Review: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

What’s this place all about?
Set in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the grandiosity of MoMA is deceptive. The museum spans 630,000 square feet, housing spaces for exhibitions, film screenings, public programming, education, and scholarly research. It’s a known quantity—with the crowds to prove it. The museum reopened in fall of 2019 with an addition of more than 40,000 square feet of gallery space.

What does MoMA have in its permanent collection?
The museum is filled with modern and contemporary art—from Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night to cutting-edge photography, film, and fashion.

The range is far-reaching—you might not consider Marcel Duchamp’s In Advance of the Broken Arm “art,” since it’s basically the Home Depot shovel that you use to plow your driveway in winter—but the execution is measured and the galleries are well-paced.

What about temporary exhibits?
The second, third, and sixth floors house expansive, well-lit galleries for temporary exhibitions. Subject matter varies, from a focused look at a specific artist to a thematic question like “What was/is/will be the effect of clothing and accessories on the 20th- and 21st-century world?” Not all exhibitions will appeal to the masses, but the approach is always dialogue-driven.

On the practical tip, how were the facilities?
The museum is fully accessible to all persons and there are benches throughout the galleries. Insider tip: New York City residents can get a yearlong free membership to MoMA when they show their IDNYC card; it includes free admission to the galleries (and to PS1) during regular museum hours, plus tickets to films.

Gift shop: obligatory, inspiring—or skip it?
You have to be a visitor of the museum to check out the Museum Store, which sells books, objets, and exhibition- and collection-related pieces. But the MoMA Design Store is the real crown jewel and very much worth a visit.

The light, airy space on 53rd Street houses cooler-than-cool home decor items, tech accessories, tabletop design and furniture, jewelry, and accessories. It’s taken on a life of its own with a SoHo off-shoot and two branded boutiques in Japan.

Is the café worth a stop, or should we just plan on going elsewhere?
Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group runs the museum restaurants (insert hallelujah emoji). The flagship is The Modern, a two-Michelin-starred contemporary American fine-dining restaurant that oozes sophistication.

The not-Michelin-starred-but-equally-delicious cafés, called Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 (very meta—they’re located on the second and fifth floors, respectively), serve seasonal menus that up the ante for museums everywhere.

Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged?
Buy your ticket in advance online, arrive before opening time, and make a beeline for the fifth-floor Collection Galleries so you can have a few precious moments alone with van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Monet’s Water Lilies.

From there, either stay on the fifth floor (where you’ll find artists like Rothko and Warhol) or work your way down to any temporary exhibitions that interest you. Your ticket includes same-day admission to MoMA PS1, so if you can swing a trip to Queens, it’s worth your while to check it out.