Metropolitan Museum of Art

From Freepedia

There is also the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in Manhattan.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often referred to simply as The Met, is one of the world's largest and most important art museums, located on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan, New York, United States. It also comprises a building complex known as "The Cloisters" in Fort Tryon Park at the north end of Manhattan Island overlooking the Hudson River which features medieval art.

Its massive collection ranges from treasures of Classical Antiquity like its Greek galleries and Cypriot galleries to nearly all the European masters, as well as an extensive collection of American art. It also possesses extensive holdings in Egyptian — including the Temple of Dendur — African, Asian, Oceanic, Middle Eastern, Byzantine and Islamic art. The museum also contains recreations of notable interiors, including one by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Department of Arms and Armor displays a collection of antique weapons and armor from around the world, primarily Europe, but also Japan, the United States, and the Middle East, with extensive holdings from other cultures and periods in the study collection. One of The Met's latest purchases and the most expensive piece of art is Duccio's Madonna and Child, costing the museum more than 45 million dollars. The painting is only 8 x 11 inches.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Whitney Museum of American Art are near the museum's main building. The museum is widely considered to be among the best in the world.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened on February 20, 1872. Its founding Superintendent was the publisher George Palmer Putnam. Its director from 1955 to his death on May 11, 1966, was James J. Rorimer. He was succeeded by Thomas Hoving, who served from March 17, 1967 to June 30, 1977. The current director is Phillipe de Montebello.

See also

• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City

External links

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: official site
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Timeline of Art History
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pictures (Insecula, French language. It may be necessary to close an advertising banner to view this index page.) See also Insecula.