Conquering the MET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art covers four city blocks. That is almost as large as the entire downtown area of the small town where I was reared. It is a maze of galleries and hallways, and art from every place and time on earth. It is more than my poor little ADD brain can handle. In order to "do" the MET, I have to break it down into manageable parts. I go frequently. Each time there is a featured exhibition I would like to see, or if I get wrapped up in work and forget why I live in this city, I will take the time to visit the MET.

I have been at least seven times in the thirteen months I have lived here and I have still only seen a fifth of the museum. If I am going to a special exhibit, I carefully follow the directions to navigate my way through the monstrous labyrinth. My original plan was to always explore one or two of the the permanent exhibits which I encountered on the way. In a fortunate turn of events, the area around the entrance to the museum was under construction, forcing patrons to enter from a southern entrance and take an elevator up to the main floor. This alarmed me as it is easy to get lost in this place. On the way to a Veermeer exhibition, I discovered the Greek Courtyard, a sumptuous gallery of Greek Sculpture with seating which facilitates spending enough time there to do the Greeks justice. I plan to do just that the next time I visit. Who knows when I would have found it otherwise.

You may think I am kidding about getting lost. Earlier this year, I went to see the new American Wing. There is a large section devoted to American Design which features room after room of furniture, set up as originally used, dating from pre-revolutionary time to Frank Lloyd Wright. After wandering around for some time, I found myself in an unusual space with row after row of furniture, organized not by rooms but by object. There were rows and rows of chairs, then tables, silver serving pieces, chests, all displayed in glass cases. I thought to myself, this must not be their best stuff to crowd it all together like this. Finally, I realized, I was in the storage area. Actually, this area is open to the public intentionally.

Going back to the Frank Lloyd Wright room, I loved this exhibit. If you ever wondered about Wright's contribution to modern design you will see it in this room.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located in Central Park and faces Fifth Avenue. The Museum is usually closed on Monday but will open if it is a holiday. The recommended donation is $20, which you should pay. If you can't afford the cost, you may make a donation of what you can afford. (No one will look askew at you for not paying the full price.)

Following your visit to the MET, plan to ride the bus down Fifth Avenue to 34th Street. (Be sure to get on the right bus because one does not go all the way down.) Along Fifth Avenue you will see penthouse apartments on one side and Central Park on the other. Then after Central Part you will see the Merchandizing Icons including: FOA Schwartz, Cartier, De Beers, Tiffany's, Gucci, Armani, Louis Vitton, Ferragami, Bergdorf Goodman, Sak's Fifth Avenue, and Lord and Taylor and too many more to name. These are the original stores and the reason women once flocked to New York to shop. (Long before the days of malls when these stores opened outlets all over the country.) At 50th street you will pass St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center and at 42nd the New York Public Library. It is a good way to orient yourself to that part of the city. When you get to 34th street you will find yourself at the grandaddy of all skyscrapers, The Empire State Building.