American Folk Art Museum

The American Folk Art Museum is the premier institution in the United States devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists. Located at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, it holds approximately 7,500 objects spanning from the 18th century to the present. The museum's collection encompasses traditional folk art alongside the work of modern and contemporary self-taught artists and Art Brut. Founded in 1961, it has continually expanded its mission to reflect an increasingly international and inclusive understanding of folk art. Admission is free, and the museum recorded more than 130,000 visitors in its most recent yearly attendance figure. Since 2018, the museum has been led by Jason T. Busch, Becky and Bob Alexander Director & CEO. In March 2025, readers of Newsweek magazine voted the American Folk Art Museum number one in the publication's Best Art Museum 2025 readers' choice contest.

The American Folk Art Museum received its provisional charter on June 23, 1961, and opened that same year as the Museum of Early American Folk Arts, with its first exhibition held in a rented space at 49 West 53rd Street. At its inception, the institution lacked a permanent collection, endowment, and building. Founding trustees Joseph B. Martinson and Adele Earnest established a vision centered on advancing the understanding and appreciation of American folk arts. The collection was launched in 1962 with the gift of the Flag Gate, a gate in the form of an American flag celebrating the nation's centennial, reflecting the museum's early focus on eighteenth and nineteenth-century vernacular arts from northeastern America. In 1966, after receiving a permanent charter, the museum expanded its name to the Museum of American Folk Arts, broadening its scope beyond traditional definitions. Founding curator Herbert W. Hemphill Jr. expanded the notion of folk art to include idiosyncratic and individualistic work from both traditional and contemporary sources. The 1990s brought increased attention to diversity and multiculturalism, with director Gerard C. Wertkin championing African American and Latino artworks. In 1998, the museum formed the Contemporary Center, dedicated to twentieth and twenty-first century self-taught artists and non-American art brut. The institution adopted its current name, American Folk Art Museum, in 2001, signaling that "American" indicates location and principal patronage rather than a limitation on scope. The museum's programming has since included folk arts from Latin America, England, Norway, and beyond. In 2007, the museum received a portion of a 20 million dollar donation from the Carnegie Corporation.

The museum's collection holds approximately 7,500 objects, though some sources indicate over 8,000, spanning from the 18th century to the present. These works cover both traditional folk art and the work of modern and contemporary self-taught artists and Art Brut. The collection includes pottery, quilts, and toys, among other forms. Since the 1990s, the museum has actively incorporated African American and Latino artworks, reflecting a more inclusive vision of American folk art's common heritage. The Contemporary Center, established in 1998, focuses specifically on twentieth and twenty-first century self-taught artists and European-style art brut. The museum's approach emphasizes that American folk art can only be fully understood in an international context, and its exhibitions and programming regularly feature work from beyond the United States. The permanent exhibition is titled "Folk Art Revealed."

Among the most celebrated works in the collection is the Flag Gate, the museum's first acquisition, a wooden and metal American flag form dating to approximately 1876. Early acquisitions also included the Archangel Gabriel Weathervane and St. Tammany Weathervane, nineteenth-century weather vanes. The purchase of the Bird of Paradise Quilt Top (1858-1863) established quilts as a significant component of the collection. The museum also holds a cooperative quilt project commemorating September 11, 2001. Prior to the opening of its 2001 building, the museum received numerous donations, including artifacts from the Pennsylvania Germans and Shakers. In 2001, the museum opened the Henry Darger Study Center, housing 24 of the self-taught artist's works along with his books, tracings, drawings, and source materials. The Self-Taught Genius Gallery in Long Island City, opened in September 2017 and funded largely by the Henry Luce Foundation, presents thematic exhibitions drawn from the museum's collection that change every few months.

The American Folk Art Museum has occupied several locations throughout its history. From its 1961 founding, it operated from rented quarters at 49 West 53rd Street. In 1979, the board of trustees purchased two townhouses on West 53rd Street adjacent to these quarters. While awaiting development, from 1984 the museum operated from a former carriage house at 125 West 55th Street. In 1989, a branch opened at 2 Lincoln Square, opposite Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The most architecturally significant building in the museum's history was the 2001 structure at 45-47 West 53rd Street, designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects. This eight-level building occupied a forty-foot-wide, one-hundred-foot-long site and featured a distinctive metal facade. Financial pressures led to its sale to the Museum of Modern Art in 2011, and despite public outcry, MoMA demolished the building in 2014 as part of its expansion. Sixty-three panels of the unique facade were removed and placed in storage by MoMA before demolition. Following the sale, the museum returned to 2 Lincoln Square as its main exhibition and shop space. In 2014, the museum's archives, library, and administrative staff relocated to Long Island City, Queens, where the Self-Taught Genius Gallery opened in September 2017.

The American Folk Art Museum's main exhibition and shop space is located at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. This location, opposite Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, has served as the museum's primary venue since 2011, after the sale of its midtown building. Admission to the museum is free. The museum's archives, library, and administrative functions are housed in Long Island City, Queens, where the Self-Taught Genius Gallery is also located, though this gallery is temporarily closed with no stated reopening date. The museum is owned and operated as a nonprofit institution, and its present role centers on exhibitions, educational programming, and outreach that showcase the creative expressions of individuals whose talents developed without formal artistic training.