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,
This season we celebrate a major milestone for Neue Galerie New York with the debut of “The 25th Anniversary Exhibition.” Opening on November 12, 2026, the show fills the entirety of our landmark Museum Mile building, offering an extraordinary, up-close view of the gems in our collection. Celebrating this anniversary brings me great pride. The museum, which first opened in November 2001, has become a beloved place, earning praise from visitors, critics, and colleagues in equal measure.
I love to learn of the impact of our wonderful jewel-box institution—how people fondly remember their time spent visiting our superb collection of Austrian and German art and design; our well-appointed Book Store and Design Shop, full of finely made and carefully selected objects; and of course, our beloved Café Sabarsky, with its authentic Viennese coffee and our Apfelstrudel served mit Schlag.Our visitors come to see the iconic works of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, as well as their Viennese contemporaries Richard Gerstl and Oskar Kokoschka; to take in the designs of the Austrian decorative artists led by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser; to experience the power of the German Expressionists, among them Max Beckmann and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; and to appreciate the leading figures of the Bauhaus, such as Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Many of us take stock of our goals when we reach major milestones. As custodians of the Neue Galerie, our focus remains firmly on the future of the institution. Ronald S. Lauder, President and Co-Founder of the Neue Galerie, has maintained a steady vision since the museum’s inception. Through his enduring generosity, we are assured that the museum will fulfill its mission for years to come.
Ronald S. Lauder, Aerin Lauder, Max Hollein, and Renée Price standing in front of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I (1907), which is permanently on view at Neue Galerie New York.
Photography by Thomas Loof
Ronald S. Lauder, Aerin Lauder, Max Hollein, and Renée Price standing in front of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I (1907), which is permanently on view at Neue Galerie New York.
Photography by Thomas Loof
Neue Galerie New York and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) have recently announced plans to merge in 2028, supported by generous donations from Ronald S. Lauder, Aerin Zinterhofer Lauder, and substantial endowment funding from trustees of 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, our announcement aligns with our goal to take a transformative step in preserving and advancing this extraordinary cultural legacy for future generations. Behind the scenes, we are collaborating with our colleagues at The Met as we make plans for the 2028 merge, subject to all necessary approvals. In the meantime, the Neue Galerie continues to operate independently.
Twenty-five years is a wonderful milestone, but it is also just a beginning. Looking ahead, I am confident in saying that there is so much more to share. Thank you as ever for your appreciation for 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