Making The Met, 1870-2020

Young 19th- and 21st-century viewers gaze at Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851, by Emanuel Leutze. Left: Archival photo from The Met archives. Right: Photo by Roderick Aichinger. Composite image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Exhibition Dates:
March 30 – August 2, 2020

Exhibition Location:
At The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 899

As the centerpiece of The Met's 150th-anniversary celebrations, this major exhibition will lead visitors on an immersive, thought-provoking journey through the history of one of the world's preeminent cultural institutions. Making The Met, 1870–2020 will feature more than 250 superlative works of art of nearly every type, from visitor favorites to fragile treasures that can only be placed on view from time to time. Organized around transformational moments in the evolution of the Museum's collection, buildings, and ambitions, the exhibition will reveal the visionary figures and cultural forces that propelled The Met in new directions from its founding in 1870 to the present day. Rarely seen archival photographs, innovative digital features, and stories of both behind-the-scenes work and the Museum's community outreach will enhance this unique experience.