The Cloisters was designed and built as a museum of works of art from the Middle Ages. Opened to the public in 1938, The Cloisters, with its neo-medieval architecture, provides a harmonious context for the exhibition of its important collection, which includes architectural fragments that have been incorporated into the fabric of the building itself. The unique setting allows the works of art to be installed in a manner suggesting their original functions and situations.

The creation of The Cloisters was made possible by John D. Rockefeller Jr., the philanthropist whose generous gifts provided for the building, its imposing hilltop setting, and the acquisition of the notable George Grey Barnard collection, which forms the nucleus of The Cloisters Collection. Barnard, an American sculptor, had purchased medieval sculpture and architectural elements primarily from French farmers as well as local magistrates who had incorporated into their properties works of art abandoned in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Today, The Cloisters Collection encompasses medieval works of art from throughout Europe, including remarkable examples of ceramics, metalwork and enamels, painting, sculpture, stained glass, tapestries, and other textiles.