About

ABOUT MetCollects

MetCollects is an online series that celebrates works of art that are new to the Museum's collection. Each episode debuts a new acquisition, looking at the object or artwork through the fresh eyes of photographers and the enthusiastic voices of The Met's curators, leading scholars, and sometimes the living artists themselves. The monthly series launched in 2014 and published its fiftieth episode in March 2018.

When it was founded in 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art did not own a single work of art. Now, we are one of the greatest art collections in the world, with objects spanning more than five thousand years of history from every corner of the globe. Over eighty-five percent of our collection was given by gift. Some of these contributions are well known: from legendary figures like Morgan, Altman, Annenberg, Havemeyer, Wrightsman, and Leonard Lauder—extraordinary people who wanted to share the art they love with the public. Many other works of art came to the Museum individually, often filling a critical gap or strengthening already robust holdings. Collectively, this generosity built the magnificent Met that we know today.

In addition, The Met's curators constantly seek out works of art to propose for acquisition. The process of having these purchases approved is a rigorous and scholarly one, with strong involvement from the director, a special committee of the Trustees, and from donors whose support is crucial to this activity.

Why does a museum as large as The Met need to expand its collection? The answer is simple: Works of art are the very heart of what we do and the stories that we tell, and a collection that grows is one that evolves-intellectually, geographically, culturally. It can take just one object to give us a new perspective on another, or ask questions of us that we never before considered, or change the way a single visitor sees the world. That is our mission, and the reason why The Met remains such a vibrant and relevant institution.