Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art

About Us

A catalyst for scholarship on modernism across media, disciplines, and geographies, the Research Center mission is to foster the understanding and appreciation of modern art, including Cubism, its origins and influence.

Founded in 2013 by Leonard A. Lauder and a group of anonymous donors, the Center supports publications and programs, such as study days and film screenings. As well as online archives and research projects, it also organizes focused research exhibitions linked to works in the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection. The Center’s Advisory Committee invites Distinguished Scholars to the Center, and awards fellowships, enabling scholars to pursue their own work. The Center promotes a dynamic, open, and lively research culture with its community of pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and mid-career fellows, who meet together to discuss their writing, projects, and ideas. They participate in The Met fellowship program, engaging with the museum’s collections, and gaining behind the scenes insights.

Meet the team

FEATURED

Short Films for Short Nights

This July, our annual three-part series Short Films for Short Nights returns with dozens of rare short films produced between 1903 and 1973. This year’s theme explores “faces in the crowd.”

Research Resources

All research resources

Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection at The Met

Research the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, held by the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, including works by Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger, and Pablo Picasso.

Research Project

La Fin du monde: A Modernist Book

This digital research project brings together—for the first time—interactive scans of two versions of an artist’s book: La Fin du monde filmée par l’Ange N.-D. (The End of the World Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame), written by poet Blaise Cendrars and illustrated by artist Fernand Léger in 1919.

Index

The Modern Art Index Project

A collaboratively authored directory of entities and individuals that made significant contributions to the promotion and dissemination of international modern art.

Funding for Research

Scholars at The Center

Fellows

Learn about our current and past cohorts of pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and senior Fellows and their work while in residence in the Research Center.

Distinguished Scholars

Each year, we appoint one Distinguished Scholar, by invitation only, to contribute to the intellectual life of the Research Center and work in residence at the Museum.