From Mansion to Museum: Transforming Historic Buildings into Cultural Treasures
Annabelle Selldorf and Professor Andrew S. Dolkart in conversation about the Neue Galerie’s architecture, history, and enduring presence along Fifth Avenue
Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA, Principal, Selldorf Architects
Professor Andrew S. Dolkart, Columbia University
To mark the Neue Galerie’s 25th anniversary season, Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects joins Professor Andrew S. Dolkart of Columbia University for a conversation about the museum’s architecture, history, and enduring presence along Fifth Avenue. The Neue Galerie was one of Selldorf’s first major commissions in an illustrious career working with cultural institutions, and Dolkart’s research brought to life the colorful history of the building in his book 1048 Fifth Avenue: From Mansion to Museum. Together, they will explore the building’s transformation into a museum and consider how its architecture has shaped the experience of its collection and its role within New York City’s cultural landscape.
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1048 Fifth Avenue: From Mansion to Museum
Architectural historian Andrew Dolkart recounts the colorful history of the building on its journey from mansion to museum. In the process, he illuminates the social changes of New York over the course of a century.
About the Speakers
Andrew Dolkart
Andrew Dolkart is a Professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and is a co-founder of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project. He is a preservationist and historian specializing in the architecture and development of New York City and is the author of several award winning books, including Morningside Heights: A History of Its Architecture and Development, which received the Association of American Publishers’ award for best scholarly book in architecture and urban design; Biography of a Tenement House in New York City: An Architectural History of 97 Orchard Street; The Row House Reborn: Architecture and Neighborhoods in New York City, 1908-1929, which won the Society of Architectural Historians’ prestigious Antoinette Forrester Downing Award in 2012; and the recently revised history of the Neue Galerie, 1048 Fifth Avenue: From Mansion to Museum.
Annabelle Selldorf
Annabelle Selldorf founded Selldorf Architects in 1988, an internationally renowned architectural practice based in New York City. The practice has particular expertise in the complex requirements of cultural projects, with clients including the Musee du Louvre, The Frick Collection, National Gallery London, Art Gallery of Ontario, The Wallace Collection, Musse Yves Saint Laurent Paris, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Dumbarton Oaks, Clark Art Institute, and Neue Galerie New York. Born and raised in Cologne, Germany, Annabelle is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and serves on the Board the Chinati Foundation, the Architectural League of New York, the World Monuments Fund, and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. In 2016, she received the AIA New York Medal of Honor, and in 2025 Annabelle was named one of TIME 100 most influential people and she received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute.