The Noguchi Museum (chartered as The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum) is a museum and sculpture garden at 3237Vernon Boulevard in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Designed and created by the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), it opened on a limited basis to the public in 1985. The museum and foundation were intended to preserve and display Noguchi's sculptures, architectural models, stage designs, drawings, and furniture designs. The two-story, museum and sculpture garden, one block from the Socrates Sculpture Park, underwent major renovations in 2004 allowing the museum to stay open year-round.

History

To house the museum, in 1974 Noguchi purchased a photogravure plant and gas station located across the street from his New York studio, where he had worked and lived since 1961. The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum opened to the public in 1985 on a seasonal basis.Ken Johnson (September 1, 2009), A Stillness in the City: The Raw Grace of Noguchi's Nimble Constructions The New York Times. At the time, it was the first such museum to be established by a living artist in America.

In 1999, the Foundation Board approved a $13.5million capital master plan to address structural concerns, ADA and NYC Building Code compliance and create a new public education facility. During renovation, the museum relocated to a temporary space in Sunnyside, Queens, and held several thematic exhibitions of Noguchi's work.Grace Glueck (May 30, 2003), Modernist in the Making: Noguchi's Many Voices The New York Times. In February2004, the museum was formally chartered as a museum, and granted 501(c)(3) public charity status. The Noguchi Museum reopened to the public at its newly renovated space in June2004. The museum building continued to suffer from structural issues into the early 2000s and a second $8million stabilization project was begun in September 2008. As a result, there are now 12galleries and a gift shop within the museum.

In 2022, the museum was awarded $4.5million in capital funding, $1.5million of which came from Mayor Eric Adams and the rest from Queens Borough president Donovan Richards.Tessa Solomon (August 12, 2022), Noguchi Museum Gets $4.5 M. from NYC to Restore the Celebrated Sculptor's Queens Studio ARTnews. The funds will be used for a restoration of the artist's original 1959 living and studio space situated opposite the museum as well as for a new two-story, 6,000-square-foot building adjacent to the studio to house the museum's collection and archival material.Peter Libbey (April 16, 2019), Noguchi Museum Will Open Sculptor's Studio to Public After Restoration The New York Times.

Tree of Heaven Until March26, 2008, a -tall 75-year-old Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) was a prominent centerpiece of the sculpture garden at the museum. The tree was spared by Noguchi when in 1975 he bought the building which would become the museum and cleaned up its back lot. "[I]n a sense, the sculpture garden was designed around the tree", said a former aide to Noguchi, Bonnie Rychlak, who later became the museum curator. By early 2008, the tree was found to be dying and threatened to crash into the building, which was about to undergo an $8.2million renovation. The museum hired the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop, an artists' collective, to use the wood to make benches, sculptures and other amenities in and around the building.

Programs Exhibition The museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of its opening with the exhibition On Becoming an Artist. Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922 – 1960, which open from November 17, 2010, to April 24, 2011

Other artists whose work have been featured include Koho Yamamoto and Toshiko Takaezu.

Education The museum's educational program, Art for Families, is a community outreach program aimed at families. The museum also runs a program called Art for Tots for young children.

Controversy In September 2024, the museum fired three gallery attendants for wearing keffiyeh head scarves, which the museum claimed violated their policy, introduced in August 2024, against employees wearing items that express "political messages, slogans or symbols." Later the same month, author Jhumpa Lahiri declined to accept the museum's annual Isamu Noguchi award, citing the firings as the reason for her refusal.

Isamu Noguchi Award Since 2014, the Isamu Noguchi Award has been given annually "to individuals who share [museum founder] Noguchi's spirit of innovation, global consciousness, and East-West exchange." Recipients have included: 2014: Norman Foster, Hiroshi SugimotoKimberly Chou (May 15, 2014), Sculptor's Honors Cubed The Wall Street Journal. 2015: Jasper Morrison, Yoshio Taniguchi 2016: Tadao Ando, Elyn ZimmermanHannah Ghorashi (December 2, 2015), Tadao Ando and Elyn Zimmerman Win the 2016 Isamu Noguchi Award ARTnews. 2017: John Pawson, Hiroshi Senju 2018: Naoto Fukasawa, Edwina von GalClaire Selvin (March 14, 2019), Rei Kawakubo Wins 2019 Isamu Noguchi Award ARTnews. 2019: Rei Kawakubo 2020: David Adjaye, Cai Guo-QiangCamille Okhio (November 17, 2020), Noguchi Museum Presents Its Annual Award to AD100 Architect David Adjaye Architectural Digest. 2021: Shio Kusaka, Toshiko Mori 2022: Daniel Brush, Thaddeus Mosley 2023: Edmund de Waal, Theaster Gates, Hanya Yanagihara 2024: Jhumpa Lahiri (declined on account of the museum firing employees wearing keffiyeh), Lee Ufan

Directors 1989–2003: Shoji Sadao 2003–2017: Jenny DixonAlex Greenberger (June 14, 2017), Noguchi Museum Director Jenny Dixon to Retire After 14 Years at Haven in Queens ARTnews. 2018–2023: Brett LittmanAndrew Russeth (February 5, 2018), Drawing Center's Brett Littman Will Lead Noguchi Museum ARTnews.Andrew R. Chow (February 5, 2018), Noguchi Museum Hires New Director The New York Times. 2024: Amy HauHilarie M. Sheets (December 8, 2023), Noguchi Museum Selects Female Director With Deep Roots in Queens The New York Times.

See also List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City List of museums in New York List of single-artist museums Japanese in New York City

References

External links

A quick visit to the Noguchi Museum The Noguchi Museum at Google Cultural Institute