Museum Mile · Vienna 1900 in New York
New New York Gallery
Adèle Bloch-Bauer, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, the Wiener Werkstätte and German Expressionism united in a house on Fifth Avenue: a small museum by size, but one of the essential places to see Klimt in the United States.
The short answer
Why is the Neue Galerie worth a visit?
Because it offers an exceptional concentration of Austrian and German art from the 1890s -1940s in a domestic setting. Here, Portrait of Adèle Bloch-Bauer I is not lost in a universal encyclopedia: it dialogues with landscapes by Klimt, drawings by Schiele, furniture by Josef Hoffmann, objects by Koloman Moser and research by the Bauhaus.
The museum was founded by businessman and collector Ronald S. Lauder with art dealer Serge Sabarsky. Their joint project combined fine arts with decorative arts, in line with the Viennese ideal of the total work of art.
The actual location
A Beaux-Arts house that became the setting of Vienna in 1900
The contrast is fruitful: a New York residency from 1914 welcomes art which, at the same time, shook Vienna, Berlin, Dresden and Weimar.
The Central Work
Adèle Bloch-Bauer I: a portrait that has become an icon and historical document
Gustav Klimt completed the painting in 1907 after numerous preparatory drawings. Adèle belongs to a large family of Viennese Jewish patrons. She is not only "the golden woman": her precise face, her direct gaze and her nervous hands resist the decor which threatens to absorb her.
The painting superimposes oil, metal sheets and powders. Triangles, stylized eyes, spirals and rectangles do not literally describe a garment; they transform the body into a symbolic surface. The square of the canvas reinforces the impression of a secular icon.
Look at the face before the gold. The skin is fair, almost cold; lips and cheeks are the few warm areas. Then observe the folded hand, which hides a deformed finger. Klimt transforms this physical constraint into a memorable gesture.
Close-up
Real face amidst golden architecture
The painting works because Klimt doesn't decorate everything with the same intensity. The head, shoulders and hands maintain a human presence. Around, the patterns abolish space and make the dress, the armchair and the background a single shimmering field.
Six details to look for in front of the painting
The look
Adèle's eyes are neither dreamy nor passive. Their frontality keeps a person at the center of an image that might otherwise become pure ornament. Step back to feel the icon, then move closer to regain that psychological presence.
Hands folded
The elegant gesture hides a deformed finger. Klimt therefore does not erase a physical line: he transforms it into a pose. The hands also form a small pale area that responds to the face in the middle of metal surfaces.
Eyes in the dress
Some oval patterns evoke protective or menacing eyes. They recall Klimt's interest in ancient arts and Egyptian decorative vocabulary, without constituting a unambiguous message that would simply need to be decoded.
Triangles and rectangles
The bottom of the dress favors triangular and organic shapes, while other areas are ordered into rectangles. This opposition gives the garment a bodily rhythm without resorting to traditional modeling.
The invisible armchair
An ornate curve behind Adèle suggests the seat back. However, the piece of furniture doesn't really build a room. It serves as a transition between the body and the background, as if the portrait were floating in a space without depth.
The square
The almost square canvas refuses the vertical format expected for a full-length social portrait. Adèle appears both monumental and enclosed. The frame compresses the decor and increases the feeling of total surface area.
Adèle I and Adèle II do not tell the same modernity
The second portrait, painted in 1912, abandons the large gold background in favor of a pink, green and blue universe crossed by Asian motifs. The body becomes more clearly readable again and the color gains autonomy. Comparing the two works allows Klimt to escape the too narrow label of "golden painter": in five years, he went from a metallic icon to a chromatic, textile and almost atmospheric painting. Read Adèle Bloch-Bauer II's analysis →
Origin and restitution
From Vienna to New York: understanding the journey of the painting
Adèle's fame cannot be separated from Nazi dispossession, decades of protest and restitution to Maria Altmann and the other Bloch-Bauer heirs.
Completion
The portrait was unveiled in Mannheim, then shown in Vienna in 1908.
Death of Adèle
His will expresses a wish regarding the paintings, but Ferdinand remains their legal owner.
Spoliation
After the Anschluss, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer's property was seized by the Nazi regime.
Restitution
Austrian arbitration returns the five Klimts to the family heirs.
Neue Gallery
Ronald S. Lauder acquires Adèle I for the museum, where she becomes the flagship work.
Around Adèle
Other Klimts to know before the visit
The Neue Galerie highlights several paintings belonging to the museum or its associated collections. Their exact presence depends on the hanging; always check the current exhibition page.
Forester's House in Weissenbach II
The facade almost disappears under the ivy. Windows, flowers and walls become a green tapestry punctuated with colors.
See reproduction →
Park at Kammer Castle
An almost abstract plant mass, organized by fine trunks and a deliberately compressed depth.
See reproduction →
The Dancer
The face and hairstyle advance more than certain areas of the costume. This inequality makes it possible to follow Klimt's late work on the web.
Museum Klimt page →
The Large Poplar I
The monumental tree almost fills the square. The natural pattern becomes column, surface and rhythm rather than panorama.
Explore the landscapes of Klimt →Klimt in the United States: three major supplements
Hope II
Pregnancy, prayer, death and golden dress: the painting is announced "on view" on the fifth floor of MoMA at the time of our verification.
Official sheet →
Serena Pulitzer Lederer
The large white portrait from 1899 is shown visible at The Met Fifth Avenue, gallery 800: a decisive contrast with Adèle's gold.
Official sheet →
Baby (Cradle)
A colorful textile mountain dominated by a small face. The National Gallery of Art indicates this visible in the East Building, gallery E415.
Official sheet →Beyond Klimt
What the collection really says
The strength of the Neue Galerie is not to align celebrities, but to show the relationships between painting, graphics, furniture, architecture and modern life.
Egon Schiele
Portraits, drawings and angular towns extend and challenge Klimt's legacy.
Kokoschka and Gerstl
The psychology of portraiture becomes more nervous, more direct, sometimes almost brutal.
Wiener Werkstaette
Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Dagobert Peche abolish the boundary between useful object and work of art.
Beckmann and Kirchner
The third floor opens with Brücke, Blaue Reiter, New Objectivity and Expressionism.
Bauhaus
Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer, Moholy-Nagy and Mies van der Rohe show another path towards modernity.
Look at the sets
Combine painting, frame, chair, lamp, typography and textile: this is where the museum becomes unique.
Prepare the visit
Practical information after reopening
The data below is the ordinary conditions currently displayed by the museum. They will have to be reconfirmed at the time of the reopening announced for fall 2026.
Reopening fall 2026
Don't plan a visit until a specific date is announced on the official website.
Wednesday - Monday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m
Usual closure on Tuesday; last entry announced at 5:30 p.m.
$28
Seniors: $18. Students, teachers and visitors with disabilities: $15, with proof.
Under 12 years old
Children under 12 are normally not admitted during regular hours.
First Fridays
Free entry from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on certain first Fridays, according to the museum calendar and subject to space requirements.
86th Street
Subway 4/5/6 to Lexington Avenue or B/C to Central Park West; M1 -M4 bus along Museum Mile.
Accessible museum
The museum says it welcomes visitors with specific needs; dedicated reduced rate.
1:30 a.m. to 2 a.m
Add time for Café Sabarsky and to compare fine and decorative arts.
Museum Mile
Build a day around the Neue Galerie
The museum is small, but its location allows for a particularly busy day without increasing transport.
Neue Gallery
Start at the opening to see Adèle with fewer people and save time for objects.
Guggenheim
A few blocks north, compare the privacy of the house with Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral.
Central Park
Cross towards the Reservoir or go down the park paths before the second museum.
Metropolitan Museum
Finish at the Met to place Klimt among European arts, textiles, Egypt and Asian arts.
The Ground Floor Experience
Café Sabarsky, bookstore and Viennese design
Café Sabarsky takes on the atmosphere of a Viennese café: woodwork, benches, pastries and Central European cuisine. It should not be reduced to an additional attraction; it extends the museum project, which links art, interior and sociability.
The bookstore and the boutique also allow us to understand how the Wiener Werkstätte thought about everyday objects. The photograph shows the real store; its display and its products may evolve after the 2026 work.
Photo: Richard N Horne, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Extend at home
Collections and works related to the Neue Galerie
Find Adèle, Klimt's portraits, her golden period and the landscapes of the Attersee in the boutique's essential collections.
Adèle Bloch-Bauer I
See reproduction → ArtistGustav Klimt Collection
Explore → GenderPortraits of Klimt
Explore → PeriodThe golden period
Explore → MovementViennese secession
Explore → NatureLandscapes of Klimt
Explore → Related articleAdèle Bloch-Bauer II
Read → ContextKlimt's patrons
Read →Controlled sources
Museum information and images
Schedules, prices and clashes may change. The official pages remain the reference before any trip.
Closure and reopening 2026
Official announcement of the work and the 25th anniversary exhibition.
Neue GalleryPrepare the visit
Address, ordinary hours, prices, transport and accessibility.
Neue GalleryThe collection
Austrian and German art, fine and decorative arts.
Neue GalleryGustav Klimt
Klimt Gallery, works and history of the artist.
Neue GalleryThe five Bloch-Bauer paintings
Restitution, 2006 exhibition and acquisition of Adèle I.
Neue GalleryFrequently asked questions
History of the house, founders and fields of the collection.
MoMAHope II
Official sheet and hanging indication in New York.
Metropolitan MuseumSerena Pulitzer Lederer
Official information, provenance and exhibition gallery.
National Gallery of ArtBaby (Cradle)
Official file, open image and location in the museum.
Wikimedia CommonsEntrance to the museum
Photography by Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Wikimedia CommonsVertical entry
Second photograph by Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Wikimedia CommonsFacade on Museum Mile
Photography by Ludmila Zellner Rotbauerová, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikimedia CommonsReal store
Photography by Richard N Horne, CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Frequently asked questions
Visit the Neue Galerie and see Adèle
Is the Neue Galerie currently open?
No. As of July 27, 2026, it has been closed since May 27 for work and announces a reopening in fall 2026. Consult the official website for the exact date.
Will Adèle Bloch-Bauer I be visible when it reopens?
Yes. Management explicitly indicates that the portrait will be among the highlights of the 25th anniversary exhibition announced for fall 2026.
Does the Neue Galerie have Klimt's Kiss?
No. The kiss belongs to the Belvedere in Vienna. In New York, the icon of the Neue Galerie is Portrait of Adèle Bloch-Bauer I.
Why is Adèle Bloch-Bauer called "Woman in Gold"?
The nickname comes from the extraordinary use of gold in portraiture and the distribution of the film Woman in Gold. The museum title remains Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.
How much time should you allow?
About 90 minutes for the galleries, two hours if you also look at the furniture, objects, the bookstore and take a break at Café Sabarsky.
Can we combine the visit with the Met and the Guggenheim?
Yes. All three museums are on or near Museum Mile. A full day allows Neue Galerie in the morning, Guggenheim or Central Park at noon, then Metropolitan Museum in the afternoon.
At the Neue Galerie, Adèle's gold opens up an entire world: Vienna 1900, modern design and the fractures of history.
Check the reopening date before you leave, then look at the board as a portrait before looking at it as an icon.
Actual photographs of the museum: Mike Peel, Ludmila Zellner Rotbauerová and Richard N Horne, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 licenses. Reproductions of paintings by Gustav Klimt: works in the public domain. Collection and hanging mentions are based on the official pages of the Neue Galerie.
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