Back in late June, the Museum of Modern Art bought a quarter-page ad on page 2 of the Weekend section of The New York Times;Â it ran the full length of the left edge. It caught my eye because it announced that timed tickets were on sale as of that day for Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs, which opens on Oct. 12.
The ad did not, btw, list prices for the tickets — just the web address for purchases — but MoMA simply charges general admission for exhibitions, with no added tab. General adult admission is $25.
At the time, I thought it was a bit premature to be selling these tickets. MoMA was probably trying to create scarcity, which drives up prices — not relevant in this case — and to cause that crazy phenomenon called FOMO — fear of missing out. (It worked incredibly well for MoMA last year with Rain Room.)
This instance, so far, it hasn’t. Today, when I sampled the website for tickets, I was able to access tickets for every date I tried and for virtually all times.
But I doubt it will matter. MoMA will undoubtedly have a hit on its hands: these works are, of course, gorgeous. Matisse is a brand name.
Besides, this show has a track record. This week, the Tate announced that it was its best draw ever:
Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs received 562,622 visitors making it the most popular exhibition ever held at Tate and the first to receive over half a million people.
Matisse Picasso at Tate Modern previously held the record as Tate’s most visited exhibition with 467,166 visitors in 2002. This is followed by the Damien Hirst exhibition with 463,087 visitors in 2012. Open for five months from 17 April to 7 September this year, Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs was seen by 3,907 visitors each day.
It will be interesting to see if New York beats London.
Even if early buying didn’t work, MoMA will likely pick up new members once this exhibit receives its due. Members don’t need timed tickets and may enter the show whenever they choose.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of MoMA