“The new Modern is an elegant envelope for an unsurpassed collection of 20th Century art shimmering against expanses of pristine white.” But “anyone expecting a museum in the theatrical, exuberant vein of the Guggenheim extravaganza that Frank Gehry bestowed on Bilbao will be disappointed. MoMA is not thrilling, dazzling or emotive. It seduces with a murmur. There are no panels crammed with historical background, no interactive gizmos, no flashy displays, not even a peach-hued wall — nothing to distract from the stark potency of the work.”