In this preface to the Obsession catalogue, exhibition curator Sabine Rewald writes about the "private pleasures" that drew Scofield Thayer to nudes by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Pablo Picasso.

Publisher, poet, and aesthete, Scofield Thayer (1889–1982) led an intense public life that included the editorship of the prominent avant-garde journal the Dial and often contentious friendships with literary luminaries such as T. S. Eliot and E. E. Cummings. In the early 1920s, Thayer went to Vienna, where he was analyzed by Sigmund Freud. He also embarked on an art-buying spree throughout the capitals of Europe, acquiring (among many other things) a number of highly erotic works on paper by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Pablo Picasso. Though these artists were little known or appreciated in America at the time, and though the especially provocative nature of the drawings and watercolors put them outside the mainstream, these works have now taken their place as erotic masterpieces, collected with remarkable foresight and vision. Obsession showcases 52 of these rarely seen works, presenting them within the context of Thayer’s remarkable life and tempestuous times while enhancing our understanding of these three modernist masters.

Explore _Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE_ in this virtual tour of the exhibition.

The Achaemenid Persian empire was the largest that the ancient world had seen, extending from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia.

Take to the sky to explore the majestic vistas of The Met Cloisters. Explore 360° views over the city, across the Hudson River, and high above two richly landscaped gardens. Inside, spin around to admire the medieval cloisters that form the core of the historic building, and listen to the resonant chimes from the bell tower, more than 100 feet above ground.

Greek artists and intellectuals were welcomed in Cyprus, although there was always more incentive for Cypriot sculptors, philosophers, and writers to move from Cyprus to the Greek mainland.

Immerse yourself in this 360° video capturing dawn to dusk in the Temple of Dendur.