MetPublications

The Metropolitan Museum Journal is issued annually and publishes original research on works of art in the Museum’s collection. Highlights of volume 56 include an investigation into the politics that governed dispersal of a pair of Sèvres elephant-head vases during the French Revolution, a consideration of imagery used in a rare seventeenth-century Ethiopian prayer book, and a critique of the Museum’s early collecting of ancient art of the Americas.

The Metropolitan Museum Journal is issued annually and publishes original research on works of art in the Museum’s collection. Highlights of volume 55 include an essay on Buddhist imagery in a medieval Chinese silk painted banner, a discussion of a rare 19th-century keyed guitar, and a contextualization of Ed Ruscha’s books of photographs of L.A. streets and gas stations of the 1960s and ’70s.

Published to celebrate The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary, Making The Met, 1870–2020 examines the institution’s evolution from an idea—that art can inspire anyone who has access to it—to one of the most beloved global collections in the world. Focusing on key transformational moments, this richly illustrated book provides insight into the visionary figures and events that led The Met in new directions. Among the many topics explored are the impact of momentous acquisitions, the central importance of education and accessibility, the collaboration that resulted from international excavations, the Museum’s role in preserving cultural heritage, and its interaction with contemporary art and artists. Complementing this fascinating history are more than two hundred works that changed the very way we look at art, as well as rarely seen archival and behind-the-scenes images. In the final chapter, Met Director Max Hollein offers a meditation on evolving approaches to collecting art from around the world, strategies for reaching new and diverse audiences, and the role of museums today.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of works of art from antiquities to modern and contemporary material. Their preservation is a responsibility shared by the many individuals employed at the Museum who have direct contact with the collection on a daily basis. The Care and Handing of Art Objects—first published in the 1940s and continually updated—offers a guide to the best practices in handling and preserving works of art while on display, in storage, and in transit. It explains many of the fundamental principles of conservation that underlie these methods. One of the goals of the publication is to make the complexities of caring for a collection readily accessible by offering basic guidelines for the preservation of the diverse materials and art objects found in The Met. Each chapter of Part I addresses a different medium ranging from paintings on canvas, works on paper, and photographs to furniture, upholstery, and arms and armor. The sections provides an overview of the particular environmental, handling, and housing factors needed to prevent damage and ensure preservation of each material. Written by experts in the respective specialty, the text summarizes the field's most critical preservation issues, many of which are amplified by photographs. Part II succinctly describes factors that affect the collection as a whole. Among these concerns the book features current environmental standards for temperature, relative humidity, light exposure, storage, and art in transit. The text also addresses integrated pest management and emergency preparedness and response. Charts on storage and display conditions as well as factors contributing to deterioration provide an easy reference for readers. A glossary of conservation terms, principles, and housing materials helps to guide for those unfamiliar with the field. The Care and Handing of Art Objects draws on the knowledge of conservators, scientists, and curators from many different departments, along with that technicians and engineers whose expertise crosses boundaries of culture, chronology, medium, and condition. It is an invaluable resource for students, collectors, small museums, museum study programs, art dealers, and members of the public who want to enhance their understanding of how works of art are safeguarded and the role environment, handling, and materials play in making this possible.

The Metropolitan Museum Journal is issued annually and publishes original research on works of art in the Museum’s collection. Highlights of volume 53 include an exquisite pair of 17th-century Chinese birthday gift portraits of an elderly couple, a hidden painting of a Rococo-inspired nude underneath Manet’s 1862 Mademoiselle V. . . . in the Costume of an Espada, and a new identification of the central figure in Daumier’s The Third-Class Carriage.

Known as the master of French Romanticism for his energetic paintings, Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was also a consummate draftsman. Yet his drawings remained largely unknown to the public during his lifetime. Beginning with a posthumous studio sale in 1864, however, these drawings have been sought after and widely appreciated for the incomparable insight they afford into the artist’s process. This handsome book, one of the few to explore the topic in depth, provides new insight into Delacroix’s drawing practice, paying particular attention to his methods and the ways in which he pushed the boundaries of the medium. It showcases a selection of more than one hundred drawings, many of which have been rarely seen, from Karen B. Cohen’s world-renowned collection. The works highlighted here range from finished watercolors to sketches, from copies after old masters and popular prints to drawings preparatory to many of Delacroix’s most important painting and print projects. Illustrated with a wealth of comparative images, the book examines the essential role of drawing in the artist’s formation and aesthetic practice, while two shorter texts trace the history of the collecting of Delacroix’s work at the Metropolitan Museum and present important new research on his materials and techniques.

The Metropolitan Museum Journal is issued annually and publishes original research on works of art in the Museum's collection. Highlights of volume 52 include a study of the intertwined relationship between two late masterpieces by Andrea del Sarto, new attributions for seven Roman drawings from the 16th and 17th centuries, and a reevaluation of Horace Pippin's painting, The Lady of the Lake from the late 1930s.