Renée Price, founding director of Neue Galerie New York, welcomes you into our historic home – located at 1048 Fifth Avenue in New York City – to explore early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design.
Dear Friends,
In November 2001, Neue Galerie New York opened its doors for the first time. As Roberta Smith reported in The New York Times, “The first new art museum to open in New York in the 21st century is little short of superb.” Her review continued: “The Neue Galerie is just starting out, but its beginnings are a useful demonstration of the way nearly all New York museums founded in the first half of the 20th century [...] came to be. They were propelled into existence by a few people dedicated to making their passion for a particular type of art as contagious as possible. It's good to be reminded of the strength of such feelings and what they can accomplish.”
This autumn, we will celebrate the Neue Galerie’s twenty-fifth anniversary. As we reach this milestone, our focus remains on the future of the institution. As such, our museum is steering a new course. Neue Galerie New York and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) recently announced that they are pursuing a landmark agreement to merge the Neue Galerie with The Met. This represents an extraordinary gift to the public, bringing together the most significant collection of 20th-century Austrian and German art outside Europe under a single institution—while preserving the Neue Galerie’s distinctive, intimate museum experience. Timed with the Neue Galerie’s 25th anniversary, the agreement marks a transformative step in preserving and advancing this extraordinary cultural legacy for future generations. The Met and the Neue Galerie plan to complete the merger and bring the Neue Galerie’s collection and its historic building under The Met’s ownership in 2028, following all necessary approvals.
For now until the merger is complete in 2028, the Neue Galerie will continue to operate independently. The longevity of 1048 Fifth Avenue, our historic home, depends on careful, loving, ongoing upkeep, and our restoration plans for Summer 2026 remain. The building was completed in 1914 by Carrère & Hastings (architects of the New York Public Library) and is designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Commission. We have been engaged in a multi-phased process to enhance the building and fortify it for the next chapter. To ensure the ongoing vitality of our institution, after Memorial Day Weekend we will begin the next phase of the project, and the museum will be closed beginning May 27, 2026.
The longevity of the Neue Galerie's historic home, depends on careful, loving, ongoing upkeep. To ensure the ongoing vitality of our institution, after Memorial Day Weekend the museum will begin the next phase of a multi-stage construction project. The museum will be closed beginning May 27, 2026 and will reopen Autumn 2026.
The longevity of the Neue Galerie's historic home, depends on careful, loving, ongoing upkeep. To ensure the ongoing vitality of our institution, after Memorial Day Weekend the museum will begin the next phase of a multi-stage construction project. The museum will be closed beginning May 27, 2026 and will reopen Autumn 2026.
In Autumn 2026, our doors will reopen, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Café Sabarsky, the Book Store, and Design Shop. The galleries will reopen with the “25th Anniversary Exhibition.” Details will be announced in the months ahead, but rest assured collection highlights – such as Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) – will be on view. We very much look forward to celebrating this moment with you.
I would like to thank you for your support and enthusiasm for the museum. It has been a pleasure sharing the treasures of the Neue Galerie with you over the past twenty-five years, and we envision a bright future. I am confident in saying that we have more to accomplish and we look forward to shepherding this great museum into its next decades, so that future generations may appreciate the Gesamtkunstwerk that is the Neue Galerie New York.
With best wishes,
From the very beginning, the Neue Galerie has been a deeply personal and enduring passion of mine.
I often think back to growing up in New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a time when art and creativity surged all at once. In many ways, it must have felt like Vienna half a century earlier. That was the world that shaped me. One evening, my parents took me to a dinner at The Met marking Florence Gould’s gift of a Pierre Bonnard painting. I found myself seated among many of the leading collectors of that era, individuals whose generosity would come to define the great museums of this country.
I sat there, taking it all in, and began to imagine what a life collecting art might look like. I remember thinking I would be fortunate to become a great art collector, or perhaps a great drawing collector, or even a great medieval collector. The next day, I saw Florence Gould and shared those ambitions with her. I never forgot her response: “Why not be all three?”
In 1967, I met Serge Sabarsky, who became a mentor, partner, and friend for the next 29 years. A decade later, Serge and I began to share a vision: to create a museum devoted to Austrian and German art. In 1994, we found the ideal home in the William Starr Miller House at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue, and Annabelle Selldorf led its restoration with great care and precision. Sadly, Serge did not live to see the museum open, but nearly 60 years after we first met, I know how proud he would be to see the Neue Galerie today.
The Neue Galerie opened in November 2001, just two months after 9/11. The city was still reeling, but in a small way, the museum’s opening offered a sense of renewal. In those first weeks, there were lines around the block. Since then, more than two million visitors have come through our doors.
In 2006, we were joined by one of the most remarkable figures ever to grace a museum wall: Adele Bloch-Bauer, the Woman in Gold. Gustav Klimt’s portrait has become the Neue Galerie’s Mona Lisa and continues to draw visitors from around the world.
For the past 25 years, the museum’s exhibitions, permanent collection, design and book shops, and Café Sabarsky have created an experience that transports visitors to another time—early twentieth-century Vienna and Weimar Germany. And as Serge always said, “If the coffee is no good, the museum won’t be any good.”
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of Renée Price, the Neue Galerie’s founding and longtime director. I first met Renée in the 1970s, when she was gallery director for Serge Sabarsky. She was part of the earliest discussions that led to the museum and understands its mission as well as anyone. I am also grateful to her senior team and the entire staff, whose work every day has made this vision a reality. Their commitment has meant a great deal to me personally.
The merger with The Met in 2028 will preserve and strengthen the Neue Galerie’s legacy in perpetuity.
I am especially grateful to Max Hollein for his leadership and deep understanding of the historical importance of this collection. Under his direction, The Met continues to stand not only as one of the world’s great museums, but as a steadfast guardian of culture, memory, and identity. I am confident that Max and The Met are well positioned to help steward this legacy into the future. Through this partnership, we can carry the Neue Galerie forward with distinction.
Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I will continue to be at the front door, welcoming our members to each exhibition, and I look forward to seeing you at our milestone "25th Anniversary Exhibition" this autumn.
Ronald S. Lauder
President and Co-Founder, Neue Galerie New York