Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) founded the he Noguchi Museum in 1985. Located in Long Island City, it is the was first museum in the United States to be established, designed, and installed by a living artist to show their own work. The museum features open air and indoor galleries and a sculpture garden in a renovated 1920s industrial building. In addition to permanent installations, the museum has temporary exhibits and facilitates scholarship and learning for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to a white Irish-American mother and a Japanese father. He moved to Japan with his mother at the age of 2 and lived there until 1918 when his family moved to Indiana. After graduating high school, he moved to New York City, studied sculpture and began his sculpting career.

Isamu Noguchi is considered to be one of the finest modern sculptors. Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture, landscapes, and set designs. His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, set a new standard for the reintegration of the arts.