The American Folk Art Museum was cited by Roberta Smith of the New York Times for presenting one of the top ten exhibitions of the year: When the Curtain Never Comes Down.

This is the third year in a row that the museum has been honored by end-of-year praise. Last year, Willem van Genk: Mind Traffic was cited by art critics at Time Out New York as one of the top ten exhibitions of the year. And in 2013, Roberta Smith noted the importance of the museum's exhibitions of works by Bill Traylor.