Large sculpture on the roof of The Met Museum

Modern and Contemporary Art

About Us

The Met’s Modern and Contemporary Art department studies, collects, and exhibits art from 1890 to the present. The collection encompasses modernist movements and contemporary practices from across the globe. Featuring important holdings of European modernism, American art and modern design, and contemporary art, the department continues to expand its collection through strategic acquisitions, with a focus on artists and works from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and African diasporas. With strengths in painting, sculpture, and works on paper, the collection also includes international decorative arts, design, installation art, and time-based media. In addition to its gallery displays, the department engages in mission-driven activities such as special exhibitions, site-specific commissions by contemporary artists, and collaborations within and beyond the museum. It also prioritizes collections care through maintenance, cataloging, research, and the support of fellows and interns.

Our History

The Met has been acquiring the art of its time since its founding in the nineteenth century, even though a dedicated Department of Contemporary Arts was only established in 1967. The department’s early years were shaped by curators like Henry Geldzahler, and later Lowery Stokes Sims, who joined the museum in 1972. The department’s holdings have grown significantly through acquisitions, generous gifts, and bequests. Notable collections include the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, featuring nearly 90 Cubist masterpieces; the Alfred Stieglitz Collection; works from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation; a monumental promised gift of major works by Philip Guston; and the Azari collection of contemporary Iranian art.

The department found a permanent home in the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing in 1987 and later also mounted exhibitions at The Met Breuer (2016–2020). Looking ahead, the department’s collections will find a new home in The Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, slated to open in 2030.

FEATURED

The Met Announces Transformative Gift of Dada and Surrealism Works

This promised gift from Met Trustee John Pritzker includes works by Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Suzanne Duchamp, Max Ernst, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and Kurt Schwitters as well as funding for a new research initiative at The Met to advance scholarship and programming related to Dada and Surrealism.

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The Arts, Uzo Egonu  Nigerian, Oil on canvas
Uzo Egonu
1973/76
August Encampment, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Enrolled Salish member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Oil on canvas
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Enrolled Salish member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation
1988–89
Woman's Head, Amedeo Modigliani  Italian, Limestone
Amedeo Modigliani
1912
Office in a Small City, Edward Hopper  American, Oil on canvas
Edward Hopper
1953
Tea Infuser and Strainer, Marianne Brandt  German, Silver and ebony
Marianne Brandt
ca. 1924
Blue Cryptobiosis #10, Christine Ay Tjoe  Indonesian, Oil on canvas
Christine Ay Tjoe
2021
Dusasa II, El Anatsui  Ghanaian, Found aluminum, copper wire, and plastic disks
El Anatsui
2007
Mrs. N's Palace, Louise Nevelson  American, born Ukraine, Painted wood, mirror
Louise Nevelson
1964–77
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