The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), established in 1929, has redefined the traditional concept of museums. Initially designed as a space for modern art to come and go, MOMA only acquired a permanent collection in 1952. However, since then, it has become home to some of the most renowned avant-garde paintings, sculptures, films, and multimedia art worldwide.

When MoMA was founded, the “museum” wasn’t a grand institution like it is today. The Metropolitan Museum of Art dominated the city’s museum scene, and MoMA was only a few rooms in the Heckscher Building, situated on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Nevertheless, in the first year, 1,500 people visited the museum every day, and soon, the museum had to start charging admission to manage the flow of visitors.

In 1932, MoMA moved to its present location on 53rd Street, where it occupies a building with six floors of galleries. Today, MoMA boasts an extensive collection of modern and contemporary art, including European painting and sculpture from the 1880s to today’s design, film, and performance art.

MoMA’s rich and varied collection includes over 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, design objects, and architectural models and drawings. Additionally, it houses approximately 22,000 films and four million film stills and a library with over 300,000 books, artist books, and periodicals.

The museum houses some of the world’s most famous works of art, including Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. It also exhibits more recent works by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Murray, Cindy Sherman, and many others.

MoMA welcomes approximately three million visitors every year and has over 130,000 members. It hosts modern and contemporary art exhibitions, over 1,000 film screenings, and a wide range of educational programming, from artist talks to family workshops.

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