Summer Stars
Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars,
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,
So near you are, summer stars,
So near, strumming, strumming,
So lazy and hum-strumming.
—Carl Sandburg (American, 1878–1967)
Above: Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910). Fishing Boats, Key West, 1903. Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper; 13 15/16 x 21 3/4 in. (35.4 x 55.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Amelia B. Lazarus Fund, 1910 (10.228.1).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing—including The Charles Engelhard Court and the American period rooms—reopened last month. After more than two years of construction and renovation, the unparalleled collections of American furniture, sculpture, stained glass, architectural elements, ceramics, glass, silver, pewter, and jewelry are once again accessible to the public. Learn more about this exciting project, or go to our YouTube channel to watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony with special guest First Lady Michelle Obama or a behind-the-scenes tour with the Museum's Director, Thomas Campbell, and Morrison Heckscher, Lawrence A. Fleischman Chairman of The American Wing.
The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984
Through August 2, 2009
This is the first major museum exhibition to focus exclusively on “The Pictures Generation.” Educated in the self-reflexive and critical principles of Minimal and Conceptual art, this tightly knit group of artists brought those lessons to bear on a return to recognizable imagery, exploring how images shape our perceptions of ourselves and the world. Featured are 160 works in all media by thirty artists. View images from this exhibition.
The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion
Through August 9, 2009
Exploring the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, this exhibition focuses on iconic models of the twentieth century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. View images from this exhibition or go to Flickr for behind-the-scenes photos and gallery views.
Royal Porcelain from the Twinight Collection, 1800–1850
Through August 9, 2009
This exhibition brings together approximately seventy-five superb examples from the porcelain factories of Berlin, Sèvres, and Vienna of the first half of the nineteenth century. Learn more about this exhibition.
Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages
Through August 23, 2009
With strokes of genius, artists in the Middle Ages explored the medium of drawing, creating a rich array of works ranging from spontaneous sketches to powerful evocations of spirituality to intriguing images of science and the natural world. This exhibition, the first to examine in depth the achievements of the medieval draftsman, includes many works that have never before been lent outside their home countries. Through some fifty examples created in settings as diverse as ninth-century monastic scriptoria to the fourteenth-century French court, the presentation considers the aesthetics, uses, and techniques of medieval drawings, mastered by artists working centuries before the dawn of the Renaissance. A special feature dedicated to this exhibition includes curatorial commentary and discussion.
Michelangelo's First Painting
Through September 7, 2009
Michelangelo’s biographers wrote that his first painting copied a well-known engraving by the German artist Martin Schongauer (1448–1491). Made in about 1487–88, The Torment of Saint Anthony has been known for many years, although it has not always received proper attention due to accumulations of discolored varnish and disfiguring overpaints, which obscured the qualities of the picture’s masterful execution and remarkable color palette. Learn more about this exhibition.
Napoleon III and Paris
Through September 7, 2009
The heart of this dossier photography exhibition focuses on the changing shape of Paris during the Second Empire, when the city’s narrow streets and medieval buildings gave way to the broad boulevards and grand public works that still define the urban landscape of the French capital. View images from this exhibition.
Arts of the Ming Dynasty: China’s Age of Brilliance
Through September 13, 2009
Drawn entirely from the extensive resources of the Metropolitan Museum, this exhibition presents the rich diversity of art created under China’s Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Its seventy paintings and calligraphies chronicle the parallel evolutions of the courtly and the scholar-amateur traditions. These works are complemented by a generous selection of textiles, ceramics, lacquers, cloisonné, jades, and bamboo carvings that showcase the material prosperity experienced under the Ming, whose name aptly translates as “brilliant.” Learn more about this exhibition.
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
Through September 20, 2009
This exhibition celebrates the unique role of Afghanistan as a center for both the reception of diverse cultural elements and the creation of original styles of art that combine multiple stylistic materials—such as the Hellenized examples from the second-century B.C. city of Aï Khanum, the array of trade goods found in the first-century city of Begram, and the astonishing nomadic gold found in the hoard at Tillya Tepe, which also dates to the first century. It also commemorates the heroic rescue of the heritage of one of the world’s great civilizations, whose precious treasures were thought to have been destroyed. Learn more about this exhibition.
African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: A Legacy of Collecting
Through September 27, 2009
The collections of African and Oceanic art in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, begun in the 1920s by Josef Mueller and continued by Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, represent the culmination of more than eight decades of wide-ranging collecting of works from both regions. Presenting more than thirty highlights from the Barbier-Mueller’s holdings of African and Oceanic sculpture, most never before displayed in the United States, this exhibition explores a rich legacy of connoisseurship.
View images from this exhibition.
Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom
Through October 25, 2009 (weather permitting)
The American artist Roxy Paine (b. 1966) has created a 130-foot-long by 45-foot-wide stainless-steel sculpture, especially for the Museum’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Giving viewers the sense of being immersed in the midst of a cataclysmic force of nature, Maelstrom is Paine’s largest and most ambitious work to date. Learn more about this exhibition.
Watch a video of Roxy Paine and his crew installing Maelstrom.
Special exhibitions are free with admission. See all current exhibitions.
The Cloisters Museum and Gardens—the Metropolitan Museum's branch in Northern Manhattan dedicated to medieval art—offers a variety of weekend programs on an ongoing basis, including Gallery Talks, Gallery Workshops for Families, and programs in Spanish. See Events and Programs at The Cloisters for more information, or see the calendar for information about programs on a particular day.
Join the Discussion
"The Medieval Garden Enclosed" is a blog dedicated to the plants and gardens of The Cloisters. Explore the role of plants and gardens in medieval life and art, learn how to find and grow medieval herbs and flowers, discuss the long histories of many familiar garden plants, and discover which roadside weeds were once valued medicinals.
Image: Visitors enjoying the Bonnefont Garden at The Cloisters Museum and Gardens. Photograph by Evan Lee.
Director Thomas Campbell and Morrison Heckscher, Lawrence A. Fleischman Chairman of The American Wing, tour the newly reopened Charles Engelhard Court and Period Rooms following two years of major renovation and reinstallation. Learn more about the New American Wing.
Our YouTube channel features a wide variety of videos, including behind-the-scenes footage and curatorial talks.
Hello, Met!
Families new to the Museum (youngsters ages five through twelve and accompanying adults) receive a warm and stimulating introduction to its encyclopedic collection through discussion and sketching of its masterpieces. See the calendar for upcoming dates and times.
Image: Photograph by Evan Lee.
Each week, the Museum offers hundreds of events and programs that are free with Museum admission—including lectures, films, tours, family activities, and more. The following featured events are just a sample of the free programs scheduled for this month. See the calendar to plan your next visit.
Gallery Talk
Fertile Power: The Female Image in South Asian Art
Sunday, July 19, 11:00 a.m.
Meet in the Great Hall
Nancy Eder discusses the images of beautiful women that have populated the art of South Asia for centuries. This talk traces the development of female images from early "nature spirits" to Buddhist and Hindu goddesses.
Sunday at the Met: The Beautiful Evidence of Medieval Drawings
Sunday, July 19, 3:00 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
In conjunction with the special exhibition "Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages," Edward Tufte—professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University, and the leading authority on information design—will discuss how drawings from the Middle Ages exhibit "graphical excellence." Melanie Holcomb, associate curator, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters Museum and Gardens, MMA, introduces the afternoon's talk.
See the calendar to see more events listed by date.
Above: Bruce Davidson (American, b. 1933). [Gallery Talk, Metropolitan Museum of Art], 1968. Gelatin silver print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of the Hundredth Anniversary Committee, 1974 (1974.513.38). © Bruce Davidson, Magnum Photos. See the Collection Database to learn more about this work of art.
Join us in The Petrie Court Café and Wine Bar for three special Friday evenings this summer. On July 31 and August 28, a live jazz trio will complement the intimate setting of this European-style restaurant set against the backdrop of Central Park. Enjoy a delicious menu that features small plates of international cuisine, artisanal cheeses, entrées, desserts, and local, domestic, and imported wines. See Dining at the Met for more information about The Petrie Court as well as the Museum's other dining options.
"It's Time We Met," our first visitor-contributed photo contest, was a huge success! Visitors just like you posted hundreds of photographs taken at the Main Building or at The Cloisters Museum and Gardens, all depicting how they've shared their Museum experience with friends and family. Out of the 999 submissions, the Museum's panel of judges selected two winning photographs and five runners-up. Prizes were awarded to the winners, whose photographs will be used in the "It's Time We Met" marketing campaign.
See our new "It's Time We Met" page to view photos submitted to the contest.
Above: 2:50 p.m. Egyptian Galleries. Photo by Nate Luzod via Flickr.
Open Late Fridays and Saturdays
Did you know that the main building of the Museum is open until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings? Stop by for an after-work visit to the galleries or to meet friends in the Balcony Bar for live classical music and a light snack.
Take advantage of a special reduced rate on Friday and Saturday evenings. After 5:00 p.m., Audio Guides are only $5. (Not to be combined with any other discounts.)
See Plan Your Visit for more information about Museum hours and admission.
Register for free in My Met Museum to take advantage of any or all of the following special features:
Free email newsletters of your choice (Special Exhibitions newsletter, Met News, and more)
Automatic reminders about events that interest you
My Met Gallery—a place for you to organize all your favorite works of art from the Met's highlights so you can view them again and again
A customized calendar that displays events according to your preferences (concerts, films, family programs, and more)
Image: Joseph H. Davis (1811–1865). Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Otis and Child (detail), 1834. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1972 (1972.263.6). See the Collection Database to learn more about this work of art.
