A staggering collection of art and artifacts can be seen across New York City’s remarkable array of museums.
From ancient relics to Impressionist masterpieces, Old Masters to American icons, the scope of what’s on display in New York’s museums is staggering. Exploring everything the city has to offer would take weeks, if not months. But that’s part of the allure: no matter how often you visit, there’s always something new to see.
Major Museums
The city’s crown jewel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side boasts more than two million works spanning 5,000 years of civilization. Lose yourself in the intricacies of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the awe-inspiring Temple of Dendur, meticulously reassembled from its original location by the Nile. Watching sunset over the Manhattan skyline from the Met’s Cantor Roof Garden Bar with a glass of wine in hand, and surrounded by a new site-specific installation each year, is a quintessential New York experience over the warmer months.
Across Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History offers a deep dive into science and nature. The spectacular $465M Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, unveiled in 2023, added a fabulous butterfly conservatory, immersive insectarium, and riveting specimen displays.
Meanwhile, in Midtown, the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art is a who’s who of 20th-century art: Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans vie for attention alongside Abstract Expressionist powerhouses like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Special exhibitions consistently push the boundaries of what art can be.
In the Meatpacking District, the Whitney Museum of American Art captures the pulse of the nation’s creative ethos in a sleek Renzo Piano-designed building with terrific views of both the World Trade Center and the High Line from its eighth-floor terrace. TriBeCa’s beloved Frenchette Bakery completed its takeover of the Whitney’s food and beverage program in 2024, and I can highly recommend finishing a Friday night visit with a craft cocktail at the eighth-floor Studio Bar or fueling up in the daytime at the ground-level café surrounded by American artist Rashid Johnson’s lush and immersive New Poetry sculpture.
The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is as much a masterpiece as the art inside. Ascend its soaring rotunda to be enveloped by transformative exhibitions, such as Harmony & Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930 (on until March 9).
Smaller Museums and Galleries
Beyond the grand institutions, some of the city’s most intriguing experiences lie in smaller museums, many of them housed in former Gilded Age mansions. Murray Hill’s The Morgan Library & Museum is one such gem, where rare manuscripts, books, and art coexist. Its stunning double-height library is worth the visit alone.
Some of the city’s most intriguing experiences lie in smaller museums, many of them housed in former Gilded Age mansions
Another treasure is the elegant Neue Galerie New York, which showcases early 20th-century German and Austrian art in an Upper East Side house modeled after Paris’ Place des Vosges. Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele reign supreme in its refined rooms, where the intimate setting allows for a deeper, more personal connection with the art. Afterward, treat yourself to a decadent slice of Sacher torte in the museum’s Café Sabarsky.
While the Met’s Costume Institute garners a lot of buzz thanks to the annual Met Gala, insiders love Chelsea’s Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), one of the few museums in the world devoted entirely to fashion. Its free exhibitions explore the evolution of global style, from couture gowns to streetwear icons. Open until 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, it’s a great weekday evening stop that’s rarely ever crowded.
The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in Washington Heights boasts an astonishing collection of Hispanic art – the largest outside of Spain and Latin America – that’s always free to see. Its Spanish Renaissance-style Main Court is one of New York’s most stunning interiors and a fitting backdrop for magnificent works by Goya, Velázquez, and more.
Finally, all eyes will be on The Frick Collection when it reopens in early 2025 following a four-year $195M renovation. The revamp will unveil new spaces, including the mansion’s second floor, a garden café, and lavishly restored rooms. It’s yet another experience you won’t want to miss in New York City.
Not To Be Missed
Five exhibitions to look out for in 2025:
A major retrospective of experimental American artist Jack Whitten will run at The Museum of Modern Art from March 23 to August 2.
Whitney Museum of American Art’s upcoming Amy Sherald survey is one of the year’s most-anticipated shows. Catch American Sublime – including her famous portrait of Michelle Obama – from April 9.
Franz Kafka runs until April 13 at The Morgan Library & Museum, with literary manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, and photographs related to Kafka that will be presented for the first time in the United States, including the original manuscript of The Metamorphosis and Andy Warhol’s portrait of Kafka.
The beautiful exhibition Egon Schiele: Living Landscapes highlights the importance of landscape in the work of an Austrian artist better known for his portraits. It runs till January 13 at Neue Galerie New York.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum hosts Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers from April 18. This major solo exhibition features nearly 90 works from this influential contemporary artist, as well as dynamic performances in the museum’s rotunda.