Five of the best at MOMA
The world's top collection of modern art but which are the top five?
It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon in Manhattan and we decide to go to the Musuem of Modern Art. Quite a lot of other people have decided to do this too, it seems. It is very crowded and to my amazement, I bump into Razia Iqbal, an old colleague from the BBC newsroom in the foyer. I shouldn’t have been surprised; Razia and I were both arts correspondents about 20 years ago, and if there is such a thing as a Holy Sanctum for arts hacks, MOMA is it.
Other cities which have a collection of modern art modestly put their name into the title; Modern Art Oxford, Tate Modern. Not MOMA. It knows it is the definitive, global standard. For visitors to New York City, MOMA is up there with Lady Liberty as a must-see. But what should you look at? It’s got a much deeper and wider collection than its British counterpart (rival) Tate Modern, but is not as well arranged as its French counterpart (rival), Centre Pompidou. And I think there is too much on display at any one time. Wandering around it feels a bit like splashing around in double cream; its just too much.
Here, therefore, is help. The Five must-sees. As always on The Arts Stack, the list is arranged with pictures which adhere to the following rules;
1. Chronological Order (so you get a vague art history timeline, not vital but some people like it)
2. A World Famous Painting (this list is not for arts experts who know about obscure work by people nobody has heard of)
3. It must, in part, Sum Up the Host City or Nation.
Of course, these strictures mean the Top Five might leave out your particular favourite. Yes, I have ignored van Gogh. And Monet, both in the collection with world-famous works. They will turn up in a future list.
Are we ready? Let us plunge in.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) by Pablo Picasso
The painting which started it all off. What? Modernism, Cubism, the uncompromising primacy of the artist and contemporary art. It’s sexy, timeless, beautiful and strange all at once; flat and cavernous; warning and beguiling.