An article in the Washington Post this week highlights one favorable effect of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s merger with the National Gallery: permanently free admission to the museum collection.  As of today, the merger is official, making the Corcoran collection part of the National Gallery, and open to all visitors. (more…)

The New York Times reports that the Brooklyn Museum will offer free admission to visitors under twenty, beginning on September 3rd. The museum also plans to raise the suggested general admission from $12 to $16, the first increase since 2011. The decision to admit children and teenagers for free is part of an effort by the museum to make the institution more available to a younger audience, whom director Arnold Lehman believes “represents the future of all museums”.  (more…)

The New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the controversial case over the museum’s “Pay What You Want” pricing scheme, dismissing a substantial part of the case.  Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich ruled on the decision, stating that the museum’s income is used to help fund education programs and other efforts.  “For those without means, or those who do not wish to express their gratitude financially, a de minimis contribution of a penny is accepted,” the judge wrote. “Admission to the Met is de facto free for all.”  Even with that ruling, the court will review the portion of the case stating that the museum misrepresents itself, leading visitors to believe that they must pay the full $25 price on museum signage. (more…)

Gerald Lee Jones, a former supervisor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s admissions department, has filed an affidavit detailing the museum’s policy towards rewarding higher cashier receipts.  In his statement, Jones claims that museum employees who brought in lower admissions receipts, regardless of the museum’s “suggested” admission price, were rebuked for their performance, while cashiers who aggressively pushed for higher admission prices were rewarded.  “Cashiers are not only trained to avoid disclosing the truth about the museum’s admission prices; their compensation and their continued employment may largely depend on them not revealing it,” He says in court papers. (more…)

Japanese clothing company Uniqlo has announced that it will sponsor MoMA’s popular free Friday night series.  What’s more, the first 1000 attendees at the company’s first sponsored evening on May 3rd will receive a free tote bag.  The sponsorship follows comments by Tadashi Yanai, the chairman of parent company Fast Retailing, that the Museum of Modern Art is his “favorite museum in the world.  (more…)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been handed a class-action lawsuit, alleging that it has deceived patrons into believing that the admission price for the museum is $25.  While the museum is legally required to offer free admission to the public, it posts a “recommended” admission fee at the front entrance.  “The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances,” says Arnold Weiss, one of the attorneys in the case.   “But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction.” (more…)