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New York Museums 101: How can I get in free?
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The Frick on Fifth Ave. at 70th Street. Photo courtesy of the Frick.
New York City has some of the best museums in the world. And in this recession, if you’re not careful, you can blow your daily budget just walking through their doors. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s no need to skip dinner, just because you love art, history or design. Here’s a list of 10 Manhattan museums that are free (or almost free) … if you know when to go ... or what to say.
But before you take advantage, remember that these museums and all of our arts institutions are suffering in this recession too. If you can afford it, by all means give generously to these very worthy institutions!
1. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - 11 West 53 Street, NYC – 212 708-9400
MoMa has a wonderful permanent collection of late-19th, 20th and 21st century art and programs a wide variety of special shows as well as screenings of classic films. Go to see the art. Stay to relax in the sculpture garden, catch a movie or dine in one of the cafes.
Normally, admission to MoMA is a pricey $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and $10 for students. Individual memberships are $75 for year.
But on Friday evenings from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, admission is free.
2. The Morgan Library & Museum - 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street, NYC - 212 685-0008
In the late 19th century, robber baron Pierpont Morgan began collecting rare books and art. He eventually housed them next to his brownstone, in an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo, designed by Charles McKim and situated on the corner of 36th Street and Madison Avenue. Morgan’s collection—continually updated by curators—as well as his home and library, along with an impressive modern expansion designed by Renzo Piano and completed in 2006, are open to the public. The Morgan features a variety of changing shows and has a café and a dining room.
Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, students and children under 16. Children 12 and under are free but must be accompanied by an adult. Individual memberships are $75 a year.
Admission to the Morgan is free on Fridays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.
Admission to the McKim rooms is free on Tuesday, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.. Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
3. The Whitney Museum of American Art – 945 Madison Ave. at 75th Street, NYC – 212 570-3600
Founded in 1931. the Whitney specializes in 20th and 21st century art. At this point, the permanent collection has about 18,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photos and multimedia installations.
Admission is usually $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. Individual memberships are $75 a year.
On Friday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, you may pay what you wish.
4. The Frick Collection - 1 East 70th Street, New York, NYC - 212-288-0700
Henry Clay Frick, another of New York’s astonishingly over-the-top robber barons, began construction of his mansion on Fifth Avenue and 70th Street in 1913. Today, the former Frick residence holds one of the most superb, small collections of Old Masters paintings in the world. (Small being a relative term.) This museum is a gem.
Admission is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. (Children under ten are not admitted.) Individual memberships are $60 a year.
On Sundays, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, you can pay what you wish.
5. Museum of the City of New York - 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St., NYC – 212 534 1672
Just across from Central Park on Fifth Avenue, in a lovely old neo-Georgian building, is the Museum of the City of New York. It has a wonderful collection of art and artifacts related to the history of the city. The collection includes decorative arts, photographs, costumes and antique toys.
Suggested admission is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are free. Individual memberships are $50 a year.
If you live or work in East Harlem (El Barrio), you will be admitted to the museum for free. All you need to do is say, “I’m a neighbor,” and the suggested price of admission will be waved.
6. American Folk Art Museum - 45 West 53rd Street, near Sixth Ave., NYC – 212 265-1040
With a collection that ranges from the 18th century to the present, this museum show the work of self-taught artists. Paintings, textiles, sculpture, and other three-dimensional objects such as pinwheels and weather vanes, you never know what you are going to find at the American Folk Art Museum.
Admission is $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are free. Individual memberships are $60 a year.
On Fridays from 5:30 to 7:30 PM admission is free.
7. The New Museum - 235 Bowery at Prince Street, NYC– 212 219-1222
Founded in 1977, this museum’s mission has always been to present new art and new ideas. To that end, it usually has at least a couple of shows of contemporary art going at any one time. In 2007, the museum moved to new digs on the Bowery. The new building, designed by Kenzo Sejim and Ryue Nishizawa, is an interesting as the art inside it.
Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students. Kids under 18 are free. Individual memberships are $60.
Admission is free on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 PM.
8. Museum of Art and Design – 2 Columbus Circle, NYC – 212-299-7777
Conveniently located on Columbus Circle, MAD displays crafts: ceramics, jewelry, furniture and decorative objects. But beware—MAD is not your grandmother’s craft museum. Since moving to Columbus Circle less than a year ago, this museum seems to have morphed into a cutting-edge contemporary art museum—albeit a crafty one. Check out its high end wares.
Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are free.
Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 PM: pay-what-you-wish.
9. The Metropolitan Museum of Art - 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, NYC - 212 535-7710
With a permanent collection that includes everything from Rembrandt’s Self –Portrait (1660) to the Egyptian Temple of Dendur (15 B.C.), and an endless supply of fabulous temporary exhibitions, the Met is the mother of all museums. Any way you measure it—by size, variety or sheer greatness—the Met wins any New York museum competition hands down.
Suggested admission for adults is $20, for seniors $15, for students $10. Children accompanied by an adult are free. Individual membership is $95.
Special students: all New York City public school students are free. So are students from Columbia University, Barnard College, Bard Graduate Center and the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
10. Hispanic Society of America – on Audubon Terrace at Broadway & 155th Street, NYC - 212 926-2234
This little-known treasure in the heart of Harlem is a Beaux-Arts museum and reference library dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. It was founded by Hispanic scholar Archer Milton Huntington in 1904. Today it contains the most impressive collection of Hispanic art and artifacts outside the Iberian Peninsula and includes paintings, prints, photographs, jewelry, textiles and ceramics. One entire room is covered with murals by Spanish Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). This room is currently under renovation and will reopen in October 2009. The rest of the museum, however, is currently open to visitors.
Admission to the Hispanic Society of America is always free for everyone!
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