SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS SEPTEMBER — DECEMBER 2006

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Information provided below is subject to change. To confirm scheduling and dates, call the Communications Department at (212) 570-3951. CONTACT NUMBER FOR USE IN TEXT IS (212) 535-7710.

New Exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
Continuing Exhibitions
New and Recently Opened Installations
Traveling Exhibitions
Visitor Information

SPECIAL NOTE

· Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde presents important works by Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and other late-19th- and early-20th-century artists, all of which passed through the gallery of the influential French art dealer Ambroise Vollard.
· Americans abroad and Americans at home are the focus of two special exhibitions this fall: Americans in Paris, 1860–1900, which recalls the importance of Paris as a magnet for late-19th-century painters; and Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall—An Artist's Country Estate, which unites surviving architectural and interior elements from Tiffany's extraordinary country estate in Oyster Bay, New York.
· Following five years of renovation, the Early Gothic Hall at The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park has recently reopened to the public.
· To be added to the e-mail list, please contact us at communications@metmuseum.org.
· New adult recommended admission took effect August 1.

NEW EXHIBITIONS

Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde
September 14, 2006–January 7, 2007

At the age of 29, Ambroise Vollard (1866–1939) established himself as an art dealer in Paris with the presentation of Cézanne's first solo exhibition. Over the succeeding years Vollard bought and sold pictures by Bonnard, Cézanne, Degas, Derain, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Maillol, Matisse, Picasso, Redon, Renoir, Rouault, Rousseau, Vlaminck, Vuillard, and others. This exhibition includes seven paintings from Vollard's 1895 Cézanne exhibition; a never-before-reassembled triptych from his 1896–97 Van Gogh retrospective; the masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) from his 1898 Gauguin exhibition; paintings from Picasso's first French exhibition (1901) and Matisse's first solo exhibition (1904); and three pictures from Derain's London series, painted in 1906–7 at Vollard's suggestion. Additionally, the exhibition features dozens of ceramics, sculpture, prints, and livres d'artiste commissioned and published by Vollard. Also displayed are numerous portraits of Vollard by leading artists, among them Cézanne (Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris), Renoir (Nippon Television Network Corporation, Tokyo), Bonnard (Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Kunsthaus Zürich, and private collection), and Picasso (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow).
The exhibition is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation.
Education programs are made possible by The Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Art
Institute of Chicago, the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the
Humanities. Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Tuesday, September 12, 10:00 a.m.–noon

New Orleans after the Flood: Photographs by Robert Polidori
September 19–December 10, 2006

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Within days the city's fragile levee system failed and 80 percent of New Orleans was under water. For the photographer Robert Polidori, the tragedy spurred a meditation on contemporary life and on our culture in decline. This small exhibition presents approximately 20 photographs of flooded and abandoned homes in New Orleans and memorializes the first anniversary of one of America's worst natural disasters.

Sean Scully: Wall of Light
September 26, 2006–January 14, 2007

This exhibition presents recent work by painter Sean Scully (American, b. Ireland, 1945), specifically his Wall of Light series of paintings, watercolors, pastels, and aquatints. Inspired by the artist's first visits to Mexico in the early 1980s, where he observed the play of light and shadow on ancient stone walls, this ongoing and distinctive body of work focuses on an exploration of abstract forms affected by light, evoking a range of emotional and narrative themes. Paintings from 1998 to the present are constructed with rectangular bricklike forms, closely fitted and arranged in horizontal and vertical groupings as if in a wall, and characterized by broad, gestural brushstrokes, a wide range of luminous colors built up in layers, and varying degrees of overall light and darkness. The core of the exhibition features 30 small-, medium-, and large-scale paintings on canvas, with related watercolors, pastels, and aquatints.
The exhibition is made possible by Paula Cussi and Ignacio Garza Medina.
Corporate support is provided by UBS.
The exhibition was organized by The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Accompanied by a publication.
Press preview: Monday, September 25, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture
September 26, 2006–February 19, 2007

The Museum's rich collection of medieval heads, complemented by loans from American and European collections, shows the compelling power and diversity of the human face as represented from the end of the Roman empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Many of these sculptures were violently broken from their bodies in centuries past, and the exhibition reveals the detective work involved in "reconnecting" them. Organized thematically, the exhibition explores such artistic issues as iconoclasm, portraiture, the use of nuclear technology to determine provenance, and head reliquaries as power objects. The exhibition thus draws together science and connoisseurship, archaeology and history.
The exhibition is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation.
Additional support is provided by the Michel David-Weill Fund.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, September 25, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Americans in Paris, 1860–1900
October 24, 2006–January 28, 2007

Filled with the best of the old and the new—from the Louvre's treasures to Haussmann's boulevards—late-19th-century Paris attracted hundreds of American art students and artists, including Whistler, Eakins, Cassatt, and Sargent. They were all enchanted by a city that seemed to be "one vast studio." So powerful was the lure of Paris that writer Henry James could observe in 1887: "When to-day we look for 'American art' we find it mainly in Paris. When we find it out of Paris, we at least find a great deal of Paris in it." This major loan exhibition highlights the themes "Picturing Paris"; "At Home in Paris"; "Paris as Proving Ground," which includes canvases shown in the Salons and other expositions; "Summers in the Country," when many Americans worked as Impressionists; and "Back in the USA," which suggests some of the lessons they brought home.
The exhibition is made possible by Bank of America.
Additional support is provided by the Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. Fund.
The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, October 16, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art of the Papuan Gulf
October 24, 2006–September 2, 2007

The powerful and graphically elaborate sculpture from the Papuan Gulf area of the island of New Guinea is presented in a context that demonstrates how deeply embedded art was in the region's social life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition presents traditional sculptures in the form of masks, figures, and spirit boards that both represented and became the embodiment of supernatural beings that were placated, cajoled, and coaxed to attend to human needs. The exhibition focuses on these sacred objects and the contexts in which they were presented. The juxtaposition of 19th- and 20th-century photographs with the stylistically inventive sculptures—many specifically identifiable in the photographs—presents the cultural contexts of the objects and facilitates the presentation of culturally specific ideas while creating a visual biography of the works. Additionally, the images demonstrate how early visitors used photography to record their activities, as well as to visualize and represent the art and cultural practice integral to the well-being of the communities. The selection of rare historical photographs—some exhibited for the first time—taken by early travelers to the Papuan Gulf is drawn from The Photograph Study Collection of the Metropolitan Museum's Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
The exhibition was organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, in
collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s
November 14, 2006–February 19, 2007

The short-lived Weimar Republic saw political, economic, and social turmoil, yet also innovation in literature, music, film, theater, and architecture. In painting, a trend of matter-of-fact realism took hold in Germany like nowhere else in Europe. Disillusioned by the cataclysm of World War I, the most vital German artists moved towards a Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), in particular its branch known as Verism. These artists looked soberly, cynically, and even ferociously at their fellow citizens and found their true métier in portraiture, depicting with clinical detachment the glittering yet doomed society around them. The exhibition features 40 paintings and 60 drawings by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Karl Hubbuch, Christian Schad, and Rudolf Schlichter, among others.
The exhibition is supported by The Isaacson-Draper Foundation.
Additional support is provided by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, November 13, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall—An Artist's Country Estate
November 21, 2006–May 20, 2007

Laurelton Hall, Louis Comfort Tiffany's extraordinary country estate in Oyster Bay, New York, completed in 1905, was the epitome of the artist's achievement and in many ways defined this multifaceted artist. Tiffany designed every aspect of the project inside and out, creating a total aesthetic environment. The exhibition is a window into Tiffany's most personal art, bringing into focus this remarkable artist who lavished as much care and creativity on the design and furnishing of his home and gardens as he did on all the wide-ranging media in which he worked. Although the house tragically burned to the ground in 1957, the exhibition brings together many of its surviving architectural elements and interior features. In addition, the exhibition features Tiffany's personal collections of his own work—breathtaking stained-glass windows, paintings, glass and ceramic vases, as well as Japanese and Chinese tsuba, jades, and ceramics, and Native American baskets.
The exhibition is made possible by The Tiffany & Co. Foundation.
Additional support is provided by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund.
It was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, Florida.
Accompanied by a publication.
Press preview: Monday, November 20, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche
November 21, 2006–January 7, 2007

The Museum continues a long-standing holiday tradition with the annual presentation of its Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene—embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above—adorns the candlelit spruce. Recorded music adds to the enjoyment of the holiday display. Lighting ceremonies will be held at 3:30 and 4:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays and at 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and
the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

Nan Kempner: American Chic
December 12, 2006–March 4, 2007

This Costume Institute exhibition celebrates the cool glamour, spare elegance, and iconic style of one of the most renowned members of the Best-Dressed List's Hall of Fame, the late Mrs. Thomas L. Kempner, through a selection of her favorite designers and couture ensembles.
Press preview: Monday, December 11, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Discovering Tutankhamun: The Photographs of Harry Burton
December 19, 2006–April 29, 2007

This exhibition of vintage photographs celebrates one of the most memorable episodes in the history of archaeology: the discovery and exploration of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (Dynasty 18; ruled ca. 1336–1327 B.C.). These photographs, documenting every stage in the process of the excavation, were taken by the renowned archaeological photographer Harry Burton. Burton was a staff member of the Metropolitan Museum Egyptian Expedition when he was "lent" to Howard Carter, the famed excavator of Tutankhamun's tomb. From the rock-cut steps leading down to the entrance passage, to the opening of the sealed chambers inside, to the first view of the contents of the tomb and the removal of the objects, Burton's splendid black-and-white photographs capture thousands of the beautifully made and decorated objects found in the tomb.
Accompanied by a publication.

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudí to Dalí
March 7–June 3, 2007

This will be the first comprehensive exhibition to focus on the diverse and complex period in modern Spanish art known as the "Catalan Renaissance." Based in Barcelona, it reached its peak in the years following the Barcelona Universal Exhibition of 1888 and lasted through the Spanish Civil War, ending with the imposition of the Fascist regime of Francisco Franco in 1939. On view will be more than 200 works, including paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, posters, decorative objects, furniture, architectural models, designs, and video. The selection will offer new insights into the progressive movements that sustained Barcelona's quest for modernity and confirmed it as the primary center of radical intellectual, political, and cultural activities in Spain.
The exhibition is made possible by the Caixa Catalunya. Obra Social and the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Additional support is provided by Jane and Robert Carroll and The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
The exhibition was organized by The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York, in association with Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, March 5, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Incisive Images: Ivory and Boxwood Carvings from the Renaissance and Baroque
March 13–September 9, 2007

Small in scale but grand in impact, ivory sculpture starred in private collections throughout the Renaissance and Baroque, particularly in the courts of Central Europe, where the art form reached its apogee. The fine grain and lustrous texture of this exotic material permitted virtuoso carvers to extract maximum expression within the miniature format prized for the intimate spaces of collectors' cabinets and church treasuries. The exhibition of more than 50 works formed in ivory (and equally fine-grained boxwood), largely drawn from Museum storage, will feature freestanding sculptures as well as intricately carved armaments and a few lavish furnishings.

Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797
March 27–July 8, 2007

This exhibition will examine the relationship between Venice and the Islamic world over a thousand-year period, focusing on artistic and cultural ideas that originated in the Near East and were channeled, absorbed, and elaborated in Venice, a city that represented a commercial, political, and diplomatic magnet on the shores of the Mediterranean. The underlying theme of the exhibition will focus on the reasons why a large number of Venetian paintings, drawings, printed books, and especially decorative artworks were influenced by and drew inspiration from the Islamic world and from its art. "Orientalism" in Venice was based on direct contact with the Islamic world, which brought about new technological, artistic, and intellectual information. These Venetian objects will be studied vis-à-vis works of Islamic art, providing an immediate, comparative visual reference. A continuous thread throughout the exhibition deals with the works of Islamic art that entered Venetian collections in historical times and explores the nature of the artistic relationship between Venice and the Mamluks in Egypt, the Ottomans in Turkey, and the Safavids in Iran.
The exhibition is made possible by The Hagop Kevorkian Fund.
Additional support is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Oceanic Heritage
Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and
L'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, March 26, 10:00 a.m.–noon

The New Greek and Roman Galleries
Opening April 20, 2007

The opening of a new complex of Hellenistic, Etruscan, and Roman galleries will complete the re-installation of the permanent galleries of the Department of Greek and Roman Art. The galleries will present Hellenistic art and the legacy that traces the story of Rome from the Republican period through the "Golden Age" of Augustus' Principate to the conversion of Constantine the Great in A.D. 312. The main focal point of the re-installation will be the completely refurbished Roman court—to be named the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court—which will link together the various galleries and themes. These will include displays of the art of Magna Graecia and the world of the Etruscans, together with the stunning collection of Roman wall paintings that is unrivaled outside of Italy. A high point of the display of the art of the Late Hellenistic and Early Imperial period will be the newly reconstructed cubiculum from the villa at Boscoreale and the Black Bedroom from Boscotrecase. In addition, on the mezzanine floor overlooking Fifth Avenue, there will be a large display of study material covering the entire cultural and chronological span of the department's collection.
Press preview: Monday, April 16, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Frank Stella: Painting into Architecture
May 1–July 29, 2007

For more than a decade, the American artist Frank Stella has been designing various structures, from a band shell, to a house, to a museum. This exhibition will focus on three projects, displaying drawings, small and large models, and related paintings and sculptures.
Press preview: Monday, April 30, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Frank Stella on the Roof
May 1–October 28, 2007 (weather permitting)

An installation of recent works in stainless steel and aluminum by the prolific American artist Frank Stella, set in the most dramatic outdoor space for sculpture in New York City: The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, which offers a spectacular view of Central Park and the New York City skyline. Beverage and sandwich service is available from 10:00 a.m. until closing, including Friday and Saturday evenings.
Press preview: Monday, April 30, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Gabriel Orozco
May 15–September 3, 2007

Although rooted in the materials and cultural traditions of his native Mexico, Gabriel Orozco finds inspiration, collaboration, and opportunity around the world. His ephemeral sculptures—sand on a table, a shoebox in snow, clay bearing the imprint of his hand—are given longer life by way of photography. Whether recording one of his own interventions in the landscape or a found situation, his photographs remind one of the fleeting beauty to be found in simple things and chance occurrences if we will but open our eyes and minds. In this exhibition, Orozco's photographs will be augmented by drawings, collages, and small sculptural objects drawn from local collections.

Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings: The Clark Brothers Collect
May 22–August 19, 2007

More than 60 celebrated masterpieces owned by rival brother collectors—Robert Sterling Clark (1877–1956), founder of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Stephen Carlton Clark (1882–1960), a former trustee and illustrious donor to The Metropolitan Museum of Art—will be brought together in this unprecedented exhibition. Never before seen ensemble, the most treasured paintings from Sterling Clark's collection, including works by such 19th-century masters as Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Homer, and Sargent, will be seen side-by-side with commanding works by Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Seurat, Eakins, and Hopper, which held pride of place in Stephen Clark's collection. The brothers' "silent rivalry" will be given currency through works that invite comparison, such as two early self-portraits by Degas and similar rustic scenes by Homer and Remington, from their respective collections. Their mutual admiration for Renoir is highlighted in grand form by the artist's Sleeping Girl with a Cat and At the Concert from Sterling's collection, and A Waitress at Duval's Restaurant and Madame Henriot in Costume from Stephen's collection. The exhibition—which marks the 50th anniversary of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute—will provide a unique opportunity to appreciate the remarkable legacies of these two brothers, both heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune and native New Yorkers, who played influential but ultimately divergent roles as patrons of the arts in the United States. The exhibition was organized by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, May 21, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Neo Rauch at the Met
May 22–September 23, 2007

On view will be six new paintings made specifically for this exhibition by the Leipzig artist Neo Rauch. This showing will be the third in a new series dedicated to young artists, featuring Tony Oursler in 2005 and Kara Walker in 2006.
Press preview: Monday, May 21, 10:00 a.m.–noon

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

Closing in Early September

Raphael at the Metropolitan: The Colonna Altarpiece
Through September 4, 2006

AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
Through September 4, 2006

On Photography: A Tribute to Susan Sontag
Through September 4, 2006

Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings
Through September 10, 2006

Early in the first millennium A.D., Maya kings elaborated on an inherited tradition for interacting with supernatural powers by portraying themselves in the roles and costumes of divinities. Using specific symbolic attributes and performing conjuring rituals evoking deities and deified ancestors, the kings of city-states such as Calakmul in Mexico, Tikal in Guatemala, and Copan in Honduras rendered themselves divine. This exhibition includes items of kingly regalia, objects that depict their real and mythic actions, and works that were part of these activities, including stone sculpture, ceramic vessels, and objects of carved jade, shell, bone, and pearl.
The exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
In New York, the exhibition is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The exhibition is also made possible in part by generous grants from the National Endowment
for the Humanities and by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

The Fabric of Life: Ikat Textiles of Indonesia
Through September 24, 2006

In many Indonesian societies, textiles are both literally and figuratively interwoven with an individual's life from earliest infancy to the wrapping of the funerary shroud. This exhibition explores the imagery, forms, and functions of one of the most important, widespread, and technically sophisticated of all Indonesian textile traditions—the colorful and boldly patterned fabrics known as ikat. Drawn primarily from the Metropolitan's own collection, the exhibition includes ikat from several distinctive regional traditions, woven with astonishing artistic and technical virtuosity.
This exhibition is made possible through the generosity of the Friends of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument
Through October 29, 2006 (weather permitting)

Contemporary Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang, known for his elaborate sculpture installations and gunpowder projects, was invited by the Metropolitan Museum to create this site-specific installation for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, overlooking Central Park with expansive views of the Manhattan skyline. Included are four works that present the artist's reactions to issues of present-day concern: Clear Sky Black Cloud, an ephemeral sculpture that consists of an actual black cloud appearing above the Museum's Roof Garden Tuesdays through Sundays at noon; Transparent Monument, a large sheet of glass at the foot of which lie replicas of dead birds; Nontransparent Monument, a multipart narrative relief sculpture in stone; and Move Along, Nothing to See Here, a pair of life-size replicas of crocodiles cast in resin, pierced with scissors and knives confiscated at airport security checkpoints, that loom over the Roof Garden space.
Beverage and sandwich service is available from 10:00 a.m. until closing, including Friday and Saturday evenings.
The installation is made possible by a grant from Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky.
Additional support has been provided by Caroline Howard Hyman, Alice King and
Roger King, Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen, and Robert C. Y. Wu.

The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620
Through January 14, 2007

The horse was an integral part of medieval and Renaissance culture, not only as a beast of burden but also as a sign of rank and status. For the nobility, equitation was an essential skill, both socially and militarily. Horses played a pivotal role in warfare and often wore armor as elaborate and expensive as that of their riders. Drawing exclusively from items in the reserve collection, many of them unpublished and rarely seen before, this exhibition examines various types of European horse armor in terms of style, construction, and decoration.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

A Taste for Opulence: Sèvres Porcelain from the Collection
Through February 25, 2007

The Sèvres porcelain factory, established in the Château of Vincennes just outside Paris in 1740, quickly became the preeminent producer of porcelain in Europe. Supported in its early years by the patronage of Louis XV, the factory was named the manufacture du roi in 1753 and was purchased by the king in 1759. Catering in large part to the tastes of the court, the factory strove for constant innovation and originality throughout the 18th century, frequently employing the leading artists and designers of the day to provide models and inspiration for the factory's artisans. This installation, which focuses on the diversity of the factory's production, is drawn entirely from the Museum's superb holdings of Sèvres porcelain and from its unparalleled collection of 18th-century French furniture decorated with Sèvres plaques.
The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.

NEW AND RECENT INSTALLATIONS

Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing
September 2, 2006–January 21, 2007

In China, calligraphy, "the art of writing," is regarded as the quintessential visual art, ranking above painting as the most important vehicle for individual expression. As such, calligraphy may be appreciated in much the same way as some abstract art—by following the artist's every gesture, reexperiencing the kinesthetic action of creation as preserved in the inked lines. This installation traces the 1,600-year history of brush writing from its genesis as a fine art in the 4th century A.D., through successive peaks of individual innovation, to its recent transformation from a universal mark of scholarly status into a form of abstract art. It features more than 70 works, with examples from the permanent collection importantly augmented by select works from private collections.

Children's Book Illustrations
October 17, 2006–January 7, 2007

A selection of 13 drawings for children's books and 6 children's books by American, British, and Russian artists including Maxfield Parrish, Will Bradley, Arthur Rackham, Arthur Szyk, Kate Greenaway, and Walter Crane will be on view as part of the Johnson Gallery's installation of highlights from the collection of the Department of Drawings and Prints.

Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer
December 2, 2006–April 1, 2007

In the 12th century, craftsmen in southern China refined a longstanding tradition that combined mother-of-pearl and lacquer to create sumptuous painterly scenes of figures in landscapes, and flowers and birds. This installation traces the evolution of this astonishing technology in East Asia, India, and Thailand. It explores the importance of lacquer decorated with minute pieces of mother-of-pearl in interregional trade from the 12th to the 19th century, and the development of global trade, particularly works made in India and Japan, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. New acquisitions as well as important works from the permanent collection and several pieces on loan illustrate the remarkable variety of effects found in the use of minute pieces of mother-of-pearl to create delicate scenes patterned in shades of white, pink, and green.

Closed Circuit: Video and New Media at the Metropolitan
Opening February 2007

In 2001, the Department of Photographs acquired the Metropolitan's first example of video art—a mesmerizing, elemental work by Ann Hamilton that, in its small scale and unassuming presentation, seemed almost like a still photograph come to life. This exhibition presents a selection from the growing collection put together by the department over the last five years, from David Hammons's raucous and surprising Phat Free and Darren Almond's hallucinatory Schwebebahn to Omer Fast's Spielberg's List, a 65-minute, two-screen pseudo-documentary about Hollywood and the Holocaust that is alternately funny and harrowing. Also included will be Lutz Bacher's surveillance of the late art dealer Pat Hearn, Wolfgang Staehle's 24-hour landscape "painting" set in the Hudson River Valley, and a digital update of Eadweard Muybridge's celebrated motion studies from the 1880s by new media pioneer Jim Campbell. Only Ann Hamilton's a, b, c has previously been shown at the Metropolitan.

Rembrandt and His Circle: Drawings and Prints
Through October 15, 2006

In celebration of the 400th birthday of Rembrandt, the Metropolitan Museum is displaying a selection of 58 drawings and prints—44 of them by Rembrandt himself—from its extensive collection of works by the great 17th-century Dutch master and artists of his school. With subject matter ranging from the directly observed (landscapes, portraits, and figurative sketches) to the invented (most notably, biblical scenes), Rembrandt's graphic works illustrate his spontaneity, artistic originality, and innovative approach to traditional media.

A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Autumn and Winter
Through December 3, 2006

The paintings, screens, and objects exhibited in these galleries reflect the Japanese people's keen attentiveness to seasonal changes. Cultivated after the nation's capital was established in 794 in Kyoto, a city surrounded on three sides by mountains and pierced by the Kamo River, a sensitivity to the all-encompassing sweep of the seasons formed the foundation of Japanese life and culture. Literary works of the Heian period (794–1185), such as 31-syllable waka poetry and even grand romances such as the Tale of Genji, were inextricably bound to the seasons. In painting, landscapes were almost always tinged with seasonal signs, and the subject of flowers and birds in paintings was depicted in an appropriate seasonal context. Paintings representing the ordinary and extraordinary activities of the Kyoto citizenry were also arranged into four seasons, or twelve months. A pair of six-panel screens was an ideal format in which to illustrate various subjects—landscapes, flowers and birds, or human activities—over the twelve months of the year.

Early Gothic Hall at The Cloisters
Reopened summer 2006

After a five-year renovation, the Early Gothic Hall at The Cloisters—the northern Manhattan branch of the Metropolitan Museum dedicated to medieval art and architecture—has reopened to the public. Among the objects on view are completely refurbished 13th-century limestone windows and two dozen panels of newly conserved and reinstalled stained glass, primarily from the 13th and 14th centuries. The project also encompassed the construction of two new limestone apertures in an interior wall for the display of grisaille glass windows and new lighting. The renovation restores the building to the original concept from 1938, when The Cloisters first opened, while upgrading and expanding the necessary lighting and ventilation systems and allowing visitors to view rare examples of Gothic stained glass as they were meant to be seen, beautifully illuminated by natural daylight. Made possible by The Alice Tully Foundation and the generous support of the City of New York.

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

PLEASE NOTE: These exhibitions originate at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with works of art from the Museum's collections selected and organized by Museum staff members. Please confirm the opening and closing dates with the local exhibiting museums as they may be subject to change.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:
Chefs-d'oeuvre de la peinture européenne

A selection of celebrated Old Master and 19th-century European paintings from the Metropolitan Museum's collection. With works dating from the 16th through the 19th century, from many schools, the exhibition presents more than 40 masterworks by El Greco, Frans Hals, Thomas Gainsborough, Édouard Manet, Nicolas Poussin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and others.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Switzerland June 23–November 12, 2006

Masterworks of European Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: From El Greco to Cézanne

A selection of celebrated Old Master and 19th-century European paintings from the Metropolitan Museum's collection. With works dating from the 16th through the 19th century, from many schools, the exhibition presents more than 40 masterworks by El Greco, Frans Hals, Thomas Gainsborough, Édouard Manet, Nicolas Poussin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and others. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain November 30, 2006–March 4, 2007

Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts:
Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table

The entire aquamanilia collection of the Metropolitan Museum, as well as selected examples from other major collections, is on display. Additional objects drawn from the Metropolitan's extensive collection provide context. Late Antique, Byzantine, and Islamic works suggest sources and models. Stylistic and technical relationships are explored with other medieval examples in various media such as tapestry and ceramic.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the July 12–October 15, 2006
Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York

A Visitor in Wuppertal: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This exhibition of 75 Abstract Expressionist drawings and paintings on paper (from the 1940s and '50s) features works from the Metropolitan Museum's collection by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko.

Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal, Germany December 3, 2006–March 4, 2007

The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1800–1920

A selection of 135 masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum's treasured collection of French painting—including works by Bonnard, Cézanne, Corot, Courbet, Degas, Van Gogh, Ingres, Manet, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, and Renoir—will be lent exclusively to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin while the Met's galleries for the paintings undergo renovation. The Berlin venue will also include 15 French sculptures.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston February 4–May 6, 2007
The Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin June 1–October 7, 2007

VISITOR INFORMATION

MAIN BUILDING HOURS

Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Sundays, Tuesdays–Thursdays 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Met Holiday Mondays sponsored by Bloomberg 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
in the Main Building
September 4, and October 9, 2006;
January 15, February 19, May 28, July 2,
September 3, October 15, December 24 & 31, 2007
All other Mondays Closed
January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25 Closed

THE CLOISTERS HOURS

March–October:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
Mondays Closed

November–February:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Mondays Closed

RECOMMENDED ADMISSION (INCLUDES MAIN BUILDING
AND THE CLOISTERS ON THE SAME DAY)

Adults $20.00
Seniors (65 and over) and students $10.00
Members and children under 12
accompanied by adult Free

Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827
For more information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org

No extra charge for any exhibition

August 23, 2006

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