New York's Neue Galerie will merge with the Metropolitan Museum

"The Neue Galerie, the Manhattan institution opened by the philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder in 2001 in a Beaux-Arts mansion on Fifth Avenue and home to the richest collection of 20th-century Austrian and German Modernism outside Europe, will merge with the neighbouring Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2028. The news comes two weeks before the Neue Galerie is due to close, on 27 May, for major renovations. It will reopen in the autumn, just in time to celebrate its 25th anniversary in November."

"As part of the merger, Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer will donate 13 works of German and Austrian Modern art from their personal collections to the combined institution. Included in the gift are works by Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad and Gustav Klimt."

"The Neue Galerie's building, the six-storey William Starr Miller House at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 86th Street, will become the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, and will continue to house its collection, programming and beloved Viennese-style restaurant, Café Sabarsky. (The café is named for Serge Sebarsky, the dealer with whom Lauder originally conceived of the idea for the Neue Galerie, who died five years before the institution opened.)"

""The merger with the Met in 2028 will preserve and strengthen the Neue Galerie's legacy in perpetuity," Lauder wrote in a letter about the merger. "I am especially grateful to [the Met's director and chief executive] 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.""

The Neue Galerie in Manhattan, opened in 2001 in a Beaux-Arts mansion on Fifth Avenue, will merge with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2028. The merger follows major renovations scheduled to close the museum on 27 May, with reopening in autumn ahead of its 25th anniversary in November. Ronald S. Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer will donate 13 works of German and Austrian Modern art from their personal collections to the combined institution, including works by Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad, and Gustav Klimt. The building will become the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, continuing to house the collection, programming, and Café Sabarsky.

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