Neue Galerie
The Neue Galerie, located on the Fifth Avenue in New York City, is a gallery dedicated to all of the arts of Germany and Austria that were produced between 1890 and 1940.
The concept behind the museum is an homage to the art movements surrounding Vienna during the time frame that sought to combine painting, photography, decorative art, sculpture, works on paper, and other art forms that were a part of the Expressionist movement and other concepts that lead to this important part of art history.
The Neue Galerie is one of the newest art museums in New York City. Serge Sabarsky’s estate and Ronald S. Lauder’s private collection formed the basis of the collection. The collection has been added to since the gallery began operation as a foundation in 1996. The gallery is a celebration of Lauder’s love for art and his friend Sabarsky. The museum is on the site of the William Starr Miller House that underwent extensive renovation but retained the elegance of the 1914 structure.
The museum is divided into three floors and sections of art. The second floor is dedicated to all arts from the early twentieth century that came from Austria. The third floor contains art from the same period that came from Germany. The first floor exhibits recent and famous acquisitions like the Boy With a Pipe by Picasso and the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt. Both paintings are claimed to have commanded some of the highest prices ever paid for a single work of art.
The layout is designed to immerse the viewer into the world of art in all its forms. The idea is to get the feel of what the most elegant and wealthy people of the period experienced in their daily lives.
The Austria works include other paintings by Gustav Klimt. Paintings by Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele are also available. Sculpture by Dagobert Peche, Koloman Mose, and Josef Hoffmann; architectural works by Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos; and decorative arts by the Wiener Werkstätte are also displayed.
The German Floor features Emil Nolde and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner as well as a variety of decorative artists from the Bauhaus and the Neue Sachlichkeit. Every effort has been made to feature the most famous and the lesser known but brilliant designers and painters.
The Neue Galerie provides monthly exhibitions that include their most famous artists as well as the museum’s collection of lesser known Expressionist artists and those who influenced the movement or who were influenced by the movement. There are two cafes that offer period cuisine set in a period atmosphere. The museum offers a uniquely Austrian and German cabaret series that includes dinner. Recitals and film are also a feature event.
Regular admission to the Neue Galerie is $20 for adults, $15 for people over 65 years of age, and $10 for students over the age of 12. Private tours can be arranged. The museum provides special tours for schools and other groups at no charge.
The U. S. Census estimates that 25 percent of the people in the United States have some portion of German heritage. The Neue Galerie is designed to celebrate the heritage that art is.
