The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Posted in Arms and Armor

The Devoted Collector: William H. Riggs and the Department of Arms and Armor

Aleksandr Gelfand, Intern, Museum Archives

Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Portrait of William H. Riggs taken in Paris, about 1858

On Friday, May 9, 1913, the ship La France steamed into New York Harbor carrying William Henry Riggs, a wealthy American and lifelong collector of arms and armor. Riggs was returning from France to his native city for the first time in over forty years in order to donate his impressive collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Marking the Arms and Armor Centennial

Donald J. La Rocca, Curator, Arms and Armor

Posted: Wednesday, January 2, 2013

One hundred years ago, on October 28, 1912, the Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art officially created the Department of Arms and Armor. From relatively modest beginnings, the department rapidly developed into one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of its type in the world.