MoMA’s first purpose-built building, at 11 West 53rd Street, opened to the public in 1939. It was designed amid lively debates around the question, “How should modern art be exhibited?” Many believed that the radically new forms of early-20th-century art required strikingly new types of spaces in which they would be encountered by the public. Proposals ranged dramatically—from the scale of the cabinet to the scale of the tower. Some exhibition designers carefully choreographed the trajectory and even the posture of visitors, while others created loosely structured, expansive spaces that encouraged serendipitous discoveries and open-ended associations between works. On the occasion of MoMA’s most recent expansion, looking back at some of these concepts reminds us that the architecture of museums, galleries, and exhibitions plays an important role in determining how art is experienced.
Collection 1880s–1940s
519
Architecture for Modern Art
519
Architecture for Modern Art
Fall 2019–Fall 2021
MoMA
- MoMA, Floor 5, 519 The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Galleries
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Herbert Bayer Floor plan for the exhibition "Bauhaus 1919-1928," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, December 7, 1938-January 30, 1939 1938 -
Philip L. Goodwin, Edward Durell Stone The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, New York 1939 -
George Howe, William Lescaze The Museum of Modern Art, New York (Scheme 4, First Variation) 1930 -
Frederick Kiesler Multi-use Chair 1942 -
Frederick Kiesler Multi-use Rocker Prototype 1942
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Frederick Kiesler Sculpture Stand 1942
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Frederick Kiesler Multi-use Chair 1942
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El Lissitzky The Sentinel (Zankstifter) from Figurines: The Three-Dimensional Design of the Electro-Mechanical Show Victory over the Sun (Figurinen, die plastische Gestaltung der elektro-mechanischen Schau Sieg über die Sonne) 1920–21, published 1923 -
El Lissitzky The New Man (Neuer) from Figurines: The Three-Dimensional Design of the Electro-Mechanical Show Victory over the Sun (Figurinen, die Plastische Gestaltung der elektro-mechanischen Schau Sieg über die Sonne) 1920–21, published 1923 -
El Lissitzky Untitled from Proun 1919–23 -
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Museum for a Small City project (Interior perspective) 1941-43 -
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Museum for a Small City project (Interior perspective) 1941-43 -
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Museum for a Small City project (Interior perspective) 1941-43 -
Hans Richter Rhythmus 21 1921 -
Hans Richter, Werner Graeff, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe G: Zeitschrift für elementare Gestaltung (Journal for Elementary Construction) no.5-6, April 1926 1926 -
Janet Sobel Milky Way 1945 -
Frank Lloyd Wright Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (Model) 1943–1959
Artists
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Berenice Abbott
American, 1898–199167 exhibitions, 79 works online -
Herbert Bayer
American, born Austria. 1900–198552 exhibitions, 163 works online -
Werner Graeff
German, 1901–19786 exhibitions, 6 works online -
Hans Richter
American, born Germany. 1888–197619 exhibitions, 23 works online -
Janet Sobel
American, born Ukraine. 1894–19684 exhibitions, 2 works online - There are 14 artists in this collection gallery online.
Installation images
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.
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