6.2 million domestic and international visitors made their way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during this past fiscal year, making it the third year in a row that the museum’s attendance  has exceeded six million visitors. This number is comprised of visitors to both the Met as well as the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan, which attracted 350,00 visitors of its own, a marked 50% increase from the previous year. These high numbers are due in part to the Museum’s recent decision to open seven days a week as well as to popular exhibitions such as PUNK: Chaos to Couture and Balthus: Cats and Girls-Paintings and Provocations.  (more…)

Beginning July 1st, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be open to the public 7 days a week.  The changes also apply to The Cloisters museum in northern Manhattan, and are the result of a decision to make the spaces “accessible whenever visitors have the urge to experience this great museum.”  Says Museum Director Thomas Campbell. (more…)

The construction of a new corporate campus for corporate giant LG Electronics is raising concerns from The Metropolitan Museum of Art for its potential to intrude on the scenic view of northern Manhattan’s Cloisters Museum.  The site, which was donated by John D. Rockefeller, is renowned for its pristine views of the Hudson River Palisades, and LG’s proposed construction would obscure a portion of the famous scenery.  “I don’t think they’d been aware of the larger context, the historic context, the geographic context,” said Rockefeller’s grandson, Larry. “I think LG really wants to do the right thing, and I’m hopeful that will lead them to redesign it.”   (more…)