MoMA Exclusive: Beloved for nearly a century, M&Ms are now available in a MoMA edition, with the MoMA logo on one side of the candy and the classic M on the other. M&Ms are represented in MoMA’s collection, and were acquired in 2005. This custom-designed package contains 7oz of the multi-color hard-shell chocolate candies. 

Although no one is certain if the back story is true, the M&M legend goes like this. Inspired by his desire to bring chocolates that wouldn’t melt in your hand to soldiers battling overseas, Forrest Mars, Sr. created the first M&Ms in the late 1930s and patented the first M&M in 1941. M&Ms have played a significant role in American food culture and product design over the years. With their durable outer shell, they were a sweet treat for soldiers in WWII and they traveled to outer space on the space shuttle in the 1980s.