The MoMA will purchase the building on 53rd street currently inhabited by the American Folk Art Museum, the Folk Art Museum announced last night. The deal means that the Folk Art Museum — whose financial difficulties have been well documented since it announced last year that it could not repay the $32 million bond it owes for the building’s construction — will shift its base of operations to its smaller Lincoln Square branch. They’ve inhabited the 53rd street space since 2001.
No price for the building was disclosed, but Folk Art President Laura Parsons wrote in a press release that the deal will allow the museum to focus on curation. “The constant burden of servicing and paying down this debt imperils the institution and distracts the museum’s board and staff from our pursuit of programmatic excellence,” she said.
The MoMA plans to “expand in [the] direction” of the adjacent Folk Art Museum, according to Glenn Lowry via The Times.
