New York’s museums and zoos have always been a highpoint of city life. The stunning collections in the local art and history museums are some of the most important in the world. Some museums, like the Museum of Modern Art, are famous for their influence on the international art world. Others, like the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are centers of learning and research as well as galleries and exhibition halls for the public. Almost all of the institutions in this section have been gifts from philanthropists—gifts that have both immortalized the giver and deeply enriched the city they loved.
