Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Guided Tours – Make the Most of Your Day at the MoMA

Founded in 1929, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is located in midtown Manhattan. The MoMA New York is the first museum dedicated to the world of modern and contemporary art. Starting with only eight prints and one drawing, the MoMA now houses more than 150,000 creative pieces such as paintings, drawings, and sculptures, 22,000 films, and four million film stills. With such an extensive and varied collection of artworks, it is hard to cover everything at MoMA New York in just one visit.

Advantages of a MoMA Tour

Bye-Bye to Waiting in Line

The Museum of Modern Art New York is one of the most famous places to visit in New York City. With your exclusive MoMA ticket, you can get priority entry for your chosen time slot, which means you can skip the line, and experience the Museum of Modern Art New York for as long as you want!

Free Audio Guide

Make your visit to the MoMA New York even more fun and educational with the free audio guide that you will get. The audio guide is available in several languages and will tell you the stories behind each of the artworks placed inside the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Entry to Special Exhibitions

The Museum of Modern Art New York is the center stone of the modern and contemporary art world. The MoMA also plays host to special exhibitions and events. Your MoMA tickets provide you access to all the special events and exhibitions that are held at the Museum of Modern Art New York. To understand more about these special events and exhibitions click here, and plan your MoMA guided tour accordingly.

Great Works of Art at your Fingertips

The MoMA tickets guarantee a first-hand experience of famous modern and contemporary works of art. You’ll be awestruck by the creativity, symbolism, and meaning hidden behind famous paintings such as Frida Kahlo’s “Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair,” Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory,” Pablo Picasso’s “Two Nudes,” Henri Matisse’s “The Piano Lesson” and Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous painting “The Starry Night.” Don’t forget to pay a visit to Andy Warhol’s “Gold Marilyn Monroe” while touring the Museum of Modern Art New York as well. You can even add Ai Weiwei’s “The Black Cover Book,” which is a reproduction of quintessential twentieth-century artworks, to your MoMA guided tour to complete your one-of-a-kind experience at the Museum of Modern Art New York!

How to book MoMA Guided Tour Tickets?

Tickets

Combo Tickets

To ensure a hassle-free visit to the Museum of Modern Art New York, we recommend that you book your MoMA tickets “in advance”. You can enter the Museum only through the advance timed entry, and though there is scope for walk-in availability, it is not always guaranteed.

The Museum of Modern Art offers guided tours without any third party involvement, led by professional art historians who are a part of MoMA. They offer tours for groups with a minimum of 10 visitors. The group size can range from 10-50 visitors. The Museum of Modern Art also offers a discounted rate for groups of up to 30 visitors. These rates are as follows:

• Adults : $20
• Senior Citizens (65 years and above) : $16
• College Students : $12
• Children : $9
• Students of Select Colleges and Universities : Free
• Students of NYC Title 1 Schools : Free

In addition to this, the Museum of Modern Art New York also offers exclusive before and after-hours MoMA-guided tours. The before-hours MoMA tour takes place from 9:30-10:30 am. The after-hours MoMA guided tour starts at 5:30 pm and ends at 6:30 pm These guided tours are also exclusively available on the MoMA official website only.

Choosing the Best MoMA Ticket

Confused about the right MoMA tickets for you? Choose your ticket from the options below.

MoMA Tour Deconstructed: A Typical Tour Experience

The entrance to the Museum of Modern Art New York is nestled under a facade of granite and glass. Situated in midtown Manhattan, the Museum of Modern Art spans a massive area of 630,000 square feet. Spread over six floors, the MoMA is home to a collection of over 200,000 contemporary and modern works of art.

As you enter the Museum, you are surrounded by whitewashed walls and strategically placed windows that provide breathtaking views of the surrounding New York skyline and streets. Each building of the Museum of Modern Art New York surrounds the central Garden, making the MoMA an artistic, pristine, and green escape from the busy streets of Manhattan. As you walk through the MoMA, you are greeted by masterpiece after masterpiece. Here are a few attractions that you should see on your MoMA guided tour.

“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh

Pay a visit to the original “The Starry Night,” which is located on the fifth floor of the MoMA. Painted by acclaimed Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh, this piece of art depicts the night sky over Saint Remy. One of his most iconic works, Van Gogh painted this masterpiece in 1889, when he was at the Saint-Paul De Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy-De-Provence, France.

“The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali

Giving company to “The Starry Night” on the fifth floor of the Museum of Modern Art New York is Salvador Dali’s famous painting “The Persistence of Memory.” Created in 1931, Dali’s painting is one of the most famous works of the surrealism period in art. Characterized by dream-like depictions, the painting features a desolate beach with many melting clocks on hard surfaces. Dali’s native home in Catalonia, Spain is believed to be the inspiration behind this artwork.

“Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair” by Frida Kahlo

Painted in 1940 by Frida Kahlo, the “Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair” shows the artist sitting on a chair, wearing a loose-fitting suit. The scissors in Frida’s hands and the hair strands strewed all over the floor seem to tell the viewer that the artist recently cut her hair. Known for her self-portraits, Kahlo believed that she painted herself the best because she was the only one who truly knew herself.

“Campbell Soup Cans” by Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, one of the most famous pop artists in history, painted his “Campbell Soup Cans” in 1962. His artwork is a series of 32 paintings of the Campbell Soup Company’s soup cans. Inspired by the simple lunch he ate every day for twenty years, Andy Warhol created this eclectic masterpiece which now takes up an entire wall on the fourth floor of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“One: Number 31” by Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock is one of the most well-known artists of the abstract expressionist movement in the world of art. Pollock used different tools to create splashes of paint on his canvas. Painted by Pollock in 1950, “One: Number 31” takes up an entire wall on the fourth floor of the MoMA. Created by a splatter of colors, this painting conveys a sense of unease and urgency to its viewers.

“The Piano Lesson” by Henri Matisse

Matisse’s “The Piano Lesson” is an abstract painting believed to be related to the Cubist Grid developed by Pablo Picasso and George Braques. In this work, Matisse painted his living room with his elder son Pierre sitting at the piano. His painting of a Woman on a High Stool is seen on the bottom left of the painting and the upper right of the painting depicts a decorative sculpture. The painting may serve as an allegory for making art-which the artist believed happened when there was a balance between emotional expression and intellectual understanding.

“Gold Marilyn Monroe” by Andy Warhol

Pop artist Andy Warhol immortalized actress Marilyn Monroe in gold with his “Gold Marilyn Monroe” screen print and acrylic print artwork. Created in 1962, a few months after the demise of the actress, this was Warhol’s first painting of the actress.

“Untitled” by Lee Bontecou

Made in 1959 by Lee Bontecou, “Untitled” was created using a soiled canvas taken from a conveyor belt from a laundry that was located just below Bontecou’s apartment. The surface of the sculpture seems to resemble something between a stained glass window and a patchwork quilt. Inspired by the launch of Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, Lee’s painting cum sculpture seems to showcase an aerial view of an otherworldly landscape.

“Magi© Bullet” by General Idea

The “Magi© Bullet” artwork by General Idea can be found in the Glenn and Eva Dublin Gallery Exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Composed of silver-pill-shaped balloons, visitors can take the deflated ones home with them after visiting the MoMA. This exhibit serves as a metaphor for a society wherein people look for temporary relief from certain illnesses rather than taking the time to understand the root cause of the illness to prevent it from happening in the future.

“Woman I” by Willem De Kooning

An abstract expressionist artist known for his vivid and exuberant paintings, Willem De Kooning’s “Woman I,” can also be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Made with sweeping brush strokes and rough outlines, Kooning’s work represents reverence and the fear of the feminine.

Are MoMA Tickets Worth it?

Yes, MoMA tickets are truly worth it! The fully flexible MoMA tickets allow you to discover and learn about great works of art from professional art historians. MoMA tickets provide you with priority access and let you enjoy the museum for as long as you want. The tickets enable you to make the most of your visit by providing exclusive access to the special exhibitions and events that are held at the Museum of Modern Art.

MoMA Practical Information

Opening Hours

The doors of the Museum of Modern Art New York are open for visitors every day of the week. However, timings may vary.

From Sunday to Friday the MoMA is open from 10:30 am-5:30 pm EDT. On Saturdays, MoMA stays open till 7:00 pm EDT.

Only MoMA members and their guests are allowed to visit the Museum of Modern Art New York from 10:30 am-1:00 pm EDT on Monday mornings.

Enter the Museum of Modern Art New York by using the main entrance of the Rockefeller Building on 53rd Street, close to sixth avenue and just east of the MoMA’s flagship Museum store.

The Museum of Modern Art remains closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.

Getting to the Museum of Modern Art

• By Bus: Bus routes BM2, BXM1, M104, M31, M7, Q32, QM10, QM5, and X37 all stop at the Museum of Modern Art New York. The nearest bus stop to the MoMA is the 5th Avenue and 51st Street stop, and this stop is just a 2-minute walk to and from the MoMA.
• By Car: MoMA does not provide onsite parking for its visitors. However, several private parking garages near MoMA can be used by visitors to park their cars. Some of these garages even offer special rates for visitors to the Museum of Modern Art.
• By Subway: Subway lines B, D, E, F, M, N, and R can help you reach MoMA as well. The 57th Street-7th Avenue station is the closest subway station to the MoMA, and it is just a 2-minute walk to and from the Museum of Modern Art.
• By Train: The Hudson, Path, Port Jefferson Branch, and Port Washington Branch train lines stop near MoMA.
• By Taxi: You can use local taxis to reach the Museum of Modern Art New York.

Insider Tips

These insider tips will come in handy during your MoMA guided tour:

• Avoid touching the artworks displayed at the Museum of Modern Art.
• Purchase your MoMA guided tour tickets in advance to enjoy priority access to the Museum and to gain special access to exhibitions and events.
• You will be walking a lot during your MoMA tour, so make sure that you wear comfortable footwear.
• For your safety, wear face masks throughout your tour.
• The MoMA is easily accessible by wheelchair. You can even borrow a wheelchair from the Museum for your MoMA tour.
• Every floor of the Museum of Modern Art has wheelchair-accessible bathrooms and baby changing stations.
• Baby strollers are permitted inside the MoMA, but the strollers are not permitted on escalators.
• Use the QR codes mentioned near the artworks to make the most of your trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

FAQs

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