Among the absolute "must sees" in New York City is the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. By chance we visited precisely on the museums' 145th anniversary, as it was incorporated on April 13, 1870! Housed in a two-million-square-foot building on the southeastern edge of Central Park, the museum is so expansive that one could easily spend several days here.
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| New fountains at the front entrance! |
With this being at least my third visit to the museum and knowing that a coffee break will likely be necessary, I made sure to quiz my cousin's wife about the best cafe in the museum, then wandered off to explore.
One of the special exhibits was "
The Plains Indians: Artist of Earth and Sky," so I made sure to stop by that. The beadwork on various items was particularly impressive and lovely.
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| Men's moccasins and - in the back - a bear claw necklace! |
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| Gorgeous color and detail on this men's jacket |
Then I mostly meandered rather aimlessly - popping in and out of rooms if something struck my fancy or if I became uninterested. The museum truly has something for everyone. Below are just a few random items I photographed to share with you.
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| Van Gogh, The Flowering Orchard (1888) |
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| Gold necklace with amethyst & glass (6th/7th century) |
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| Silver peacock, Hungary (1787) |
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| They even have baseball cards! |
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| Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Gotlieb Leutze |
Two areas in which I spent more time were the galleries of 19th century European paintings, as the Met has an amazing collection, and the American Wing. Among other things, the American Wing features a bright and airy courtyard/atrium, in the middle of which are several statues, on one side a small cafe overlooking a corner of Central Park, and on two sides various artwork by Tiffany and other stained glass artists.
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| Autumn Landscape, Tiffany (1923-1924) |
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| Garden Lanscape, Tiffany, (ca. 1905-1915) |
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| Loggia from Tiffany's Oyster Bay, NY home (ca. 1905) |
With that I wrap up mini-tour of the Met for you, my dear readers, and implore you to visit the museum yourself whenever you are in New York City!
Can you believe as many times I've been to NYC (my dad's from the Bronx for goodness sakes!) I've never been to the Met? Either we were kids, we were more interested in other stuff or now we have kids in tow. Someday!
ReplyDeleteWell, there *is* so much to do and see in NYC. :) You'll definitely enjoy it once you get there.
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