Facts about The Museum of Modern Art
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Jackson Pollock's drip paintings from the 1940s-1950s represent a major portion of MoMA's abstract expressionism collection, with Number 31, 1950 acquired in 1969 for a then-record $2 million.
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Architect Yoshio Taniguchi's 2004 renovation of MoMA expanded the building's gallery space by 40 percent while preserving its original 1939 structure.
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MoMA's Department of Photography, established in 1940, was the first museum department dedicated exclusively to photography as a fine art medium.
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Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr., co-founded the Museum of Modern Art in 1929 with nine other women and provided crucial early financial support.
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Over 3 million people visit the Museum of Modern Art annually, making it one of the most visited art institutions in the United States.
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Alfred H. Barr Jr., MoMA's founding director, curated the 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art, which introduced American audiences to modernist movements through 385 works.
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MoMA's collection grew from 8 artworks in 1929 to over 200,000 pieces by 2024, making it one of the world's largest modern art repositories.
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Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh has hung in the Museum of Modern Art since 1941, when it was acquired for approximately $24,000.
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In 1939, the Museum of Modern Art in New York opened its building on West 53rd Street, designed by architect Philip Goodwin and Edward Durrell Stone.