In 1975, the visionary husband-and-wife design team of Charles and Ray Eames devised a two-part proposal to reimagine The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their submission, presented to then-Director Thomas Hoving, included a physical maquette of the galleries and a short film that explored how the Museum might “host” guests and foster connections between the public and its collection. Among the various elements suggested in the film is an “Information Hall” that included a sophisticated timeline of art history and interactive computer terminals where visitors could devise custom tours. This film was restored by the Library of Congress in 2025.
Launched in 2020 as part of The Met's 150th anniversary year, From the Vaults is a series that presents materials from the Museum's extensive audiovisual holdings with the public. The Met's moving-image archive, which comprises over 1,500 films, spans from the 1920s onward and includes rarely seen artist profiles and documentaries, as well as process films about art-making techniques and behind-the-scenes footage.
