Originally founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, the New Museum originally presented exhibitions at the New School. It has gone through several incarnations since moving to its first freestanding building in 2007. The institution is as well known for its building as it is for the art it contains. Its architects, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the firm SANAA, were selected as 2010 Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
The museum regularly puts on special exhibitions and events. Ugo Rondinone’s Hell Yes! sculpture has been continuously displayed on the building’s façade since it opened. Its exhibition Younger Than Jesus featured works by artists under 33 years old, the age supposedly when Jesus was crucified. And the artists Elizabeth Peyton, Agathe Snow, Mathias Poledna, and Jeremy Deller have all shown their work here.
New Museum of Contemporary Art Information
- Public Transportation: Excellent (convenient to subway lines 6 at Spring Street; N or R at Prince Street; B, D, F, or M at Broadway/Lafayette Street; J, M, or Z at Bowery Street; and buses M5, M15, M21, and M103)
- Handicapped Accessibility: Good
- Hours: Wednesday noon–6 p.m., Thursday and Friday noon–9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday noon–6 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday
- Admission: General admission $12, seniors $10, students $8, 18 and under and members free
- Tours: Free daily tours Wednesday and Thursday 2 p.m., Friday 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 2 and 4 p.m.
- Membership: Individual $60, dual/family $100, student/artist/senior/teacher $35; all include free admission and discounts to special events. Deluxe members ($400) receive opening-reception invitations and reciprocal membership to more than 20 contemporary-art institutions.
