Press release

Successful "Holiday Monday" Program Enters Second Year at Metropolitan Museum

Galleries, Exhibitions, and Shops to Open on Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Five Other Mondays

(New York, August 3, 2004) -- The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that, in response to enthusiastic public support of the "Holiday Mondays" program inaugurated in 2003, it will continue to offer these special viewing days – which take place on the Mondays of major holiday weekends – for a second year. The Metropolitan Museum's main building will be open to the public on the following Monday holidays: September 6 (Labor Day), October 11 (Columbus Day), December 27, 2004 (the Monday between Christmas and New Year's Day), January 17 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), February 21 (Presidents' Day), and May 30, 2005 (Memorial Day). The Museum had previously been closed to the public on Mondays for some 30 years.

"During the first year of Holiday Mondays at the Museum, nearly 80,000 visitors took advantage of this new opportunity to enjoy special exhibitions and explore our rich collections," commented Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum. "We are gratified by this level of interest and will continue the program for a second year – and expand it – by opening the Museum on one additional Monday, September 6, to coincide with Labor Day."

Among the special exhibitions that will be on view on the Labor Day weekend in the Museum's main building are: Childe Hassam, American Impressionist; Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century; The Games in Ancient Athens: A Special Presentation to Celebrate the 2004 Olympics; The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection; and, weather permitting, Andy Goldsworthy on the Roof. Family greeters in red aprons will again be present in the Museum's Great Hall to direct families to areas of particular interest. Also available on Holiday Mondays, for families with children under 12, is a 2-for-1 Audio Guide rental offer. With each rental of the Audio Guide ($6 general, $5 member, $4 child), the rental of one guide for a child under 12 is free. In addition to some 1,200 audio messages about works of art located throughout the Museum, the Audio Guide also includes 100 audio messages designed specifically for children ages 6 to 12.

The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.

A different selection of galleries and exhibitions will be open on each Holiday Monday. The Metropolitan's new public cafeteria and several of the Museum gift shops in the Main Building will be open on all Holiday Mondays.
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VISITOR INFORMATION
Hours
Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sundays, Tuesdays–Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Holiday Mondays in the Main Building (September 6,
October 11, and December 27, 2004, and
January 17, February 21, May 30, 2005)
9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
All other Mondays Closed
January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25 Closed

Suggested Admission (Includes Main Building and The Cloisters on the Same Day)
Adults $12.00
Students, senior citizens $ 7.00
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
Tickets not required for special exhibitions.

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