, Asian art, Spanish Colonial art, and more. In my opinion, nature is the perfect pair for art so a visit to Prospect Park or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden nearby is a must.
And there you have it, the five best art museums in NYC!
Have you had the chance to visit any? Which is your favorite?
I’ve seen all 5 (not 150 yet) and the Met just feels like a classic to me!