Cultural Scene

A feature of New York’s cultural life since 1929, the Museum of Modern Art or MoMA, located on 53rd Street in mid town Manhattan is regarded as the most influential modern art museums in the world. Based in the Time Life Building Rockefeller Center to which it moved in 1937, it was redesigned and opened to the public in 1939. It underwent extensive renovations in 2000, was closed in 2002 and opened to the public in 2004 in a building redesigned by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The museum occupied a temporary space during this period. The redesign increased the space of the museum considerably.

The Museum of Modern Art offers an unmatched overview of contemporary and modern art and includes architectural works, design, drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, illustrated books, prints, artist’s books, films, and electronic media. It houses the most inclusive collection of modern art and sculpture, some 3,600 works dating from the 19th century to date and covers major artists and movements since the 1890s. It owns well known works such as The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, the Water Lilies triptych by Claude Monet, The Bathers by Paul Cezanne and works by Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and many other European and American artists. Its departments devoted to architecture and design, a collection of 20th century drawings, modern photography, media and performance arts all have comprehensive and exceptional collections of thousands of works reflecting the life and culture of the periods they represent.

In addition to the collections, the museum also offers a rich programme of exhibitions of modern masters, daily film and video screenings; it also houses a library, archives, training facilities, a book store and a design store. Also featured is an elegant Italian restaurant headed by a celebrity chef. With the involvement of some of New York’s most prominent citizens in the development of the museum, the Museum of Modern Art has long been a part of the city’s cultural landscape.

Located on 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, only minutes away from Times Square, Broadway and Rockefeller Center, The Peninsula New York is right in the middle of the business, cultural and shopping hubs of the city. Housed in a historic and grand property this New York luxury hotel offers comfort and relaxation to counter the busy pace of the city both by the design of its rooms and the well chosen facilities and amenities. Excellent in-house dining and drinking options at this New York 5 star hotel aids what would inevitably be a most satisfying stay.