SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS MAY - AUGUST 2005

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Information provided below is subject to change. To confirm scheduling and dates, call the Communications Department at (212) 570-3951. CONTACT NUMBER FOR USE IN TEXT IS (212) 535-7710.

New Exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
Continuing Exhibitions

New and Recently Opened Installations
Traveling Exhibitions
Visitor Information

OF SPECIAL NOTE

· The Met's Costume Institute presents Chanel, highlighting more than 50 designs and accessories that embody the vibrant spirit of the House of Chanel (see below).
· Opening May 6, John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker showcases masterpieces of furniture by one of colonial America's preeminent craftsmen.
· Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams—His Art and His Textiles, which opens June 23, explores the connection between Matisse's richly textured art and the often exotic textiles he collected throughout his life.
· A selection of photographs from the world-renowned Gilman Paper Company Collection, recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum, is now on view.
· Press releases will soon be available via e-mail. To be added to the e-mail list, please contact us at communications@metmuseum.org.

· NEW EXHIBITIONS

Chanel
May 5–August 7, 2005

As one of the most revered designers of the 20th century, Coco Chanel (1883–1971) has long been the subject of breathless mythologizing and hagiography, largely inspired by her own self-invention and self-promotion rather than by the spare but dramatic facts of her life. Her legend, however, is based on the enduring influence of her maison de couture. It is the authority and mastery of her work, the resonance of her image of the modern woman as articulated in her designs, and the autobiographical infusion of influences in her collections that confirm her iconic stature. This spring, the spirit of the House of Chanel echoes vibrantly with an unprecedented presentation of more than 50 designs and accessories from the Museum's Costume Institute collection, Chanel Archives, and other international institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The exhibition examines the history of the House of Chanel, revealing ideas and elements of biography as they were expressed in Chanel's work. Period examples are juxtaposed with the work of Karl Lagerfeld, who joined the House of Chanel in 1983, revitalizing its spirit and identity. Through Lagerfeld's interpretations and refinements, the historic importance of Chanel is both defined and asserted for the modern woman.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are made possible by CHANEL.
Additional support has been provided by Condé Nast.
Press preview: Monday, May 2, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker
May 6–September 25, 2005

In the second half of the 18th century, the New England seaport of Newport, Rhode Island, was a leading center of the cabinetmaking business, with members of the Townsend and Goddard families dominating the trade. Chief among them was John Townsend (1733–1809), one of colonial America's preeminent craftsmen and one of the few 18th-century cabinetmakers to sign and date his work. Some 45 of the best pieces by Townsend, more than half of them signed, form the core of this first retrospective and illustrate this cabinetmaker's unsurpassed refinement of design and precision of craftsmanship. On view are his early works in the Baroque style—tables and chairs with cabriole legs, case pieces with block-and-shell carved fronts—as well as later examples, with straight legs and incised or inlaid decoration, in the Neoclassical or Federal style. Examples of furniture by some of Townsend's peers, including John Goddard, set his work in context. Also on display is a superb chest-on-chest by Thomas Townsend, John Townsend's cousin, which was recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum.
The exhibition is made possible by The Chilton Foundation and The Americana Foundation. Additional support has been provided by Stanley and Judith Zabar, Philip Holzer, and Alamo Rent A Car, Inc.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The William Cullen Bryant Fellows.
Press preview: Thursday, May 5, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Adorning the World: Art of the Marquesas Islands
May 10, 2005–January 15, 2006

Renowned as the final refuge of Paul Gauguin, the Marquesas Islands northeast of Tahiti were home to one of the Pacific's most accomplished traditions of sculpture and decorative art. Created to honor the archipelago's gods and ancestors, adorn the bodies of its people, and ornament the objects they used, art in the Marquesas encompassed virtually every aspect of sacred and secular life. From everyday items to the sacred images of gods and ancestors, Marquesan artists richly embellished nearly every type of object they used. Celebrated for its elegant stylization of the human image and intricately decorated surfaces, Marquesan art comprised an astonishing diversity of forms, from works in wood and stone to the most elaborate tattooing in the Pacific. Featuring works from the Metropolitan and other museums and private collections, the exhibition explores how art captured and enhanced the central themes of secular and religious life.
The exhibition is made possible by Air Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Tourisme (www.NYCtoTahitiNonstop.com).
Additional support has been provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, May 9, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Tony Oursler at the Met: "Studio" and "Climaxed"
May 17–September 18, 2005

Inspired by Gustave Courbet's The Artist's Studio: A real allegory of a seven year phase in my artistic and moral life (1855), contemporary artist Tony Oursler (b. 1957) created his own three-dimensional studio identical in size to Courbet's painting. The mixed-media installation playfully merges the artist's professional and personal lives into a narrative fashioned as allegory. A second gallery holds Climaxed, Mr. Oursler's most recent work. Accompanied by a related publication.

All the Mighty World: The Photographs of Roger Fenton, 1852–1860
May 24–August 21, 2005

Roger Fenton (1819–1869) was the most celebrated and influential photographer in England during the golden age of the medium in the 1850s. This major loan exhibition unites 90 of Fenton's finest works from American and European collections, representing his achievement in every genre: Romantic landscapes, intimate portraits of the royal family, stunning architectural views of England's ruined abbeys and castles, moving reportage of the Crimean War, enchanting orientalist tableaux, and lush still lifes.
The exhibition is made possible by The Hite Foundation.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; and The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Press preview: Monday, May 23, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams
His Art and His Textiles
June 23–September 25, 2005

The impact of Henri Matisse's lifelong interest in textiles is revealed in a selection of approximately 75 paintings, drawings, prints, and painted paper cutouts. Also exhibited are examples from the artist's personal collection of textiles, many of which have been packed away in family trunks since Matisse's death in 1954. Of particular interest are Matisse's canvases inspired by a fragment of blue-and-white printed cotton that the artist purchased from a secondhand shop in Paris, works from the 1910s and 1920s demonstrating the influence of North African fabrics and screens, paintings featuring couture gowns and Romanian blouses, and Matisse's late paper cutouts, some of which are indebted to Kuba cloths from the Congo. The exhibition concludes with maquettes of the chasubles that Matisse designed for the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence.
The exhibition is made possible by The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and the Janice H. Levin Fund.
Additional support has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund.
Education programs are made possible by The Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Royal Academy of Arts, London; and Le Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis.
An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, June 20, 10:00 a.m.–noon

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt
September 13, 2005–January 15, 2006

The causes of illnesses were little understood in ancient Egypt, and their prevention and cure were a major concern for most Egyptians—one that informs much of ancient Egyptian art, yet has been given relatively little attention. This exhibition will highlight objects from the Museum's collection that address this concern, allowing visitors to appreciate them in new ways. Included will be the rarely seen Edwin Smith Papyrus, on loan from the New York Academy of Medicine. One of the world's oldest scientific documents, this 15-foot medical papyrus deals with the treatment of wounds both practically and magically and will serve to link the other objects in the exhibition.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, September 12, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Rara Avis: The Iris Apfel Dress and Accessory Collection
September 13, 2005–January 22, 2006

An American original in the truest sense, Iris Apfel is one of the most vivacious personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design and has cultivated a personal style that is both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic. Her originality is typically revealed in her mixing of high and low fashion—Dior haute couture with flea-market finds, 19th-century ecclesiastical vestments with Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers. With remarkable panache and discernment, she combines colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, and, ultimately, aesthetic conventions. Paradoxically, her richly layered combinations—even at their most extreme and baroque—project a boldly graphic modernity. The exhibition, organized by the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, will highlight individual accessories ranging from a Gripoix brooch to a Roger Jean-Pierre bracelet, a Mexican turquoise and hammered-silver belt to a Central Asian silver choker, a pair of 18th-century paste earrings to a pair of modern plastic cuffs. In addition, fully accessorized ensembles from the 1950s to the present will be shown as they were originally worn and styled by Mrs. Apfel in a fascinating examination of the power of dress and accessories to assert style above fashion.
Press preview: Monday, September 12, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Prague, The Crown of Bohemia, 1347 - 1437
September 20, 2005–January 3, 2006

Crowned King of Bohemia in 1347, Charles IV sought to make his capital city—Prague—the cultural rival of Paris and Rome. The remarkable flowering of art that resulted will be celebrated in an exhibition that draws together some 200 stunning examples including panel paintings, goldsmith's work, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, silk embroideries, and stained glass. These little-known masterpieces attest to the wide-ranging achievements of the hundreds of artists affiliated with Prague and the Bohemian crown during the reign of Charles IV and his two sons, Wenceslas IV and Sigismund. Drawing on numerous collections in the Czech Republic as well as other European and American collections, the exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the Prague Castle Administration.
The exhibition is made possible in part by Carl B. and Ludmila Schwarzenberg Hess and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
Additional support has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition catalogue is made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc.
Press preview: Monday, September 19, 10:00 a.m.–noon

The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult
September 27–December 31, 2005

A unique characteristic of photography has always been its ability to record the visible, material world with truth and accuracy. Interestingly, advocates of spiritism at the turn of the last century enlisted photography to provide manifest proof of the immaterial: emanations and auras; thoughts, hallucinations, and dreams; or the spirits of the deceased. Closer to the scientific revelations of the X-ray (discovered in 1896) than to the double-exposure parlor tricks of 1850s ghost photographs, the more than 100 stunning and surprising works in this exhibition reflect an attempt to reconcile the physical and spiritual worlds. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, September 26, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings
October 12–December 31, 2005

Vincent van Gogh's decadelong achievement as a draftsman (1880–90) will be traced in the first major American retrospective devoted to his drawings. The selection will feature approximately 110 of the artist's finest works in pen and ink, graphite, chalk, charcoal, and watercolor along with a group of related paintings.
The exhibition in New York is made possible by United Technologies Corporation.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible in part by the Janice H. Levin Fund.
The exhibition was jointly organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Press preview: Tuesday, October 11, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Pearls of the Parrot of India
October 14, 2005–January 15, 2006

The Khamsa (quintet of tales) by Indian poet Amir Khusrao Dihlavi, dating to 1597–98, is one of the most sumptuous manuscripts of the early Mughal period. Twenty-nine surviving full-page illustrations from the manuscript are shared between the Metropolitan Museum and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The unbinding of the Walters's manuscript for conservation purposes will allow all 29 painted folios to be united, with some related material, in this jewel-like exhibition.
The exhibition is made possible by The Hagop Kevorkian Fund.
Accompanied by a publication.

Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture
October 18, 2005–January 22, 2006

Santiago Calatrava (b. 1951), the author of some of the most beautiful structures of our epoch, spends much of his time drawing and conceiving sculptures. This exhibition will show how many of the forms of his celebrated buildings originated in independent works of art. It will include approximately two dozen sculptures in marble and bronze, many drawings, and one dozen architectural models, including work related to the Path Terminal at the World Trade Center site.
Accompanied by a related publication.
Press preview: Monday, October 17, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Fra Angelico
October 26, 2005–January 29, 2006

This first major exhibition of Fra Angelico's work since the cinquecentenary exhibition of 1955 in Florence—and the first ever in this country—will reunite approximately 70 paintings, drawings, and manuscript illuminations covering all periods of the artist's career, from ca. 1415 to 1455. Included will be several new attributions and paintings never before exhibited publicly, as well as numerous reconstructions of dispersed complexes, some reunited for the first time. An additional 40 works by Angelico's assistants and closest followers will illustrate the spread and continuity of his influence into the second half of the 15th century.
The exhibition is made possible by the Homeland Foundation, Inc.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible in part by the Roswell L. Gilpatric Publications Fund.
Press preview: Monday, October 24, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Clouet to Seurat: French Drawings from The British Museum
November 8, 2005–January 29, 2006

This exhibition culls nearly 100 highlights representing four centuries of French master drawings from the renowned holdings of The British Museum. From the refined production of 16th-century court society to the café society of the 19th century, the elegance and innovation characteristic of French art will be traced through outstanding examples of draftsmanship rarely exhibited due to their sensitivity to light. Masterpieces from the Renaissance to Postimpressionism, including works by Jean Clouet, Claude Lorrain, Antoine Watteau, Edgar Degas, and Georges Seurat, will illuminate the remarkable achievements of the French artistic tradition over four centuries.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The British Museum.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, November 7, 10:00 a.m.–noon

David Milne Watercolors: "Painting Toward the Light"
November 8, 2005–January 29, 2006

Canadian painter David Milne (1882–1953) spent nearly 25 years working in the United States during the early part of his career. Much of his time was spent in New York City (1903–16), where he exhibited modernist works in the 1913 Armory Show, and in upstate New York (1916–18, 1920–21, 1924–29), where he was inspired by the natural scenery. These stays, as well as his travels in Europe during World War I, precipitated radical shifts in his subject matter and painting style. This 45-piece retrospective, the first outside Canada, will reintroduce Milne's watercolors to an American audience.
The exhibition is made possible by Rosamond Ivey.
The exhibition was organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.
Accompanied by a publication.
Press preview: Monday, November 7, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche
November 22, 2005–January 8, 2006

The Museum will continue a long-standing holiday tradition with the annual presentation of its Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan crèche scene—embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above—will adorn the candlelit spruce. Recorded music adds to the enjoyment of the holiday display. Lighting ceremony Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00.
The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

Robert Rauschenberg: Combines
December 20, 2005–April 2, 2006

This exhibition will take a comprehensive look at the highly inventive body of work Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925) terms Combines. It includes approximately 75 objects produced between 1953 and 1964. With these mixed-media works of art, the artist transformed traditional techniques of painting, sculpture, and collage through his unconventional use of materials, such as textiles, taxidermied animals, newsprint, and photographic reproductions. These works can be seen as syncopated grids composed of materials from everyday life. This selection of wall-hung and freestanding Combines will highlight Rauschenberg's iconic, best-known works while also bringing to light some of his less-familiar objects.
The exhibition was organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, December 19, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Samuel Palmer (1805–1881): Vision and Landscape
March 7–May 28, 2006

Samuel Palmer ranks among the most important British landscape painters of the Romantic era. This exhibition—the first major retrospective of his work in nearly 80 years—will unite approximately 120 of Palmer's finest watercolors, drawings, etchings, and oils from public and private collections in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States. The exhibition will highlight the artist's celebrated early work, executed in a visionary style inspired by William Blake, and will re-examine Palmer's vibrant middle-period Italian studies and masterful late watercolors and etchings.
The exhibition is made possible by Gilbert and Ildiko Butler.
Additional support has been provided by William G. and Grace Brantley Anderson.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Daughter of Re: Hatshepsut, King of Egypt
March 21–July 9, 2006

Hatshepsut, the great female pharaoh of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, ruled for two decades—first as regent for, then as co-ruler with her nephew Thutmose III (ca. 1479–1458 B.C.). During her reign, at the beginning of the New Kingdom, trade relations were being re-established with western Asia to the east and were extended to the land of Punt far to the south as well as to the Aegean Islands in the north. The prosperity of this time was reflected in the art, which is marked by innovations in sculpture, decorative arts, and such architectural marvels as Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. In this exhibition, the Metropolitan's own extensive holdings of objects excavated by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition in the 1920s and 1930s will be supplemented by loans from other American and European museums and, possibly, by select loans from Cairo.
The exhibition is made possible by Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Traditional Arms from the Tibetan Plateau
April 4–July 2, 2006

This exhibition will be the first comprehensive study of armor, weapons, and equestrian equipment from the Tibetan plateau, a subject that has remained virtually unexplored until now. Many rare or entirely unknown examples of helmets, body armor, swords, horse armor, saddles, and stirrups will be exhibited and published here for the first time. Dating from the 13th to the 19th century, these objects will include some of the finest examples of Himalayan ironwork decorated with gold and silver and extremely rare leatherwork embellished with paint or lacquer.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Carl Otto von Kienbusch Memorial Fund and the Grancsay Fund.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

New Acquisition:Duccio's Madonna and Child
Extended through June 12, 2005

Together with Giotto, Duccio di Buoninsegna (active by 1278; died 1318) is considered one of the two principal founders of Western European painting. His early Renaissance masterpiece Madonna and Child (ca. 1300), recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum, is now on display in Gallery 3 of its new home in the European Paintings Galleries. Among the great single acquisitions of the last half century and a work of sublime beauty, the addition of the Duccio to the Museum's collection enables visitors to follow the entire trajectory of European painting from its beginnings to the present.

Diane Arbus Revelations
Through May 30, 2005

Diane Arbus (1923–1971) was one of the most original and influential American artists of the 20th century. This retrospective exhibition, the first in more than 30 years, presents the artist's signature images—such as Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962 and A Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, N.Y. 1970—as well as previously unpublished photographs and writings drawn from the artist's archive. The show traces the artist's full achievement from her early experiments with the camera in the 1940s to her mature portraiture of the 1960s.
The exhibition was organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In New York, the exhibition is made possible by The John and Annamaria Phillips Foundation and Altria Group, Inc.
The international tour is made possible by the Evelyn D. Haas Exhibition Fund and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Accompanied by a publication.

The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection
Through June 26, 2005

This exhibition celebrates and acknowledges the extraordinary recent gift to the Metropolitan Museum of more than 100 works from the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation. Pierre Matisse (1900–1989), a prominent art dealer in New York, was the younger son of the French painter Henri Matisse (1869–1954). Pierre and Maria-Gaetana von Spreti (1943–2001) were married in 1974, and in 1995 Mrs. Matisse established the foundation in their names to implement her own and her late husband's philanthropic interests. Henri Matisse, the central feature of the collection, is represented by paintings, bronzes, drawings, and prints, as well as a ceramic plate and a tall paper cutout. The gift also includes works by 14 other painters and sculptors working between 1911 and 1959: Balthus, Butler, Carrington, Chagall, Delvaux, Derain, Dubuffet, Giacometti, Lam, MacIver, Magritte, Mason, Miró, and Tanguy. Since works on paper are sensitive to light, selections of drawings and original prints will rotate. A Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin accompanies the exhibition.

Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China
Through July 10, 2005

The Yongle emperor (r. 1403–24) was the most powerful, effective, and extravagant ruler of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). His reign was punctuated by vigorous military campaigns and unprecedented maritime expeditions. A son of the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, he seized the throne from his nephew and moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Yongle's strong faith in Tibetan Buddhism, and the means of production at his disposal, determined both the repertory and the style of the superb paintings, sculptures, lacquers, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, and ivories produced in the imperial workshops during his reign. This exhibition, featuring selections from the Metropolitan Museum's permanent collection and important loans, defines a crucial moment in the development of imperial Chinese art and its relationship to later artistic traditions.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.

Max Ernst: A Retrospective
Through July 10, 2005

This is the first retrospective exhibition of the work of the French artist Max Ernst (b. Germany, 1891–1976) to be shown in New York in some 30 years. A founding member of the Surrealist group in Paris, Ernst was one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century. His paintings, steeped in Freudian metaphors, private mythology, and childhood memories, are regarded today as icons of Surrealist art. Comprising some 180 works, the exhibition includes his most important paintings, his celebrated collages, drawings, frottages, sculptures, and illustrated books lent by private and public collections in Europe and the United States. The exhibition is made possible by ALTANA.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by the Doris Duke Fund for Publications and the Mary and Louis S. Myers Foundation.
An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Master Photographs from the Gilman Collection: A Landmark Acquisition
Through August 2005

Widely regarded as the finest collection of photographs in private hands, the Gilman Paper Company Collection has played a central role in establishing photography's historical canon and has long set the standard for connoisseurship in this field. Recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum, the Gilman Collection comprises more than 8,500 photographs, including exceptional depth and richness in 19th-century French, British, and American photography, as well as masterpieces from the turn-of-the-century and modernist periods. The collection features rare and beautiful photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, Nadar, Gustave Le Gray, Mathew Brady, Carleton Watkins, Edward Steichen, Eugène Atget, Man Ray, and other masters of the camera. In addition to the current installation in The Howard Gilman Gallery, a rotating selection of these pivotal works will also be on view in the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery, 2nd floor, through next spring.

Sol LeWitt on the Roof: Splotches, Whirls and Twirls
Through October 30, 2005 (weather permitting)

This summer's installation by Conceptual artist Sol LeWitt includes five sculptures and one wall drawing. A prolific artist since his emergence in the mid-1960s, LeWitt is showing recent sculptures, called Splotches. With a palette of bold colors, LeWitt has created large-scale, painted fiberglass works. Their undulating, curvilinear shapes and vibrant hues brilliantly engage with the natural landscape of Central Park. LeWitt's wall drawing echoes the abstract forms and vivid color of the Splotches. Taken together, these works represent a bright complement to the unique setting of The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, which offers a spectacular view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Beverage and sandwich service is available from 10:00 a.m. until closing, including Friday and Saturday evenings.
The installation is made possible by a grant from Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky. Press preview: Monday, April 25, 10:00 a.m.–noon

A Curator's Eye: J. Stewart Johnson at the Met, 1990–2004
Through November 6, 2005

From 1990 to 2004, J. Stewart Johnson served as the principal curator for the modern design and architecture collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During these 14 years, he made a number of important acquisitions that augmented and reshaped an already significant collection. This exhibition presents a selection of these works, demonstrating his skill as both a connoisseur and a scholar.

Medieval Masterworks on Loan from the Morgan Library
Through January 8, 2006

The Metropolitan is displaying seven superb examples of medieval art from the Morgan Library while that facility undergoes renovation. Among them are some of the favorite works of the noted financier and collector J. Pierpont Morgan, a past president of the Metropolitan Museum, including the splendid 12th-century Stavelot Triptych and the dazzling gold and jeweled binding of the Lindau Gospel Book.

The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620
Through January 15, 2006

The horse was an integral part of medieval and Renaissance culture, not only as a beast of burden but also as a sign of rank and status. For the nobility, equitation was an essential skill, both socially and militarily. Horses played a pivotal role in warfare and often wore armor as elaborate and expensive as that of their riders. Drawing exclusively from items in the reserve collection, many of them unpublished and rarely seen before, this exhibition examines various types of European horse armor in terms of style, construction, and decoration, from the peak period of its use in the late 15th century through its eventual obsolescence in the early 17th century. Accompanied by a catalogue.

Cameo Appearances
Through January 29, 2006

Spurred by the recent acquisition of a superb jasper carving of the head of Medusa by Benedetto Pistrucci, this exhibition examines the art of hard-stone carving. It traces cameo carving from Greco-Roman antiquity to the Renaissance; illuminates differences, such as those between cameos and intaglios; touches upon the making of cameo glass; and highlights the Metropolitan's splendid holdings of neoclassical Italian cameos by first-rate carvers such as Pistrucci, Girometti, and Saulini.
The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.

The Bishop Jades
Through January 2006

This selection of the most refined works from the Heber R. Bishop Collection includes carvings of jade, agate, quartz, lapis lazuli, and many other hard stones. The objects represent the sophisticated art of Chinese lapidaries during the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911) as well as the highly accomplished works of Mughal Indian jade carvers that provided an exotic inspiration to their Chinese counterparts. Also on display is a set of Chinese lapidary tools and illustrations of jade workshops, which demonstrate the traditional method of working jade.

NEW AND RECENT EXHIBITIONS

Reconstruction and Reinstallation of Egyptian Art Galleries
Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Roman era art galleries opened January 29, 2004
The tombs of Perneb and Raemkai opened May 2004

Highlights of this new installation in The Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art include the uncovering of three windows facing Fifth Avenue, the exposure of the original Richard Morris Hunt ceiling beams in the Predynastic/Early Dynastic galleries (up to ca. 2650 B.C.) and in one of the two galleries devoted to the art of Roman Egypt (30 B.C. to ca. 400 A.D.), and the reconfiguration of the architecture of the tombs of Perneb and Raemkai (ca. 2350 and 2440 B.C.) to more closely resemble their original settings.
This reinstallation has been made possible by Judith and Russell Carson.

The Kano School: Orthodoxy and Iconoclasm
Through June 5, 2005

More than 40 years ago, the painted sliding panels from Tenshô-in temple in Kyoto, executed by the renowned Kano master Sansetsu (1589–1651), were sold in Kyoto. One set went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the other to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. For the first time since their dispersal, the two sets of screens, each consisting of four panels, are reunited in this special installation in the Arts of Japan galleries. Also on view are works by several generations of Kano school painters, who, as the official artists for the shoguns, dominated the field of Japanese painting until the onset of the 20th century. Other painters represented, such as Hanabusa Itcho (1652–1724) and Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806), were trained in the Kano school but rebelled against its orthodoxy. The exhibition is a vivid reminder of the Kano school's bold contention that it provided the basic training for all Japanese painters during the Edo period (1615–1868).
This exhibition is made possible in part by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation, Kokon, Inc., and Leighton R. Longhi.

Art of the Brush
Through August 14, 2005

Calligraphy has long been appreciated as the ultimate self-expressive art and brush writings have been regarded as independent works of art as early as the 4th century in China. This installation, featuring nearly 60 works dating from the 11th to the 20th centuries, explores the intertwined arts of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

PLEASE NOTE: These exhibitions originate at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with works of art from the Museum's collections selected and organized by Museum staff members. Please confirm the opening and closing dates with the local exhibiting museums as they may be subject to change.

Light Motifs: American Impressionist Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A selection of 27 paintings from the Museum's superb collection of works by noted American Impressionists, including Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Maurice Prendergast, and John Singer Sargent.

Anchorage Museum of History and Art, AK July 1–September 5, 2005
University of Alaska Museum of the North, September 17–November 13, 200
Fairbanks, AK

VISITOR INFORMATION

MAIN BUILDING HOURS

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day,
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All other Mondays Closed
January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25 Closed

THE CLOISTERS HOURS

March–October:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Mondays Closed

November–February:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Mondays Closed

RECOMMENDED ADMISSION (INCLUDES MAIN BUILDING AND THE CLOISTERS ON THE SAME DAY)

Adults $15.00
Senior citizens $10.00
Students $ 7.00
Members and children under 12
accompanied by adult Free

Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827

No extra charge for any exhibition

For more information www.metmuseum.org

April 8, 2005

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