The Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan will close after two decades of defending its prized collection of Himalayan Asian art, with leaders saying Wednesday they wanted to envision a modern museum without walls. But the museum, which will sell its building, has also faced some financial challenges in recent years.
The Rubin Museum’s doors will close on Oct. 6, when its last exhibit ends, before it transforms into an institution that will focus on traveling exhibitions and long-term loans. Almost 40 percent of its employees will lose their jobs. The head of the museum, Jorrit Britschgi, had eliminated nearly two dozen positions in 2019 to cut costs.
“The definition of what a museum is has evolved dramatically in recent years,” Noah Dorsky, chairman of the museum’s board, said in a statement. “Historically, the Rubin’s culture has embraced constant change and evolution, and in our new incarnation, we are redefining what a museum can be.”
The closing of its galleries shocked some museum professionals, who said it was the first time in recent memory that a major museum had closed in New York. Top museums have faced a severe cash crunch since the Covid-19 pandemic changed tourist habits, leading several institutions to cut jobs and raise ticket prices. However, none took Rubin’s extreme step of giving up all his real estate.
“Financially, things are really tough for institutions right now,” said Laura Raicovich, a former museum executive who writes about the challenges facing the arts. “The scarcity model of how cultural organizations operate in this country has become extreme, where reliance on individual donors and corporations is greater than ever.”
The museum said it is not closing its building because of financial challenges. A spokeswoman for the museum said its endowment had grown to more than $150 million by the end of 2023, which is large for an organization of its size. And its budget has grown since the pandemic.
However, there were signs of challenges in terms of operating expenses. The Rubin Museum posted a $5.9 million deficit in 2022, according to its most recent tax filings. And like many museums, it saw its attendance decline after the pandemic. However, the museum said it expected the next set of tax returns to show a surplus.
Founded in 2004 to promote the art collection of Donald and Shelley Rubin, the art museum has housed nearly 4,000 Himalayan art objects spanning 1,500 years of history. Its West 17th Street location filled nearly 70,000 square feet inside a building previously occupied by fashion department store Barneys New York. The Rubin family bought the property in 1998 for $22 million.
Britschgi said the museum intended to sell its Chelsea location, prime real estate that would likely fetch tens of millions of dollars. That money, he said, will be deposited into Rubin’s support fund.
The building next door to the museum, 115 Seventh Avenue — which housed Barneys until 2020 — sold for $21.5 million to a Queens developer in December. Louis Puopolo, head of operations at Douglas Elliman Commercial, said it could be optimal timing for Rubin and an opportunity to pressure new neighbors into a competitive bid.
“They’re probably wisely saying, ‘We’re going to put it on the market since it’s such a fantastic location,'” said Puopolo, who added that the property could be converted into a residence or used to house another museum or cultural center.
Over the years, Rubin’s exposures could be revelatory. It was one of the only places in New York to focus on Asian art, and there was a series of acclaimed shows during the 2010s that brought contemporary artists into the context of Tibetan and Nepali traditions.
“What Rubin tried to do was make objects that are normally classified as artifacts in other museums into objects that were as alive and vibrant as contemporary art,” said Chitra Ganesh, an artist who will be included in the museum’s latest exhibition. “What the closure signals is that there continues to be a lack of structural support and visibility for Asian artists.”
Objects from the museum’s collection will be included in upcoming installations in Milan and Chicago this year, and an exhibit titled “The Gateway to Himalayan Art” will travel to universities in several states through 2026.
Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, noted that the museum could face questions about its charitable status if the public did not have regular access to its art collection.
“Donors to the museum were able to claim tax credits to help the museum present art to the American public,” he said. “Will the public continue to benefit from this art once the museum closes?”
Britschgi said the museum, which will remain in New York and work with other institutions, is designated as a public charity and will not change its legal status. “People hear ‘museum’ and think it’s a space we can walk through,” he said. “That changes for us.”
Scholars have also expressed concern that the museum’s decline will affect its commitment to provenance research. The foundation repatriated several religious artworks back to Nepal after citizen activists uncovered information indicating that the relics at Rubin had been smuggled out of the country.
Britschgi noted that the museum recently hired another employee to conduct provenance research. “Repatriation remains an important part of our work,” he said. “This decision has nothing to do with the projects we have repatriated.”
The director of the museum said he was proud of his seven-year tenure. He had planned to leave in 2021, but stayed on during the pandemic after the board allowed him to work remotely from Europe.
“I’m proud to have led the organization through interesting times, and in parts also tumultuous,” Britschgi said. “I am proud to have led the organization through a phase of innovation and experimentation, and now into a phase of bold change and transformation as we enter a new chapter.”
Ronda Kaysen contributed to the report.
