Noguchi Museum

Founded in 1985 by category-defying artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now known as The Noguchi Museum) was the first museum in the United States to be established, designed, and installed by a living artist to show their own work. Located in Long Island City, Queens, the Museum itself is widely viewed as among the artist’s greatest achievements.

Holding the world’s largest collection of his works, it features open-air and indoor galleries in a repurposed 1920s industrial building, as well as a serene outdoor sculpture garden. Consistent with Noguchi’s interest in experiential art, works are often displayed without barriers or interpretation to encourage visitors to form personal, introspective connections.

Accompanying the permanent installations placed by Noguchi, the Museum presents temporary exhibitions exploring themes in Noguchi’s work, his milieu and collaborators, and his enduring influence today among contemporary practitioners across disciplines. It exhibits a comprehensive selection of Noguchi’s material culture, from sculpture, models, and drawings, to his personal possessions, and manages the artist’s archives and catalogue raisonné. Through its rich collection, exhibitions, and programming, the Museum facilitates scholarship and learning for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.