The Snow Man
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
—Wallace Stevens (American, 1879–1955)
Above: Childe Hassam (American, 1859–1935). Winter in Union Square (detail), 1889–90. Oil on canvas; 18 1/4 x 18 in. (46.4 x 45.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ethelyn McKinney, in memory of her brother, Glenn Ford McKinney, 1943 (43.116.2). See the Collection Database to learn more about this work of art.
The Main Building of the Metropolitan Museum—select galleries, public restaurants, and shops—will be open Monday, January 18, between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (The Museum is usually closed on Mondays.) The cafeteria, Petrie Court Café and Wine Bar, and the new American Wing Café will be open until 4:30 p.m. Please note that The Trustees Dining Room will not be open.
Holiday Monday family programs will be offered several times throughout the day. Take advantage of this special Met Holiday Monday to enjoy exhibitions and programs at the Museum. See the calendar to plan your visit.
Don't forget! The Museum is open EVERY Friday and Saturday evening until 9:00 p.m.
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915
Through January 24, 2010
This exhibition features more than one hundred American masterpieces depicting ordinary people engaged in life's tasks and pleasures. It includes works by John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, William Sidney Mount, George Caleb Bingham, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, John Sloan, and others. Learn more about the exhibition through a special Web feature, which includes a blog.
Velázquez Rediscovered
Through February 7, 2010
Velázquez Rediscovered features a newly identified painting by Velázquez, Portrait of a Man, formerly ascribed to the workshop of Velázquez, and recently reattributed to the master himself following its cleaning and restoration. It will be shown alongside other works from the Museum’s superior collection of works by the great Spanish painter. Learn more about this exhibition.
Sounding the Pacific: Musical Instruments of Oceania
Through September 6, 2010
This exhibition—the first in an art museum to be devoted exclusively to Oceanic musical instruments—explores the rich diversity of musical instruments created and used in the Pacific Islands. Drawn primarily from the Metropolitan’s collections, the exhibition features more than fifty instruments from small personal types such as panpipes and courting whistles to larger forms played at performances heard by the entire community, such as the exquisitely carved temple drums of the Austral Islands or the imposing sacred slit gongs of New Guinea.
Learn more about this exhibition.
Eccentric Visions: The Worlds of Luo Ping (1733–1799)
Through January 10, 2010
Luo Ping (1733–1799) was one of the most versatile, original, and celebrated artists in eighteenth-century China. The youngest of the so-called Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, he was a fiercely independent artist whose works—including portraits, landscapes, and flower paintings—deeply influenced the course of later Chinese painting. Organized by the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, the exhibition, which consists of thirty-seven paintings by Luo Ping, members of his family, and his mentor Jin Nong, is drawn primarily from leading museums in China and features a number of National Treasures that have never been shown in the West. View images from this exhibition.
Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868
Through January 10, 2010
This is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai. Arms and armor are the principal focus, bringing together the finest examples of armor, swords and sword mountings, archery equipment and firearms, equestrian equipment, banners, surcoats, and related accessories of rank such as fans and batons. Drawn entirely from public and private collections in Japan, the majority of objects date from the rise of the samurai in the late Heian period, ca. 1156, through the early modern Edo period, ending in 1868, when samurai culture was abolished.
View images from this exhibition.
Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer
Through February 21, 2010
Although it is used in many Asian cultures, the art of carving lacquer is unique to China. Lacquer is the resin (or sap) of a family of trees (Rhus verniciflua) found throughout southern China. It is an amazing material that hardens when exposed to oxygen and becomes a natural plastic that is resistant to water and can withstand heat and certain acids. This exhibition, which celebrates the Museum's collection and includes significant loans from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, showcases approximately fifty examples dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. It includes several recently acquired works as well as small boxes for holding incense or cosmetics and larger containers used for papers, scrolls, or presenting gifts. It also presents an important eighteenth-century screen that has recently been restored and is being displayed for the first time. View images from this exhibition.
Special exhibitions are free with admission. See all current exhibitions.
The Cloisters Museum and Gardens—the Metropolitan Museum's branch in Northern Manhattan dedicated to medieval art—offers a variety of weekend programs on an ongoing basis, including Gallery Talks, Gallery Workshops for Families, and programs in Spanish. See Events and Programs at The Cloisters for more information, or see the calendar for information about programs on a particular day.
Join the Discussion
"The Medieval Garden Enclosed" is a blog dedicated to the plants and gardens of The Cloisters. Explore the role of plants and gardens in medieval life and art, learn how to find and grow medieval herbs and flowers, discuss the long histories of many familiar garden plants, and discover which roadside weeds were once valued medicinals.
Image: The Bonnefont Garden at The Cloisters Museum and Gardens (February 2009).
Hello, Met!
Families new to the Museum (youngsters ages five through twelve and accompanying adults) receive a warm and stimulating introduction to its encyclopedic collection through discussion and sketching of its masterpieces. See the calendar for upcoming dates and times.
Image: Photograph by Evan Lee.
Each week, the Museum offers hundreds of events and programs that are free with Museum admission—including lectures, films, tours, family activities, and more. The following featured events are just a sample of the free programs currently scheduled. See the calendar to plan your next visit.
Guided Tour
Hindu and Buddhist Vision in Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Tuesday, January 19, 11:30 a.m.
Meet in the Great Hall
This introduction to South and Southeast Asian art takes visitors through eighteen chronologically arranged galleries featuring an extraordinary array of masterworks dating from 3000 B.C. to the mid-nineteenth century A.D. The arts of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar are represented through archaeological finds, sculpture, painting, and decorative art. Before your visit: Learn about the Department of Asian Art.
American Stories Short Films
Tuesday, January 19, 2:00 p.m.
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
The Museum is pleased to present two short films in conjunction with the special exhibition "American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915". The first, Winslow Homer: The Nature of the Artist (1986), directed by Steve York, discusses the development of Homer’s style from his early illustrations to his powerful images of nature (29 min.). The second, a 1987 film directed by Joseph J. Reis, profiles the artist William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916), who established a summer school of art at Shinnecock on Long Island (26 min.).
See the calendar to see more events listed by date.
Above: Bruce Davidson (American, b. 1933). [Gallery Talk, Metropolitan Museum of Art], 1968. Gelatin silver print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of the Hundredth Anniversary Committee, 1974 (1974.513.38). © Bruce Davidson, Magnum Photos. See the Collection Database to learn more about this work of art.
Open Late Fridays and Saturdays
Did you know that the main building of the Museum is open until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings? Stop by for an after-work visit to the galleries or to meet friends in the Balcony Bar for live classical music and a light snack.
Take advantage of a special reduced rate on Friday and Saturday evenings. After 5:00 p.m., Audio Guides are only $5. (Not to be combined with any other discounts.)
See Plan Your Visit for more information about Museum hours and admission.
Register for free in My Met Museum to take advantage of any or all of the following special features:
Free email newsletters of your choice (Special Exhibitions newsletter, Met News, and more)
Automatic reminders about events that interest you
My Met Gallery—a place for you to organize all your favorite works of art from the Met's highlights so you can view them again and again
A customized calendar that displays events according to your preferences (concerts, films, family programs, and more)
Image: Joseph H. Davis (1811–1865). Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Otis and Child (detail), 1834. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1972 (1972.263.6). See the Collection Database to learn more about this work of art.
