NEW YORK – Thousands of people waited in a line that wrapped around a city block Saturday to file into the reopened doors of the renovated and expanded Museum of Modern Art.
The museum opened for a free viewing after a 21/2-year renovation. While much of the collection was on display at a former staple factory in Queens during that time, the $425 million reconstruction nearly doubled the museum’s gallery space.
“I missed it,” said Ellen Hofstatter, 55, who waited more than an hour to get in before heading straight for her favorite painting, Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.”
Many arrived hours before the 10 a.m. opening to be among the first to see the museum’s collection of world-class modern and contemporary art. At 10 a.m. sharp, the doors swung open to cheers.
Tad Davis and Susan Vosburgh, a couple from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, received a lifetime membership for being the first new visitors.
Others waiting near the end of the long line of thousands said they expected the wait to be worth it.
“I would rather be at the front, but I wanted to come today because I am poor and can’t afford $20 to get in,” said Suzanne Velovic, 61, referring to the new adult admission price, which The New York Times has labeled “an appalling and cynical figure.”
Inside, museum director Glenn Lowry defended the new prices – $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for students. Many school groups will be invited without charge and admission will be free to all on Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., Lowry said.
“We have endeavored to balance our financial needs with obligations to run a balanced budget,” he said. The increases are blamed in part on increased insurance fees, Lowry said.
The museum’s new design by Japanese architect Yushio Taniguchi retains architectural elements of the old building as the galleries were transformed.
“I hope we have accomplished creating an entirely new museum, rooted in the old museum, where the collection shines as never before,” Lowry said.
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