Monster deals in art museums

The Guggenheim

David M. Heald

$75+ Buck up, commitmentphobes. Museum memberships may be the best way to get your hands on cheap tickets. Here’s the breakdown: A single MoMA membership goes for $75 (or $120 for a dual membership—and you can sign up with a friend). This means you’ll have to visit four times in a year to make the deal worthwhile. Perks include up to five $5 guest passes per visit (some ticket sellers have been known to give ’em to you free) and a 10 percent discount at the MoMA store.

Meanwhile, the Guggenheim’s $75 membership breaks even at five visits and will gain you free admission to all of the Gugg museums worldwide (hello, Bilbao!). A full membership at The Met costs $95, which is worth it if you tend to pay what they wish ($20) at least five times a year. But we’d go for the more simple $60 “Met Net” membership, which gets you into the Trustees Dining Room once (worth it for the view of Central Park), an admission card—and passes to the Cloisters. At the Whitney, $75 gets you annual membership (worth five single visits; a dual membership is $100), private morning viewings with breakfast, tickets for an opening cocktail reception and best of all (this goes for all the memberships), a way to avoid that I-need-to-see-the-whole-museum-in-one-afternoon feeling. Sold?

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