This restored Carrère and Hastings mansion from 1914 is a resplendent showcase for Austrian and German art, featuring works by Paul Klee and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and incredible collections of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. In pride of place on the 2nd floor is Klimt’s golden 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I – acquired for the museum by cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder for a whopping $135 million. The fascinating story of the painting's history is told in the 2015 film Woman in Gold.
This is a small but beautiful place, with winding staircases and wrought-iron banisters. It also has a lovely, street-level eatery, Café Sabarsky; downstairs, Café Fledermaus serves the same menu and absorbs the overflow. Avoid weekends (and the free-admission first Friday of the month) if you don’t want to deal with gallery-clogging crowds. Note that children aged under 12 are not admitted to the museum, though Family Mornings are offered on select Sundays.
