Experience Art Like Never Before at The Met

The Met, short for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a world-renowned art museum situated in New York City. Incorporated in 1870, the museum first welcomed visitors in 1872. In 1880, the first structure in the current Central Park complex opened to the public.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art receives greater attention than any other institution in the country. It’s difficult to view everything there is to see at “the Met,” which is bursting at the seams with masterpieces from all over the world, including significant collections from ancient Egypt and classical antiquity.

Its permanent collections are worth seeing even if you have been there before; visitors particularly like the displays of Greek and Roman art, Egyptian art, and Islamic art on the first and second floors, respectively.

If you’ve previously been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, consider scheduling your next trip around one of the semiannual Costume Institute shows or a visit to the Met Cloisters, a branch museum in Fort Tyron Park devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe.

Visitors have excellent reviews about the Met and its first-rate facilities and artwork. To make the most of your time at the museum, many recommend checking its website in advance to plan the exhibitions you are interested in seeing. Take advantage of the museum’s excellent eating options and the picturesque sunset views from the rooftop garden bar to make a day of your visit.

History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met)

The Met’s main structure on Fifth Avenue was designed and created by Richard Morris Hunt and built-in 1902. Since 2016, it has been known as the Met Fifth Avenue. Some of the subsequent extensions were designed by McKim, Mead & White.

The American wing was constructed in 1924, and it included a marble façade dating back to 1823 that had been salvaged from the old U.S. Branch Bank on Wall Street. Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates were responsible for the remaining 20th-century construction.

There was the Robert Lehman Wing (1975) that houses the museum’s collection of Old Masters and Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works; the wing (1978; formerly called the Sackler Wing) that houses the Temple of Dendur, a monument given to the museum by Egypt; the American Wing (built-in 1980), a four-acre addition that wraps around the original section and houses the museum’s extensive American art collection; and the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing (1982), which houses the museum One of the most extensive collections of its kind.

The 2011 opening of a newly refurbished and reimagined set of 15 galleries showcasing “art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, even Central Asia, and later South Asia” The Met Breuer, located at East 75th Street and Madison Avenue, was designed by Marcel Breuer to house exhibitions and performances linked to 20th and 21st-century art, artist commissions and residencies, and educational programming, and was home to the Whitney Museum of American Art from 2016 to 2020.

Highlights of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

Architecture, sculpture, painting, calligraphy, prints, photographs, glass, bronzes, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, lacquer work, furniture, period rooms, arms and armor, and musical instruments from Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, East Asia, and the Middle East, Greece and Rome, Europe, pre-Columbian New Guinea, and the Islamic and American cultures can all be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Founded in 1964 largely for the use of museum employees and visiting researchers, the Thomas J. Watson Library houses one of the world’s most comprehensive art and archaeology reference collections. The Nolen Library is the most extensive of the museum’s network of special libraries, which also includes the Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library and the Robert Lehman Collection Library.

The Met Cloisters, located in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan, is the Met’s museum dedicated to medieval art from Europe. Central Park also features displays of medieval art.

FAQ’s

1. What is the actual address for The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)?
   1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028.
2. What are the opening hours of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)?
   Fridays and Saturdays from 10 AM to 9 PM. Sundays to Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 AM to pm. Closed on Wednesdays.
3. What are the closest subway stops to The Metropolitan Museum of Art?
   The nearest subway stops are the 4, 5, and 6 at 86th Street; the museum is on Fifth Avenue, just east of Central Park.
4. How can you buy tickets for the Metropolitan Museum of Art?
   Adults pay $30, seniors pay $22, and students pay $17 to access the main building and The Cloisters; children under 12 enter free with a paying adult. Tickets are good for entry at both venues on the same day of purchase. Ticket sales will be available both online and at the door. Admission is “pay what you wish,” but only if you are a resident of New York State or a student in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Tickets may only be purchased in person with proper identification.