A Major Museum Mile Merger Is In The Works

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie New York revealed Thursday plans for a landmark merger that would bring the Neue Galerie under The Met’s umbrella while preserving its identity and Upper East Side home.

The agreement, expected to be finalized in 2028 pending approvals, would bring the Neue Galerie’s famed Austrian and German collection — including Gustav Klimt’s "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" and works by Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann and others — into The Met’s ownership.

The museum would be renamed The Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie and continue operating from the historic William Starr Miller House on Fifth Avenue.

The announcement coincides with the Neue Galerie’s 25th anniversary and includes major promised donations from cosmetics heir and Neue Galerie co-founder Ronald S. Lauder and his daughter, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer.

"For the past twenty-five years, the Neue Galerie’s exhibitions, permanent collection, design and book shops, and Café Sabarsky have created an experience that transports visitors to another time—early twentieth-century Vienna and Weimar Germany," Ronald S. Lauder, the cofounder of the Neue Galerie, said. "The merger with The Met in 2028 will preserve and strengthen the Neue Galerie’s legacy in perpetuity."

Among the planned gifts are Klimt’s "Die Tänzerin (The Dancer)," Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s "Die Russische Tänzerin Mela," and Beckmann’s "Galleria Umberto," along with future promised works by Otto Dix, George Grosz and Franz Marc.

Lauder and Zinterhofer also pledged substantial financial support for the museum’s long-term preservation and integration into The Met, including funding for an endowment and operational costs tied to the merger.

Under the agreement, the Neue Galerie would continue its exhibitions, programming, shops and Café Sabarsky while gaining expanded research, digital and international programming support through The Met.

A joint advisory board would also be created to oversee the transition, with Lauder serving as chair.

"Ronald has established a museum that is itself a work of art, and ultimately a profound reflection of his passion, expertise, and philanthropy," Max Hollein, the director and CEO of the Met, said. "We are deeply grateful to Ronald, Aerin, and their family for their generosity and long-standing commitment to sharing their glorious collection with the world, and honored to carry on their tremendous legacy. "

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