To travel to New York is to enter one of the cities with the greatest art scene.

Its
galleries are of great importance worldwide and its museums house paintings of the
greatest painters of all times. One of its most important cultural venues is the Museum
of Modern Art in New York City, known as the MoMA.
The MoMA was the first museum in North America dedicated exclusively to modern art
and within its 60 thousand square meters there are pieces of the greatest
representatives of the currents of the twentieth century, including Picasso, Van Gogh,
Jackson Pullock, Kandinsky and even Frida Kahlo.
The activities that can be performed within the site are vast, from touring the
permanent exhibition, witness the main galleries and contemplate the sculpture
garden, visit the library or eat something in its main restaurant whose gastronomy is in
charge of chef Abraham Bissel, can take more than a week. So to make the visit easier
and to be able to see the essential works on the first visit, we decided to make a list of
10 works that are a must for any visitor to this precinct.
Starry Night, Van Gogh
For many it is the masterpiece of the Dutch painter and one of the main works of the
entire post-impressionist movement. The piece has been studied for several decades,
and without a doubt the enigmatic yellow circle in the upper right corner will always be
a mystery to experts. For some this abstract form represents the Sun, while for others
it is the planet Venus.
Water Lilies, Claude Monet
More than a single painting, Monet's Water Lilies is a collection of about 250 pieces
painted during the painter's adult life when he moved to the French village of Giverny.
The museum acquired several works from this collection, however it should be
remembered that during a fire in 1950 several MoMA paintings were damaged,
including some by the Frenchman.
Campbell's Soup Can, Andy Warhol
This series of paintings with Campbell cans represent Andy Warhol's most famous
pieces. Besides becoming instantly famous (like the soup) these Pop Art drawings
aroused controversy among people, as they confronted for the first time the artistic
community with monopolies and the dominance of brands in the consumer society.
The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí
A piece that you only need to see it to know who its author was. The melted clocks, the
white creature in the center, the use of colors and in general all the strangeness that
characterizes the painting makes it a masterpiece of the greatest exponent of
surrealism: Salvador Dalí.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso
This is another treasure kept by MoMA. This work by Picasso was one of the most
controversial of its time since it is a memory of the painter in a brothel. In this piece
five nude women, geometrically represented, are staring, in an almost provocative
manner, at the viewer.
Gas Station, Edward Hopper
Hopper was a painter who was interested in realistically depicting American life.
Whether it was a train station or a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere, Hopper
painted his country as he perceived it. This particular work was done in 1940 while he
was going through a period of depression brought on by a series of surgeries.
Dutch Interior, Joan Miró
This was the first work of a series that the Spanish artist painted during his trip through
Holland. In this collection Miró reflects his particular style and moves away from the
cubist and expressionist movements, to explore the human unconscious.
The Lovers, René Magritte
This is one of the iconic works of the surrealist movement. It was created in 1928 and it
depicts one of the most enigmatic kisses in history, since the only thing we can assume
(because of the veil covering their faces) is that they are a man and a woman sharing a
romantic moment.
Self-portrait with cut hair, Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo's work managed to cross borders, so some of her pieces are in museums in
various parts of the world. In the case of this painting, the first thing you notice is the
phrase (from a corrido of the time): "Look, if I loved you it was because of your hair,
now that you are bald I don't love you anymore", which attests to the rebellious
personality of the artist, who in this self-portrait sought to challenge the standard of
beauty with a simple haircut.
The painting belongs to the metaphysical period of the painter, it reveals a parallel
reality whose only common denominator is art. In the work we can see a juxtaposition
of the classical world with the modern world of the early twentieth century.

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