Austrian and German art from 1890-1940 takes center stage inside this restored 1914 mansion designed by Carrère and Hastings (the architects behind New York Public Library and the Frick Collection). The museum’s most prized collection is a series of sketches and paintings by Gustav Klimt, including his gold-flecked 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1, acquired for a cool $135 million by cosmetics magnate and museum founder Ronald Lauder. (The 2015 film Woman in Gold recounts the painting’s fascinating history, which includes looting Nazis, a feisty Bloch-Bauer heir and the obstinate Austrian government). This is a small but beautiful place, with winding staircases and wrought-iron banisters. A connected bookstore is a museum unto itself, decorated with artist monographs and coffee-table books. Note that children aged under 12 are not admitted to the museum, though Family Mornings are offered on select Sundays.
For an immersive Austrian experience, reserve a table at Café Sabarsky – a Vienna-style coffee house within the mansion, designed to mimic the time it was built (the upholstered seats use 1912 Otto Wagner fabric). With dishes like goulash soup, roasted bratwurst and topfentorte (quark cheesecake), you might mistake the Upper East Side for Europe’s Eastern Alps.
