Metropolitan Museum of Art

Introduction

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870 at 1000 Fifth Avenue on the east side of Central Park in Manhattan, is one of the world's four great museums alongside the Louvre, the British Museum and the Hermitage, and ranks among the largest globally by both collection size and attendance. Its more than two million objects span 5,000 years of art history across 19 curatorial departments, from ancient Egypt and Greece-Rome to European painting, Asian art, arms and armor, costume and contemporary art. Icons include the Temple of Dendur, completed around 10 CE and given to the United States by Egypt in thanks for help saving Nubian monuments during the Aswan Dam project, plus Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat, Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Vermeer's Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, Caillebotte's Woman with a Parasol, Sargent's Madame X and Degas's Little Dancer. The complex grew over a century from Edward H. Bennett's Beaux-Arts facade, and a new modern and contemporary wing by Frida Escobedo is targeted to open by 2030. With 248 galleries the museum cannot be covered in a day, so pick two or three departments; the Roof Garden cafe and bar open seasonally from May to October and are included with admission. The same ticket also admits you to The Met Cloisters in upper Manhattan on the day of issue.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info