Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988). The Block, 1971. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Shore, 1978 (1978.61.1–6). Art © Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Reproduction of this image, including downloading, is prohibited without written authorization from VAGA, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2820, New York, NY 10118. Tel: 212-736-6666; Fax: 212-736-6767; e-mail: info@vagarights.com

As the editor of the monthly email newsletter Met News, I have the pleasure of interviewing curators and other experts about works of art from the Museum's collections. More than 113,000 subscribers already receive Met News, but I'm happy to be able to include selected interviews here for an even wider audience.

For this month's issue, I interviewed Lisa M. Messinger, associate curator in the Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art, about Romare Bearden's masterful, mural-size collage The Block. Thanks to a recent gift of eleven preliminary drawings and two related photographs, visitors to the current exhibition at the Museum are now able to learn about Bearden's process as an artist, and to see The Block as the culmination of his particular vision.

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Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gros (French, 1793-1870). [The Salon of Baron Gros], 1850-57.  Daguerreotype. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

A daguerreotype by Baron Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros—a work of extraordinary quality and rarity—has been acquired by the Metropolitan Museum.  Both a depiction and a demonstration of what the medium was capable of at its high point in 1850s Paris, The Salon of Baron Gros shows the interior of a mid-nineteenth-century parlor believed to be that of the baron, with light streaming in from a window at left.

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Project Runway, the reality television series about fashion design, visited the Met during an episode entitled "The Highs and Lows of Fashion" which debuted on January 28.  The season’s design contestants were brought to the American Wing's Charles Engelhard Court by mentor Tim Gunn, who presented ten iconic looks from The Costume Institute's collection, including work by Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Madame Grès, Halston, and Yves Saint Laurent.  He paired the designers in teams and charged them with creating designs that might be worthy of The Costume Institute—a goal that is"the ultimate achievement for a fashion designer."  Watch the complete episode on mylifetime.com

Many visitors may not realize that the Museum's staff includes ten scientists, with backgrounds in chemistry, biology, geology, or engineering. As part of the Department of Scientific Research, we study the materials and the technologies that were used in creating works of art, and we collaborate with curators and conservators on art historical studies, conservation research, and conservation treatments. We also investigate the deterioration of works of art and the methods that can be employed to prolong their lives. You may have seen some of our scientists examining works of art in the galleries, as this photograph of an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in the New Greek and Roman Galleries demonstrates:

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Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (Austrian, 1736–1783). A Hypocrite and Slanderer: Bust, after 1770. Lead. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Earlier this month, the Met acquired its first work by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736–1783), the Austrian sculptor best known for his series of character heads, which are physiognomic and psychological studies. 

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Attributed to Kolman Helmschmid (German, 1471–1532), Close helmet with mask visor, ca. 1515. Augsburg, Germany. Steel, embossed, etched, and gilt. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1904 (04.3.286a).

As the Educator responsible for the Sunday at the Met lecture series, I plan about twenty to twenty-five different events a year. The programs usually include one or two talks, and may also feature a film or a demonstration. They are often held in conjunction with a current exhibition, a special theme, or an interesting connection to the Museum's vast permanent collection. My job is much like that of a Broadway producer, director, travel agent, and stagehand all rolled into one. Even though it's a lot of work, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I’m lucky that there are many talented people throughout the Museum who help out.

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George Caleb Bingham (American, 1811–1879).The Jolly Flatboatmen, 1846. Oil on canvas; 38 1/8 x 48 1/2 in. (96.8 x 123.2 cm). Manoogian Collection.

Over the past four months, I have been writing posts and responding to comments on a blog dedicated to the special exhibition American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915. The exhibition closed last Sunday, but both the blog and a special feature will remain online for those who'd like to revisit the more than one hundred iconic paintings that were included in galleries.

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