Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden / Photo: hibino, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Many of you have likely heard the name "MoMA" somewhere before.
Its official name is "The Museum of Modern Art." In Japan, it is known as the New York Museum of Modern Art, or affectionately referred to as "Moma," taken from the English acronym.
The museum houses works by masters of modern and contemporary art, including Van Gogh's *The Starry Night*, as well as pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Dalí, and Warhol.
On the other hand, tracing MoMA’s history reveals a character that cannot be described simply as a museum that collects famous paintings. It has showcased everything from paintings and sculptures to photography, film, architecture, furniture, posters, and everyday objects. From the very beginning, the question "What should be viewed as art or design?" has flowed through the museum.
What kind of museum is MoMA?
MoMA opened in New York in 1929, shortly after the stock market crash that marked the beginning of the Great Depression.
At that time in America, museums dedicated to modern art were still rare, and the works of artists now considered masters—like Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso—were not widely accepted.
The vision for a space to introduce the art of a new era was conceived by three women: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan.
When MoMA opened, it started in a rented space in a Manhattan office building. Its first director was Alfred H. Barr Jr., who was only 27 at the time. Beyond merely collecting works, he introduced new contemporary expressions through exhibitions and publications.
Incidentally, MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are different museums. While the Met handles works from a wide range of periods and regions—from ancient to modern—MoMA focuses primarily on modern and contemporary art.
Why did MoMA become famous?
Museums often have the aspect of being places that preserve established masterpieces. However, the MoMA of its early years actively embraced new works whose value was still being determined.
It featured paintings that moved away from reproducing reality, as well as expressions born from new technologies like photography and film. Furthermore, it treated architecture and industrial products as reflections of the same era.
By deciding which works to select, how to display them together, and what narrative to present, MoMA has had a profound impact on the very framework used to understand 20th-century art through its repeated exhibitions and acquisitions.
The reason MoMA is known worldwide stems not only from its wealth of masterpieces but also from its stance of focusing on and introducing expressions that have not yet been fully evaluated to society.
Famous works representing MoMA
MoMA's collection spans approximately 200,000 items, including paintings, sculptures, photography, film, and design.
Among these, Vincent van Gogh's *The Starry Night* is the most widely known.
With its swirling night sky and intensely shining stars, it seems to capture not just a precise landscape, but the very movement and sensation of the night as perceived by Van Gogh. MoMA acquired this work in 1941.
Vincent van Gogh, *The Starry Night*, 1889, Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In Henri Matisse’s *Dance (I)*, figures dancing in a circle are represented with simple lines and large planes of color. From the minimalist canvas, a sense of physical movement and rhythm emerges.
Henri Matisse, *Dance (I)*, 1909, Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Piet Mondrian’s *Broadway Boogie Woogie* is an abstract painting composed of straight lines and small color planes. Overlapping the streets of Manhattan with the rhythm of the boogie-woogie that Mondrian loved, the entire canvas appears to be flickering.
Henri Rousseau’s *The Dream* depicts an imaginary, lush jungle. Rousseau never visited a tropical rainforest; he drew inspiration from botanical gardens and illustrated books in Paris to create his own unique landscape.
Henri Rousseau, *The Dream*, 1910, Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
While these works reside in the same museum, they differ greatly in color, form, and the background of their creation. The fact that such differences intersect within a single building is part of what makes MoMA so interesting.
Chairs and posters are also part of the MoMA collection
One of the major characteristics of MoMA is that it began handling fields other than painting and sculpture at an early stage.
In 1932, a dedicated department for architecture and design was established. According to MoMA, this was the world’s first curatorial department for architecture and design in a museum.
The current architecture and design collection includes approximately 28,000 items, such as architectural models, furniture, lighting, tableware, home appliances, tools, textiles, and automobiles. There is even a helicopter. In graphic design, the collection also encompasses expressions made of text and images, such as posters and typography.
Chairs and tools reflect the technologies and lifestyles of the era in which they were created. How can one balance comfort with ease of mass production? What kind of shapes can be created with limited materials? How can text and color be used to convey information?
When you take a fresh look at everyday items, the reasons for their chosen forms and materials begin to emerge bit by bit. MoMA is also a museum that has never drawn a clear boundary between art and daily life.
MoMA-ness reflected in the building itself
To keep pace with its growing collection and visitor numbers, MoMA has repeatedly relocated and expanded. It moved to its current location on 53rd Street in Manhattan in 1939.
In the center of the site, surrounded by buildings, lies the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, named after a founder. It is one of the places that symbolizes MoMA, where works, architecture, and the atmosphere of the city intersect.
In 2004, a new museum opened following an expansion designed by the Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi. In Taniguchi's architecture, the interior space is organized around the sculpture garden, and one can feel the connection to the city and the garden even while moving between galleries.
Furthermore, in 2019, an expansion was carried out by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler. Along with increasing exhibition space, the presentation was updated so that paintings, photography, film, and design are not just separated by traditional categories, but are intersected as expressions born from the same era.
The way the renovation of the building has led to an update in how works are arranged and how art history is presented is a hallmark of MoMA.
MoMA is also re-evaluating the history it created itself
The blueprint for modern art that MoMA built has had a significant impact on museums and art education worldwide. At the same time, it has faced criticism for focusing primarily on male artists from the West.
Since its 2019 reopening, exhibitions that combine works from diverse backgrounds, including female artists, African American artists, and artists from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, have become more prominent than before.
Reassembling the art history it once shaped from different perspectives: MoMA does not remain a single finished product, but continues to question what it chooses to exhibit and how it displays those works.
You can also encounter MoMA at the MoMA Design Store in Japan
You don't have to go to New York to experience MoMA's perspective.
In Japan, there are flagship MoMA Design Store locations in Omotesando, Shinsaibashi, and Fukuoka. The Kyoto store relocated and opened on September 4, 2026, on the 2nd floor of Kyoto Takashimaya S.C. [T8]. Additionally, there are sales locations within Loft stores in Ginza, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro, and a Japanese official online store is also available.
The shops offer furniture, clocks, kitchenware, stationery, fashion, posters, and more. Beyond products featuring the museum's logo, the collection includes items crafted by artists, designers, and manufacturers from around the world.
Discover the novelty in the use of materials, functions, and ideas within items you use every day. The MoMA Design Store is a place where you can feel the museum's philosophy in a setting close to your daily life. Sales from these products support MoMA’s exhibitions, educational activities, and the preservation of its collection.
Before visiting MoMA
MoMA is located at 11 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York. Since opening hours and admission fees are subject to change, it is recommended to check the latest information on the "Locations, hours, and admission" section of the official website before your visit.
Also, not all works in the collection are on display at all times. If you have a specific work you wish to see, you can check the "On view" status on the work's official page on the MoMA website.
Understanding MoMA changes how you see things around you
When viewing works at MoMA, you might stop in your tracks drawn by a color, or spend time lost in thought before an unfamiliar shape. You might see a mysterious chair and imagine what it feels like to actually sit in it.
What stays with you changes depending on the person and the day. A work that you didn't quite understand at first might suddenly come back to you later on.
What MoMA has expanded is not just the types of works placed in a museum.
Why is a poster this color, and why is this font size? How does the chair I always use support my body? How do the buildings in the city absorb light and the movement of people?
Tracing MoMA’s history allows you to see the reasons behind the formation of things even outside the museum.
Things you had been looking at casually until now start to look a little different. For nearly a century, MoMA has been a museum that has offered such new perspectives.
Sources
https://www.moma.org/about/mission-statement/history
https://www.moma.org/collection/
https://www.moma.org/about/curatorial-departments/architecture-design
https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1166
https://www.moma.org/visit/
https://www.momastore.jp/shop/pages/about_locations_jp.aspx
https://www.momastore.jp/shop/pages/about_locations_loft.aspx
