Rubin Museum of Art

The Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) is a museum in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America dedicated to the collection, display, and preservation of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions.

History

The Rubin Museum originated from a private collection of Himalayan art, which Donald Rubin, the founder of the managed-health-care network MultiPlan, Inc., and his wife Shelley had been compiling since 1974. In 1996, Donald Rubin purchased the building of the former Barneys emporium in Chelsea, a former department store for designer fashion, which had filed for bankruptcy at the time, for $22 million (U.S.)

When the building was remodelled as a museum, the original 6-story spiral staircase was left intact to become the center of the 25,000 square feet of exhibition space. The museum was opened in October 2004 and has been displaying a total of more than 1,000 objects including paintings, sculpture, textiles, as well as ritual objects from the 2nd to the 20th century.

Recent News & Events

Stairway to Nirvana
Mark Stevens reviews the Rubin Museum of Art for New York Magazine. He notes how Shelly and Donald Rubin built their collection of Himalayan art from the 14th to 19th century, now housed in the former Barneys building in Chelsea. Each floor of the museum is organized by theme. The top floor is devoted to Tantric art, while the basement contains Kenro Izu photographs of the Himalayan region.