Manhattan’s newest art and culture center, the Rubin
Museum of Art, opened with a bang on October 2,2004 offering
visitors a year round opportunity to explore the rich artistic
heritage of the Himalayas and the surrounding regions. 25 years
ago, the realm of the world of artistry of the Himalayas was
opened to Donald and Shelly Rubin as they purchased their first
Himalayan painting and over their years as their collection
grew so did their commitment to preserve, document and share
this art that so engages them.
Their collection has now found a permanent home in the RMA,
a 501 (c) (3) not for profit trust dedicated to the art of the
Himalayas at the site of the former Barney’s building
at 150 West, 17th Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea district.
Retaining numerous parts of the six-storey brownstone building,
the museum has 25,000 sq. foot of gallery space, a state of
the art theater, a classroom, a library and research facilities,
a café and shop.
The magical architectural spaces created for a former materialistic
departmental store and the transcendental divine art of the
Himalayas merge to create a monastic Himalayan retreat in the
cacophony of New York. Meditation mats and collections of thangka
paintings put together on walls, a museum interpretation of
traditional shrine room give opportunities to viewers to connect
with the divine.
In addition to the permanent and temporary exhibitions of works
from its collections, The RMA will also be host to other Himalayan
collections. In an unprecedented gesture, the People’s
Republic of China has sent object from the Potala Palace in
Lhasa for the exhibition Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the
World, organized by the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa,
Ana, California. The exhibition will travel to RMA in 2005.
Currently, a photographic exhibition of Kenro Izu, Sacred passage
to Himalaya, adorn the walls of the photo gallery. The calendar
of events of the Museum interestingly entitled 100 programs
in 100 days, notes down the kaleidoscope of exhibitions, talks,
movies and various programs and events that the museum hosts.
