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 senior 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.
FEATURED
Long Films for Long Nights: Faces in the Crowd
Continuing its new series of feature film screenings, the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art presents the first program on this year’s theme, “Faces in the Crowd.” This double feature explores the everyday dreams and realities of modern life.
Friday, February 27, 2026 from 5–8:30 pm
Research Resources
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.
Primary Source
Explore previously unpublished notes written by the Czech art historian Vincenc Kramář following his visit to Picasso’s 1913 exhibition at the Moderne Galerie in Munich. Read Nicholas Sawicki's accompanying essay.
Index
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
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.
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.
Articles, Audio, and Video
Featured
Video
Reading Modern Art is a new series featuring lively discussion about a new book, with the author and experts in the field.
Gennifer Weisenfeld
November 13, 2025
Video
In our inaugural event for our new series, Reading Modern Art, Christopher Green
Christopher Green
October 24, 2025
Video
Join Phillips curator Adrienne Childs as she charts American painter Beauford Delaney’s humanist vision, love of color, and evolving visual languages that navigated the aesthetics and cultures of transatlantic modernism.
Adrienne L. Childs
March 28, 2025
The Latest
Exhibitions
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More Research at The Met
The Research Center is made possible by a major donation from Leonard A. Lauder, and by other donors who prefer to remain anonymous.