Happy Monday ! I cannot believe this is the last week in May! I do not know where the time is going, but hoping that the rest of 2021 will be better for folks in terms of travel and events. New York City is officially re-opening July 1st but many museums are already open, you need to be sure to pick up your timed tickets in advance. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been open a while now, so I thought I would highlight some of their current and upcoming exhibits.
I have not listed all of them, so you can check on their website for a total list of what will be coming up. These are the exhibits I hope to see in person, and there are quite a few that are very exciting indeed. If you cannot get to the museum yet in person, they are still doing virtual events and shopping is available online as well.
I just watched a wonderful documentary on the Met at PBS which can also be streamed on Amazon via the PBS app titled Inside the Met which is a must see. It shows you behind the scenes all the work that goes into the wonderful displays we are able to view and those who keep all the artifacts in the best shape possible.
What exhibit are you most excited to see when you return ?
THE NEW BRITISH GALLERYS MARCH 2, 2020–ONGOING - 11,000 square feet devoted to British decorative arts, design, and sculpture created between 1500 and 1900.
IN PRAISE OF PAINTING: DUTCH MASTERPIECES AT THE MET - OCTOBER 16, 2018-ONGOING - Through sixty-seven works of art organized thematically, In Praise of Painting orients visitors to key issues in seventeenth-century Dutch culture—from debates about religion and conspicuous consumption to painters' fascination with the domestic lives of women.
The ROOF GARDEN COMMISSION: Alex Da Corte, As Long as the Sun Lasts will be on view from April 16 through October 31, 2021 - It is the ninth in a series of site-specific commissions for the outdoor space.
A NEW LOOK AT OLD MASTERS - DECEMBER 12, 2020 TO SPRING 2022 - A New Look at Old Masters will explore a variety of themes in The Met's collection of European painting, creating new dialogues among the works and including a large presentation of sculpture
JAPAN: A HISTORY OF STYLE - MARCH 8, 2021 TO APRIL 24, 2022 - This exhibition celebrates how gifts and acquisitions of the last decade have transformed The Met’s ability to narrate the story of Japanese art by both expanding and deepening the range of remarkable artworks that can meaningfully elucidate the past. Each of the ten rooms that make up the Arts of Japan Galleries features a distinct genre, school, or style, representing an array of works in nearly every medium, from ancient times to the present.
UPCOMING EXHIBIITS
THE MEDICI: PORTRAITS & POLITICS, 1512-1570 - JUNE 26, 2021 TO OCTOBER 11, 2021 - Through an outstanding group of portraits, this major loan exhibition will introduce visitors to the new and complex ways artists portrayed the elite of Medicean Florence, representing the sitters' political and cultural ambitions and conveying the changing sense of what it meant to be a Florentine at this defining moment in the city's history.
THE NEW WOMAN BEHIND THE CAMERA - JULY 2 TO OCTOBER 3, 2021 - The New Woman of the 1920s was a powerful expression of modernity, a global phenomenon that embodied an ideal of female empowerment based on real women making revolutionary changes in life and art. Featuring more than 120 photographers from over 20 countries, this groundbreaking exhibition explores the work of the diverse "new" women who embraced photography as a mode of professional and artistic expression from the 1920s through the 1950s. During this tumultuous period shaped by two world wars, women stood at the forefront of experimentation with the camera and produced invaluable visual testimony that reflects both their personal experiences and the extraordinary social and political transformations of the era.
IN AMERICA: A LEXICON OF FASHION - SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 TO SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 -The galleries will feature a fictional American home constructed of transparent walls that intersect and overlap, blurring the boundaries of the rooms. Examples of twentieth- and twenty-first-century fashion will populate the interiors, reflecting the customs and behaviors of the imagined occupants. Designs by pioneers of American sportswear will be displayed alongside works by a diverse group of contemporary designers to illustrate a shifting emphasis in American fashion defined by feelings of fear, delight, comfort, anxiety, well-being, loneliness, happiness, belonging, and responsibility, among other qualities.
GIFTS IN CELEBRATION OF THE MUSEUM'S ANNIVERSARY - JANUARY 1, 2020 TO DECEMBER 31, 2021 - The Met's 150th anniversary is an exciting opportunity to further evolve the institution's encyclopedic collection in all curatorial areas, with an eye toward presenting multiple historical narratives. The Museum has received exceptional gifts from more than 150 generous collectors and supporters in honor of the anniversary, ranging from important individual artworks to large collections comprising many dozens of objects.
The Met is probably one of my most favorite parts of the city, as I have been visiting for so long! It is an experience like no other, and one you will never forget. All museums need our support now, and they give so much back to us in return.
You can schedule your timed ticket on their website - As of May 24th they are still requiring face coverings on everyone who enters whether vaccinated or not. Check their website for any changes to this guideline.
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710
Hours
Thursday–Monday: 10 am–5 pm
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
