This monumental new book is the first to celebrate the greatest and most iconic paintings from the encyclopedic collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, one of the largest, most important, and most beloved museums in the world. This impressive volume's broad sweep of material, all from a single museum, makes it at once a universal history of painting and the ideal introduction to the iconic masterworks of this world-renowned institution. More than 1,000 lavish color illustrations and details of 500 masterpiece paintings, created over 5,000 years in cultures across the globe, are presented chronologically from the dawn of civilization to the present. These works represent a grand tour of painting from ancient Egypt and classical antiquity and prized Byzantine and medieval altarpieces, to paintings from Asia, India, Africa and the Americas, and and the greatest European and North American masters. The Metropolitan Museum of Art includes and introduction and illuminating texts about each artwork written specially for this volume by Kathryn Calley Galitz, whose experience as both curator and educator at the Met makes her uniquely qualified. European and American artists include Duccio, El Greco, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Bronzino, Caravaggio, Turner, Velázquez, Goya, Rubens, Rembrandt, Brueghel, Vermeer, David, Renior, Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Degas, Sargent, Homer, Matisse, Picasso, Pollock, Jasper Johns, and Warhol. The artworks are arranged in rough chronological order, without regard to geography or culture, offering a visual timeline of the history of painting, from the earliest examples on pottery jars made over five thousand years ago to canvases on which the paint has barely dried. Freed from the constraints imposed by the physical layout of the Museum, the paintings resonate anew; and this chronological framework reveals unexpected visual affinities among the works. For those wishing to experience the unparalleled breadth and depth of the Met's collection, or study masterpieces of painting from throughout history, this important volume is sure to become a classic cherished by art lovers around the world.

Now available in a deluxe keepsake edition! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg’s beloved classic and Newbery Medal­–winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too. The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her—well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.

This landmark publication reevaluates historical Native American art as a crucial but under-examined component of American art history. The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection, a transformative promised gift to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, includes masterworks from more than fifty cultures across North America. The works highlighted in this volume span centuries, from before contact with European settlers to the early twentieth century. In this beautifully illustrated volume, featuring all new photography, the innovative visions of known and unknown makers are presented in a wide variety of forms, from painting, sculpture, and drawing to regalia, ceramics, and baskets. The book provides key insights into the art, culture, and daily life of culturally distinct Indigenous peoples along with critical and popular perceptions over time, revealing that to engage Native art is to reconsider the very meaning of America. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Verdana}

Play It Loud celebrates the musical instruments that gave rock and roll its signature sound. Seven engrossing essays by veteran music journalists and scholars discuss the technical developments that fostered rock’s seductive riffs and driving rhythms; the evolution of the classic lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums; the thrilling innovations and expanded instrumentation musicians have explored to achieve unique effects; the powerful visual impact instruments have had; and the essential role they have played in the most memorable moments of rock and roll history. Abundant photographs depict rock’s most iconic instruments—including Jerry Lee Lewis’s baby grand piano, Chuck Berry’s Gibson ES-350T guitar, John Lennon’s twelve-string Rickenbacker 325, Keith Moon’s drum set, and the white Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock—both in performance and as works of art in their own right. Produced in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this astounding book goes behind the music to offer a rare, in-depth look at the instruments that inspired the musicians and made possible the songs we know and love.

A mouse who works as a page turner at the Metropolitan Opera House has only one enemy, a cat; but, during a performance of "The Magic Flute," something magical happens to change their lives.

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” —Leonardo da Vinci Based on this simple statement by Leonardo, eighteen poets have written new poems inspired by some of the most popular works in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum. The collection represents a wide range of poets and artists, including acclaimed children’s poets Marilyn Singer, Alma Flor Alda, and Carole Boston Weatherford and popular artists such as Mary Cassatt, Fernando Botero, Winslow Homer, and Utagawa Hiroshige. Accompanying the artwork and specially commissioned poems is an introduction, biographies of each poet and artist, and an index.

"When the Metropolitan Museum came into being in 1870, the founders stressed its role in giving popular instruction. Ever since then its public has expressed interest in obtaining a general guidebook to all the multiple facets of its encyclopedic collections. But a museum is a living, constantly changing institution, and the preparation of such a guide presents many problems. The scope and depth of the Museum's holdings are described with flexibility in mind, so that alterations to the building and changes in the collections can be readily accommodated in future editions of this Guide. The number of pages allocated to each department is restricted to multiples of eight pages; this will permit revisions in future editions. A guidebook, however, should not be a straitjacket. It is impossible to locate accurately all works at all times because paintings and objects are constantly being cleaned, restored, loaned to other museums, or rehung within the Metropolitan. In designing a guide that is easily portable and of interest to a large public, severe restrictions have had to be imposed. The text serves an introductory function and is not intended to give the kind of detailed information found in a catalogue or scholarly publication. Many other books published by the Museum are available to anyone wishing to follow his own special interests: a series of popular handbooks and comprehensive catalogues of various aspects of the collections are available in the Museum's bookshops; the Bulletin of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a general interest magazine covering all phases of Museum activity, appears regularly throughout the year; and the Journal of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a collection of scholarly monographs, is issued annually. An independent guide covers the collection at The Cloisters, our branch museum of medieval art at Fort Tryon Park"--Introduction

Published to celebrate The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary, Making The Met, 1870–2020 examines the institution’s evolution from an idea—that art can inspire anyone who has access to it—to one of the most beloved global collections in the world. Focusing on key transformational moments, this richly illustrated book provides insight into the visionary figures and events that led The Met in new directions. Among the many topics explored are the impact of momentous acquisitions, the central importance of education and accessibility, the collaboration that resulted from international excavations, the Museum’s role in preserving cultural heritage, and its interaction with contemporary art and artists. Complementing this fascinating history are more than two hundred works that changed the very way we look at art, as well as rarely seen archival and behind-the-scenes images. In the final chapter, Met Director Max Hollein offers a meditation on evolving approaches to collecting art from around the world, strategies for reaching new and diverse audiences, and the role of museums today.

This book highlights pieces of jewellery from ancient and modern cultures in every part of the globe. Of special interest are the objects that appear in paintings and other works of art: jewel-studded gowns, glittering Renaissance brooches and an Egyptian beaded collar are among the featured works from the "Metropolitan Museum"'s collection. Necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets fill this book and also included are objects of religious significance, military honours and other kinds of personal decoration. The captions relate anecdotes concerning the artists and wearers and describe the history and style of the jewellery pictured.

“An hour, once it lodges in the queer element of the human spirit, may be stretched to fifty or a hundred times its clock length; on the other hand, an hour may be accurately represented on the timepiece of the mind by one second.” —Virginia Woolf, Orlando: A Biography, 1928 About Time: Fashion and Duration traces the evolution of fashion, from 1870 to the present, through a linear timeline of iconic garments, each paired with an alternate design that jumps forward or backward in time. These unexpected pairings, which relate to one another through shape, motif, material, pattern, technique, or decoration, create a unique and disruptive fashion chronology that conflates notions of past, present, and future. Virginia Woolf serves as “ghost narrator”: excerpts from her novels reflect on the passage of time with each subsequent plate pairing. A new short story by Michael Cunningham, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Hours, recounts a day in the life of a woman over a time span of 150 years through her changing fashions. Scholar Theodore Martin analyzes theoretical responses to the nature of time, underscoring that time is not simply a sequence of historical events. And fashion photographer Nicholas Alan Cope illustrates 120 fashions with sublime black and-white photography. This stunning book reveals fashion’s paradoxical connection to linear notions of time.