A New York City Museum Gift Guide For Art Design Lovers

Home to the world’s foremost art and design institutions, New York City museum stores sell some of the most beautiful and creative gifts around. From clever stocking stuffers to stunning jewelry and innovative home accents, these ten museums are the perfect places to shop for your artsiest loved ones this holiday season.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

With books, jewelry, clothing, home décor, and accessories inspired by the museum’s international collection of art and artifacts spanning 5,000 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an entirely comprehensive shop with stunning gifts for any and all art lovers on your shopping list.

Top left: Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen Le Chat Noir–inspired apron, oven mitt and pot holder set; Top right: recycled concrete cuff links with gold leaf detail; Bottom left: Turkish carpet pattern bow tie; Bottom right: French Rococo-inspired key pendant necklace.

Housing a large segment of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s medieval European art and artifact collection, the Cloisters transports visitors to the gilded botanical world of the Middle Ages, catering to those with especially old-world taste.

Top left: mixed herb napkin rings; Top right: gold bee ring; Bottom left: Unicorn Tapestry tie; Bottom right: cranberry earrings.

MoMA Design & Book Stores

With four locations across the city, the Museum of Modern Art design and book stores showcase some of New York’s most innovative gift options. From quirky home accents to one-of-a-kind jewelry and clever kitchen accessories, MoMA stores sell unique wares fitting for every budget and aesthetic.

Top left: UNIQLO Keith Haring Striped Dancers T-Shirt; Top right: Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso salt and pepper shakers; Bottom left: Kinematics 3D-printed petal necklace; Bottom right: The Porthole infuser.

Neue Galerie

Complete with a book store and separate design shop, a gift from the Neue Galerie promises to be artful and luxurious. The museum exclusively exhibits early 20th century works of art and design from Germany and Austria, so the shop is a must for the Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Bauhaus-obsessed.

Top left: Habsburg Vienna-inspired Passementerie bracelets; Top right: Gilded Adele-inspired leather-bound journal; Bottom left: Silk and bamboo folding fan; Bottom right: Eva Zeisel sauce cup and spoon set.

Cooper Hewitt

If you’re shopping for a design-lover, look no further than the Cooper Hewitt gift shop. This Upper East Side institution specializes in showcasing the best of design history alongside the exhibition of brilliant new innovations. From lighting to housewares, jewelry and textiles, the Cooper Hewitt is a design-lover’s paradise.

Top left: The world’s thinnest seven-function pen; Top right: silver “Pins and Needles” lace necklace; Bottom left: the “Bacterio” etched card case; Bottom right: The Designer’s Cook Book.

The Guggenheim Museum

Designed by American “starchitect” Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim Museum specializes in modern works from the 20th century to the present day. Guggenheim gifts are sure to pleasantly surprise art and design aficionados of all ages.

Top left: Smartphone projector; Top right: LEGO brick cufflinks (also available in black and white); Bottom left: hand-made “Bubbles” bracelet by Batacuda; Bottom right: Wassily Kandinsky-inspired scarf.

Morbid Anatomy Museum

For the macabre art lover in your life, a gift from your trip to the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Gowanus would unlikely go amiss. Standing at the intersection between “art and medicine, beauty and death,” this unconventional gift shop is the go-to place for skull themes and artful depictions of gruesome bodily functions.

Top left: Original handmade bone China histology plates (set of four); Top right: signed and numbered sugar skull screen print; Bottom left: Anatomy of Digestion cup and saucer (teeth); Bottom right: Autopsie Printanière card set.

New-York Historical Society

The shop at the New-York Historical Society houses a selection of vintage-inspired home goods, apparel, accessories, and books for your favorite artsy historian.

Top left: Empire State Building and Chrysler Building salt and pepper shakers; Top right: Savoy pocket watch; Bottom left: “Votes for Women” pillow; Bottom right: Jazz-Age drinking glasses.

The Jewish Museum

Specializing in the exhibition of historic and cutting-edge Jewish art, the Upper East Side’s Jewish Museum also houses a stunning selection of wares. From handmade jewelry to humorous apparel, the Jewish Museum is ideal for thoughtful gifts that sidestep the usual Christmas themes.

Top left: Sol LeWitt-inspired kippah; Top right: handmade bagel and lox earrings; Bottom left: Origami mezuzah by Studio Armadillo; Bottom right: Roberto Burle Marx-inspired coin purse.

Whitney Museum of American Art

One of the city’s most popular museums, the Whitney draws crowds from all over the world with a top-notch program of outstanding exhibitions. Their gift shop doesn’t fall far from the tree, with creative trinkets, artsy accessories, and stylish home accents.

Top left: Prism cat-eye glasses; Top right: Chen and Kai Williams “Nugget” keychains; Bottom left: Keith Haring-inspired watch; Bottom right: Barbara Kruger vinyl Love tote.

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