Research at The Met
Our research takes full advantage of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's resources and offers object-based study using a collection that spans 5,000 years of world history. We welcome an international community of students and scholars.
Featured Research Centers and Initiatives
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.
The Met collection has more than 1.5 million works of art spanning 5,000 years of culture around the globe. How do these objects make it to The Met?
Learn how NICS advances research and scholarship in art history, archaeology, conservation, and science by sharing The Met's cutting-edge scientific research facilities and analytical instrumentation, expertise, and resources.
Libraries
With over one million volumes, an extensive digital collection, and online resources, Thomas J. Watson Library is one of the world's most comprehensive art libraries. Explore Watson Library and the Met’s specialized collections.
Thomas J. Watson Library is The Met's research library. With its collection of more than one million volumes, extensive digital collections, and online resources, Watson Library is one of the world's most comprehensive art libraries.
The Cloisters Library collects research material for the study of medieval art and related topics. The collection of approximately fifteen thousand volumes encompasses medieval architecture, painting, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, and decorative arts.
The Costume Institute's Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library collection contains 30,000 books and periodicals as well as over 1,500 designer files all pertaining to the history of fashion, haute couture, regional clothing, and costume from around the world, dated from the sixteenth century to today.
The Robert Goldwater Library is a noncirculating research library dedicated to the documentation of the visual arts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Native and Precolumbian America.
The Joyce F. Menschel Library contains more than ten thousand volumes relating to the history of photography and to the Museum's collection of photographs.
The Onassis Library is a non circulating research facility housing seventeen thousand volumes for the study of Greek and Roman Art. The collection specializes in early archaeological literature, exhibition and auction catalogues, sculpture, and vase painting—included are rare books, photographs, and extensive archival holdings.
Study Rooms and Study Collections
The Museum's collection contains approximately 75,000 photographs spanning the entire history of the medium, including 500 photographically illustrated books and albums. Almost all of these are eligible for firsthand inspection.
Most of the works on paper that are not on view may be examined by qualified visitors in the study room. Also available is a reference library of books on the history of prints and drawings.
The American Wing’s open-storage and installation space, features wide-ranging collections not on view in the main galleries. The research opportunities afforded by this display make the Luce Center a focal point for education in the American Wing.
The Study Collection on the mezzanine above the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court contains some 3,500 objects, extending from the Neolithic period in the Aegean (sixth millennium BCE) to the end of antiquity in the Mediterranean world (early seventh century CE).
Antonio Ratti Textile Center provides the environmental conditions necessary for the long-term preservation of textile works of art at The Met, as well as study and research facilities for Museum staff and the general public.
Access the Museum's rare and unique research materials including auction catalogues, Met publications, photographic albums, ephemeral materials, illustrated books, and archival collections.
Archives
The objective of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives is to collect, organize, and preserve in perpetuity the corporate records and official correspondence of the Museum, to make the collection accessible and provide research support, and to further an informed and enduring understanding of the Museum's history.
The Cloisters Library collects research material for the study of medieval art and related topics. The collection of approximately fifteen thousand volumes encompasses medieval architecture, painting, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, and decorative arts.
The Robert Goldwater Library is a noncirculating research library dedicated to the documentation of the visual arts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Native and Precolumbian America.