Where do you find inspiration at The Met?
Artists Alex Katz and Wangechi Mutu explore works in our collection. Created for the 27th annual Art & Artists Gala, this video brings them together to consider how The Met’s extraordinary collection continues to shape their practice.
The Art & Artists Gala is a special evening that celebrates the visionary artists and the works that define The Met collection. Proceeds from this event support the Museum’s acquisitions fund and other Museum activities.
Featured artworks:
Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917). Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Paintings Gallery (1879-80). Etching, softground, aquatint and drypoint; unique impression of the fourth state of twenty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (2025.761)
Statue of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 (945-712 BCE). Wood, jasper, glass, obsidian, bone, clinochlore, and Egyptian blue. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (2025.679)
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (Dutch, Antwerp 1573–1621). Bouquet of Flowers in a Roemer (ca. 1620). Oil on wood. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, many members of the Board of Trustees Gifts, in honor of Sharon H. Cott, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, and Rogers Fund, 2025 (2025.93)
Yuny and His Wife Renenutet, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Seti I (ca. 1294–1279 BCE). Limestone, paint. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1915. (15.2.1)
Wangechi Mutu (Kenyan-American, born Nairobi, 1972). My Strength Lies (2006). Ink, acrylic, photomechanically printed cut and pasted paper, contact paper, metallic sequin and glitter on two mylar sheets. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Bequest of Gioconda King, by exchange, 2019 (2019.133a, b)
© Wangechi Mutu. Courtesy of the Artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels
Alex Katz (American, born Brooklyn, New York, 1927). Philip Pearlstein (1978). Oil on aluminum cutout painted front and back. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1979 (1979.213.1)
© Alex Katz
Alex Katz (American, born Brooklyn, New York, 1927). Face of a Poet (1972). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Paul Jacques Schupf, 1986 (1986.363)
© Alex Katz
Alex Katz (American, born Brooklyn, New York, 1927). Black and Brown Blouse (1976). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. George A. Hearn Fund, 1978. (1978.9)
© Alex Katz
