New York City is as much a collection of magnificent museums as any other major city out there. From history to modern art and everything in between, these galleries have a lot to offer. But with so many, where do you start? Or to phrase that question differently: what are the must-see museums in New York City? Well, the answer includes the MET, The MoMA, the Guggenheim, and The Frick Collection, among many others. You probably already know some of these, be it through the news, on social media, or you saw them in movies or on TV. So if you're in New York City, isn't it worth seeing them yourself?
Metropolitan Museum of Art
It's virtually impossible not to know about the Metropolitan Museum of Art when talking about the must-see museums in New York City. Also known as “The Met,” it's undoubtedly the most famous museum in the city. As well as among the most well-known in the entire world. While most people know of it for its annual Met Gala every May, the museum itself is a treasure trove of awe-inspiring artworks and artifacts. It boasts five millennia of art. What more could you ask for?
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The Met Cloisters
Speaking of the Met, it's worth noting that the main building on Fifth Avenue isn't its entirety. There's also the Met Cloisters on Margaret Corbin Dr, right at the heart of the Washington Heights
neighborhood of New York City. While the main Met museum houses all sorts of priceless pieces from all around the world, the Met Cloisters specifically focuses on ancient European art. The building itself is an artwork—a stunning fusion of Romanesque and Medieval styles by American architect Charles Collens. Though it only opened in the 1930s, it's easy to think that the museum has been around for centuries!
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Museum of Modern Art
Midtown Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art houses some of the most iconic artworks ever made. “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh, “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dalí, “The Dream” by Henri Rousseau, and “The Lovers” by René Magritte are just some you'd probably recognize when you check this place out. And though these are undeniable classics by today's standards, these are the paintings and painters that revolutionized art in more ways than one, eventually leading to the age of modern art. Thus, it's no surprise that they proudly hang at MoMA.
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Whitney Museum of American Art
If
New Yorkers mention a place they simply call “the Whitney,” know that they're referring to the Whitney Museum of American Art in the city's Meatpacking District. Standing in its full architectural glory on Gansevoort Street, this is the best place to see modern American art in its full flower. Name any noteworthy American artist—Edward Hopper, Marsden Hartley, Elizabeth Murray, Philip Evergood—and you'll find their bombastic pieces on full display here. In a way, The Whitney serves as a shrine to American art.
Source: Whitney Museum of American Art
The Guggenheim Museum
Another incredible and must-see museum in New York City that's also famous for its architectural marvel of a home is the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue. Locals and tourists alike mostly refer to it as “The Guggenheim” and it's here where you can get your fix of mind-boggling art. With its amazing array of avant-garde artworks, this museum touches on the intellectual side of your mind as it does its emotional side. Some pieces will make you have a visceral reaction while others will stop you on your tracks and make you think.
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The Frick Collection
Prefer to focus more on the beauty aspect of art? Then look no further than The Frick Collection on E 70th Street. Famous for its John Russell Pope-designed Garden Court, its Gilded Age grandeur sets the right tone of what to expect inside. Think Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Giovanni Bellini, Francisco Goya, and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. These the European Old Masters that even the
Louvre in Paris would love to have a piece of. They span various prominent ages of art, from Baroque and Renaissance to Rococo and beyond.
Source: Wikimedia Commons/ Joyofmuseums
American Museum of Natural History
You've likely seen this next museum in the hit fantasy-comedy film, “Night at The Museum” (2006). The movie is set in the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West, after all. It's a Hollywood star in and of itself! With that said, there's more to this place than its movie credits. True to its name, the museum chronicles natural history in the most fascinating ways. Exciting exhibits highlight various animal species, for example, many of which no longer exist. Other displays show the great men and women who helped transform this once vast open land into the powerhouse country it is today.
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Brooklyn Museum
You've probably noticed that most New York museums on this list are in Manhattan. They're all definite must-sees sure, but does that mean there are none in the other boroughs? The Brooklyn Museum would like to have a word! As the third-largest museum in the city, you can already expect that there are lots to see here. And you're right. From its imposing 1897 Beaux-Art building to the massive rooms that display ancient African artworks, there's no other attraction quite like the Brooklyn Museum.
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The Jewish Museum
Let's take a
yellow cab and go back to Manhattan for this next one. Housed in German-American banker Felix M. Warburg's former Fifth Avenue home, The Jewish Museum is a must-see in New York City. Very often are Jewish People relegated to either the tragic victims of the Holocaust or the animated stereotypes in American pop culture. But in truth, they have as rich a culture as any other ethnoreligious group out there, and this museum proves it. Around 28,000 works of Jewish artists hang in this palatial estate, from classic masterpieces to modern exhibits.
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New Museum of Contemporary Art
Naming something as the “New Museum of Contemporary Art” seems pretty redundant, doesn't it? It's already a 'new' museum, so it's only natural to expect contemporary art there, right? Be that as it may, this museum's name really drives home what it's all about. The New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Lower East Side of Manhattan sets the stage for emerging artists to have their place in the sun. Though it also has its own permanent collection of priceless artworks, the exhibitions that highlight new, up-and-coming names in the industry are this museum's bread & butter!
Source: New Museum of Contemporary Art
There are so many museums in New York City that you don't know where to start. Fortunately, there are at least ten that you definitely must see on your first trip to the Big Apple. They're some of the best and most iconic museums in the world!
