Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met,[a] is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. It is the largest art museum in the Americas and the fourth-largest in the world. With 5.36 million visitors in 2023, it is the most-visited museum in the United States and the fourth-most visited art museum in the world.[6]
Not to be confused with the Museum of Modern Art.Established
1000 Fifth Avenue (The Met Fifth Avenue)
99 Margaret Corbin Drive (The Cloisters)
New York City, U.S.
2 million[1]
5.364 million (2023)[5]
As of 2000, its permanent collection had over two million works;[1] it currently lists a total of 1.5 million objects.[7] The collection is divided into 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile on the eastern edge of Central Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side, is by area one of the world's largest art museums. The first portion of the approximately 2-million-square-foot (190,000 m2) building was built in 1880. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains an extensive collection of art, architecture, and artifacts from medieval Europe.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 with its mission to bring art and art education to the American people. The museum's permanent collection consists of works of art ranging from the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt, through classical antiquity to the contemporary world. It includes paintings, sculptures, and graphic works from many European Old Masters, as well as an extensive collection of American, modern, and contemporary art. The Met also maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art. The museum is home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes, and decorative arts and textiles, as well as antique weapons and armor from around the world. Several notable interiors, ranging from 1st-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries.
Special exhibitions[edit]
The museum regularly hosts notable special exhibitions, often focusing on the works of one artist that have been loaned out from a variety of other museums and sources for the duration of the exhibition. These exhibitions are part of the attraction that draw people both within and outside Manhattan to explore the Met. Such exhibitions include displays especially designed for the Costume Institute, paintings from artists from across the world, works of art related to specific art movements, and collections of historical artifacts. Exhibitions are commonly located within their specific departments, ranging from American decorative arts, arms and armor, drawings and prints, Egyptian art, Medieval art, musical instruments, and photographs. Typical exhibitions run for months at a time and are open to the general public. Each exhibition provides insight into the world of art as a transformative, cultural experience and often includes a historical analysis to demonstrate the profound impact that art has on society and its dramatic transformation over the years.[135]
In 1969, a special exhibition, titled "Harlem on My Mind" was criticized for failing to exhibit work by Harlem artists. The museum defended its decision to portray Harlem itself as a work of art.[136] Norman Lewis, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Clifford Joseph, Roy DeCarava, Reginald Gammon, Henri Ghent, Raymond Saunders, and Alice Neel were among the artists who picketed the show.[137]
Performance arts[edit]
The museum's Department of Live Arts commissions new works of performance using music, sound, movement, and other artistic practices.[138] Under the banner of MetLiveArts, performances are presented in the galleries and spaces of the main museum building and The Cloisters, and made available through digital platforms such as YouTube[139] and the museum's own website. Limor Tomer, general manager of MetLiveArts since 2011,[140] has moved away from the programs of classical recitals and chamber concerts that were customary at that time.[141]
Management[edit]
Governance[edit]
Daniel Weiss was the President and CEO of the Met, replacing Emily K. Rafferty, who served as president for a decade,[192] and Thomas P. Campbell, CEO and director of the museum until resigning in 2017. In April 2018, Max Hollein was named director.[193] The Met announced in August 2022 that Hollein became CEO in July 2023.[194]