MoMA through Time

An incomplete history of MoMA and MoMA PS1, as told through objects in the archives. Jump into a highlight from our timeline or start at the beginning.

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Archives highlights

A small sample of objects from the Archives.

View highlights from the Archives

Magazine and MoMA blog posts

Magazine

Friedman, Samantha. “Lincoln Kirstein, Man of Letterheads”. 2019

MoMA through Time

Medium

Art as Experience

Inside/Out, a MoMA blog

Library and Archives

Bibliography on the history and collections of The Museum of Modern Art

Bajac, Quentin, ed. Being Modern: Building the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2017.

Bajac, Quentin, Christophe Cherix, Stuart Comer, Rajendra Roy, Martino Stierli, and Ann Temkin. MoMA Now: 375 Works from The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.

Barr, Alfred H., Jr. “Chronicles.” Painting and Sculpture in The Museum of Modern Art 1929–1967. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1977, 619-650.

Barr, Margaret Scolari. “Our Campaigns: Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and the Museum of Modern Art: A Biographical Chronicle of the Years 1930–1944.” The New Criterion, special summer issue 1987, 23-74.

Basilio, Miriam, ed. Latin American and Caribbean Art: MoMA at El Museo. New York: El Museo del Barrio and The Museum of Modern Art, 2004.

Bee, Harriet Schoenholz and Michelle Elligott. Art in Our Time: A Chronicle of The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004.

Biesenbach, Klaus and Bettina Funcke, eds. MoMA PS1: A History. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.

Butler, Cornelia H. and Alexandra Schwartz, eds. Modern Women: Women Artists at The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2010.

Cahan, Susan. Mounting Frustration: The Art Museum in the Age of Black Power. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2016.

Elderfield, John. The Modern Drawing. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1983.

Elderfield, John, ed. Modern Painting and Sculpture: 1880 to the Present at The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art: American Art of the 1960s. Studies in Modern Art, no. 1. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1991.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art: Essays on Assemblage. Studies in Modern Art, no. 2. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1992.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Studies in Modern Art, no. 3. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art at Mid-Century: At Home and Abroad. Studies in Modern Art, no. 4. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art at Mid-Century: Continuity and Change. Studies in Modern Art, no. 5. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1995.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art: Philip Johnson and the Museum of Modern Art. Studies in Modern Art, no. 6. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1998.

Elderfield, John, ed. The Museum of Modern Art: Imagining the Future of the Museum of Modern Art. Studies in Modern Art, no.7. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1998.

Elderfield, John. Henri Matisse: Masterworks from The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1996.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 1: Charting Modernism.” Esopus Magazine, no. 7, Fall 2006, 75-86.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 2: Dear Miss Miller…: Selected Correspondence between James Lee Byars and Dorothy C. Miller.” Esopus Magazine, no. 8, Spring 2007, 66-75.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 3: Tentative and Confidential: Documents Relating to Exhibition ‘X’.” Esopus Magazine, no. 9, Fall 2007, 132-144.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 4: Drawing Comparisons: The Sketches of René D’Harnoncourt.” Esopus Magazine, no. 10, Spring 2008, 131-151.

Elligott, Michelle. “Early Registration: Selected Pages from the Museum of Modern Art Guest Book.” Esopus Magazine, no. 11, Fall 2008, 142-159.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 6: States of Grace: Materials in the Archives relating to Grace Hartigan (1922–2008).” Esopus Magazine, no. 12, Spring 2009, 141-151.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 7: Exhibition Number 13: Henri Matisse: A Retrospective.” Esopus Magazine, no. 13, Fall 2009, 98-115.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 8: The Art of Broadcasting: The Museum of Modern Art and Television.” Esopus Magazine, no. 15, Fall 2010, 146-163.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 9: One and the Same: Celebrating the Union of Democracy and Modern Art.” Esopus Magazine, no. 16, Spring 2011, 113-121.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 10: Rent to Own: The Art Lending Service of the Museum of Modern Art.” Esopus Magazine, no. 17, Fall 2011, 116-133.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 11: Creating ‘Spaces’: Documents from the Pioneering 1969 Exhibition.” Esopus Magazine, no. 18, Spring 2012, 106-123.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 12: From Body to Object: Documents Related to Scott Burton’s Performances.” Esopus Magazine, no. 19, Spring 2013, 105-121.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 14: Imagining Possibilities.” Esopus Magazine, no. 21, Spring 2014, 44–63.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 15: The Healing Arts.” Esopus Magazine, no. 22, Spring 2015, 117–128.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 16: The Living Garden.” Esopus Magazine, no. 23, Spring 2016, 26–40.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 17: Modern Renaissance.” Esopus Magazine, no. 24, Spring 2017, 143–158.

Elligott, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 18: The Young Turks.” Esopus Magazine, no. 25, Spring 2018, 18–36.

Elligott, Michelle. René d’Harnoncourt and the Art of Installation. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2018.

English, Darby and Charlotte Barat. Among Others: Blackness at MoMA. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.

Goldberger, Paul. “The New MoMA.” The New York Times Magazine, 15 April 1984, 36-49.

Franc, Helen. An Invitation to See. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1992.

Friedman, Samantha and Jodi Hauptman, eds. Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.

Goodyear, A. Conger. The Museum of Modern Art: The First Ten Years. New York: by the author, 1943.

Harvey, Michelle. “Modern Artifacts 13: Seitz Specific: Re-locating the Work of Claude Monet.” Esopus Magazine, no. 20, Fall 2013.

Hellman, Geoffrey T. “Profiles: Imperturbable Noble.” The New Yorker, 7 May 1960. [profile of René d’Harnoncourt]

Hellman, Geoffrey T. “Profiles: Last of Species.” The New Yorker, 19 Sept. 1942, 22-26. [profile of Frank Crowninshield]

Hines, Thomas S. Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art: The Arthur Drexler Years, 1951–1986. Los Angeles: The Getty Research Institute, 2019.

Hunter, Sam. Introduction to The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The History and the Collection. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1984. Reprint, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.

Kahn, E. J. Jr. “Profiles: Resources and Responsibilities, Part I.” The New Yorker 40, no. 47, 9 Jan. 1965. [First of two-part profile of David Rockefeller]

Kert, Bernice. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: The Woman in the Family. New York: Random House, 1993.

Lamster, Mark. The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

Lowry, Glenn D. The New Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004.

Lowry, Glenn D. The Museum of Modern Art in this Century. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2009.

Lynes, Russell. Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art. New York: Atheneum, 1973.

MacDonald, Dwight. “Profiles: Action on West Fifty-third Street, Part I.” The New Yorker 29, no. 43, 12 Dec. 1953. [First of two-part profile of Alfred H. Barr, Jr.]

MacDonald, Dwight. “Profiles: Action on West Fifty-third Street, Part II.” The New Yorker 29, no. 44, 19 Dec. 1953. [Second of two-part profile of Alfred H. Barr, Jr.]

MoMA Highlights: 375 Works from The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.

Reed, Peter. A Modern Garden: The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2007.

Reed, Peter and Romy Silver-Kohn, eds. Oasis in the City: The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2018.

Reed, Peter and William Kaizen, eds. The Show to End All Shows: Frank Lloyd Wright and The Museum of Modern Art, 1940. Studies in Modern Art, no.8. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004.

Ricciotti, Dominic. “The 1939 Building of the Museum of Modern Art: The Goodwin-Stone Collaboration,” The American Art Journal 17, no. 3, summer issue 1985, 50–76.

Roob, Rona. “Alfred H. Barr, Jr.: A Chronicle of the Years 1902–1929.” The New Criterion, special summer issue 1987, 1-19.

Rubin, William S. Picasso in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1972.

Rubin, William S. Miró in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1973.

Schulze, Franz. Philip Johnson: Life and Work. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.

Szarkowski, John. Looking at Photographs. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1973.

Szarkowski, John. Windows and Mirrors: American Photography Since 1960. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1978.

Tomkins, Calvin. “Profiles: Forms Under Light.” The New Yorker 53, no. 14, 23 May 1977. [profile of Philip Johnson]

Tomkins, Calvin. “Profiles: The Modernist.” The New Yorker 77 no. 34, 5 Nov. 2001. [profile of Kirk Varnedoe]

Tomkins, Calvin. “Profiles: Sharpening the Eye.” The New Yorker 61 no. 37, 4 Nov. 1985. [profile of William Rubin]

Umland, Anne and Adrian Sudhalter with Scott Gerson, eds. Dada in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2008.