Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Follow art and architecture along Frank Lloyd Wright's continuous ramp.
Artwork inspired by John Marin
The Guggenheim is as much a work of architecture as a museum of modern and contemporary art. Frank Lloyd Wright's white, expanding cylinder replaced conventional stacked galleries with a continuous spiral around a skylit void. Look down into the rotunda before following the ramp: the changing viewpoints make the building's geometry legible, while side galleries and changing exhibitions give the art room to breathe.
The collection includes major twentieth-century artists, but not every familiar work is on view at once; check the exhibition calendar if you have a particular artist in mind. The Fifth Avenue entrance faces Central Park at East 89th Street. Timed tickets and exhibition-related changes can affect access, so check the museum's current visitor page before setting out.
- Architect
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Opened
- 1959
- Address
- Fifth Avenue at 89th Street
Quick guide
- Look up first
- The skylight explains Wright's entire circular plan.
- Walk the spiral
- Notice how views into the rotunda change with each turn.
Know before you go
- Start in the rotunda
- Get oriented before entering exhibition rooms.
- Look across the void
- Art and visitors become part of the building's composition.
- Check the program
- Collection display changes alongside special exhibitions.
- Leave time outside
- The museum's street-facing shell is a separate architectural experience.
Good to know
A photograph of the exterior cannot tell you which art is on view today; the current exhibition calendar can.
Notice these
- spiral ramp
- central skylight
- modern-art exhibitions