Max Hollein

A historic moment for the @metmuseum + @neuegalerieny ! Working on a landmark agreement, by 2028, a one-of-a-kind collection and extraordinary museum will become part of The Met. This is tremendously exciting on many levels. For @metmuseum , it creates a third, already deeply beloved venue in NY and brings over 600 outstanding works to our collections of early 20th century European art. For @neuegalerieny , it means the preservation of its legacy as an extraordinary institution focused on early 20th-century German and Austrian art. And with this fusion, we will honor the incomparable Ronald Lauder’s lifelong passion for collecting and philanthropy - making this remarkable collection available to the public in perpetuity. At the heart of the Neue Galerie’s holdings lies the pinnacle of Vienna 1900, anchored by 7 major Klimt paintings. Spanning painting, drawings, photography, decorative arts, and design, the collection traces the full arc of European modernism: from Secession and Wiener Werkstätte, to Expressionism, Neue Sachlichkeit, and the Bauhaus. Besides Klimt this is a one of a kind collection of Schiele, Kokoschka, Beckmann, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Münter, Hoffmann, Loos, Moser, Breuer, van der Rohe, and many others. With its early-twentieth-century building, beautifully crafted interiors, sophisticated shops, the excellent restaurant (and Wiener Schnitzel!), and singular atmosphere, the Neue Galerie is in its own right a Gesamtkunstwerk — a total work of art. In addition, Ronald and his family, including Met Trustee Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer @aerin , will gift an additional group of further exceptional works of art from their private collection. The Lauder family, along with many Met Trustees—including an important lead gift from Marina Kellen French @marinafnyc —are also donating generous funds to establish an endowment for the long-term programming, care and preservation of the Neue Galerie. In total a hugely exciting gift for generations to come and with many new opportunities. Looking forward to working with Renée Price @rrpriceless and the entire Neue Galerie team on the next steps!

The first Monday of May is here and we are ready to open the @metmuseum new exhibition “Costume Art”. The dressed human figure is a constant through The Met’s collection. Across centuries and cultures, the body appears draped, tailored, armored, painted, and adorned. Fashion emerges as a connective thread. “Costume Art” pairs roughly 200 garments with 200 artworks all from @metmuseum ’s collection, a dialogue between fashion and painting, drawing, , sculpture, armor, and other artistic media. The exhibition also purposefully shifts the concept of the body from an abstract ideal to a chorus of various types: naked, classical, pregnant, aging, anatomical, mortal. It’s about everybody and every body. Curated by Andrew Bolton and inaugurating our new galleries Costume Art builds on the @metcostumeinstitute ’s ongoing commitment to celebrate and interrogate fashion as an enormously vital and challenging mode of artistic expression. The exhibition, elegantly designed by @peterson_rich_office , is the result of the collective expertise and collaborative spirit of all curatorial departments at the Met and the profound commitment of many teams behind the scenes who make the impossible possible - every year on the first Monday of May.

More galleries at the @metmuseum ! Right off the Great Hall, what was the Met Store has been permanently transformed into prime exhibition space. Named after the late publishing powerhouse Condé M. Nast, these 12,000-square-foot galleries will change how visitors experience our annual Costume Institute exhibition. A major undertaking and transformation within our building and a significant moment in our Museum’s history, and for how fashion is understood and represented in the world. While the exhibition – and the Met Gala – might be what most people know, @metcostumeinstitute is so much more. It is one of the top three fashion art institutions in the world, conserving, storing, and researching over 33,000 objects representing seven centuries of fashionable dress, from the 15th century to today, alongside 30,000 books, 700 magazines, and 1,500 designer files in its @costumeinstitutelibrary . Since we cannot exhibit light sensitive and fragile dresses permanently the annual exhibition opening on the first Monday of May and curated by the one and only Andrew Bolton is the one major way to show and display this remarkable work – a favorite of our millions of visitors each year, and a powerful testament to fashion as a ubiquitous medium of artistic expression, set within the context of five thousand years of art history at The Met. The new galleries are beautifully designed by @peterson_rich_office and would have remained a daring dream without the extraordinary advocacy and support of Anna Wintour and the generosity of @condenast , @thombrowne , @michaelkors and Lance Le Pere, @aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, @toryburch , Nancy C. and Richard R. Rogers, and John and @amygriffin

Many favorite moments at @metmuseum happen in our galleries. But there is a particular group dynamic that invades all areas of the museum and gets memorialized in cheerful cohort photos that I know end up framed in many homes and offices. Since 2021, we’ve offered over 100 paid internships every year, across 40 Met departments — from conservation to curatorial, digital to imaging, education to finance — to undergraduate and graduate students. This program offers a continuous pipeline for new voices and innovative ideas to enter the museum field. We are deeply grateful to Jennifer Rubio @jennifer — having just joined our Board of Trustees — and Stewart Butterfield @stewart who have pledged $23 million to fund this program and ensure fully accessible, paid internships at the Met forever! A major gift for the next generation of museum professionals and towards a good future of our institutions!

Tall spires, pointed arches, and light-filled spaces—the beauty and monumentality of Gothic architecture masterplanned: “Gothic by Design: The Dawn of Architectural Draftsmanship” just opened at @metmuseum ! Mesmerizing large-scale architectural drawings and technical plans from the 12th to 16th century of such enduring marvels as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Strasbourg Cathedral, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Goldsmiths’ works such as censers or covered chalices, together with architectural fragments, sculptures, and paintings represent the interiors and spirit of the Gothic era. Femke Speelberg @ornamentwayoflife curated this fascinating show of the early art of architectural drawing for @metdrawingsandprints with the expert care of @metpaperconservation .

Architecture as an emotional catalyst, a museum of contemplation and surprise, a collection installed for new meaning and connection and art beautifully bathed in light and color. The triumphant new @lacma by Michael Govan and @peterzumthorarchitecture . A new era of museums in Los Angeles.

Truly epic Raphael exhibition opening @metmuseum tonight! In his short life of 37 years, Raffaello di Giovanni Santi became a titan of Italian Renaissance. This first-ever comprehensive U.S. exhibition dedicated to this “prince of painters” and “il divino” brings together 175 of his paintings, drawings, prints, tapestries, and decorative arts alongside several dozen works of other artists to frame his world. “Raphael: Sublime Poetry” traces his full journey, from his origins in Urbino to his rise in Florence as a peer of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to his triumph at the papal court in Rome. With 62 lenders, such as @uffizigalleries , @vaticanmuseums , @albertinamuseum @vamuseum , @britishmuseum , @museelouvre , @museoprado , @museoboscocapodimonte and @gnmarche , this show also celebrates international collaboration. For the first time since the 1660s, the main panels of The Met’s Colonna Altarpiece are reunited with their five predella scenes. Raphael’s famed Madonna’s and Child reveal how he reinvented Byzantine iconography into images of profound human tenderness, such as the Esterházy Madonna from @szepmuveszeti , one of the rare paintings he left unfinished, or the Alba Madonna from @ngadc , with its arresting psychological presence. Portraits like Baldassarre or La Muta illuminate the inner life of his subjects, while dazzling drawings reveal his highly spontaneous creative process. Monumental tapestries from @patrimnacional —never shown outside Spain—are just breathtaking. And while the frescos from the Vatican palace are immovable, we recreated the sixteen walls as a video projection. This show is a dream come true for many at The Met, curated by Italian Renaissance authority @carmen.bambach from @metdrawingsandprints , and supported by research assistant @elenowitzhess . Exceptional work by The Met’s exhibition, graphic, and lighting designers, Exhibitions, Registrars, Conservation, Buildings, Publications, Digital, Development, Education, Security, VX, Communications, and many others for making this complex show possible. @meteuropeanpaintings @metpaperconservation @metpaintingsconservation @mettextileconservation @metobjectsconservation @metpubs

The @metmuseum in full force at @tefaf . Met curators, conservators, researchers, trustees and donors flock in droves to Maastricht to expand the museum’s collections in so many ways at this one of a kind art fair. We examine and debate marble elephants, camel armor, medieval sculptures, Indian furniture , Roman mosaics, Romanesque manuscripts, Bavarian clocks, 14th to 20th century paintings, drawings and much more. Happy to also participate in a public Tefaf talk about the future of universal museums with @joshspero @financialtimes and host dinners in Maastricht for Met family and friends.

While all three of the Met’s major exhibition galleries prepare for the openings of our big spring shows, there is still no shortage of beautifully focused exhibitions and special presentations to see @metmuseum right now! 11 in total right now! From windows into remarkable artistic oeuvres—such as Harper’s Bazaar photographer Lillian Bassman, Abstract Expressionist George Morrison, Senegalese Modernist Iba Ndiaye, and watercolor artist Emily Sargent—to an unexpected display on the handheld fan as a surprising muse for some of the most innovative artists in 19th-century Europe. Not one but two installations devoted to ceramics—one celebrating Japanese traditions, the other exploring European artistry—and an intimate presentation of Chinese paintings and calligraphy dating back to the 12th century. Special installations that mark the Year of the Horse; reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and honor Hindu household gods.

Only seven days to see an absolute “grand spectacle” in Paris! In 1668, King Louis XIV commissioned his First Painter, Charles Le Brun, and the Paris-based Savonnerie manufactory to create the largest carpet ever woven. Composed of 92 individual pieces, this carpet extraordinaire was designed to cover the full span of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre—an astonishing 440 meters, six times the length of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles - a bold and unprecedented undertaking and a singular chapter in the history of art. Though never installed at the Louvre, these masterpieces survived the French Revolution and centuries of dispersal. For the first time ever, 32 of these dazzling carpets are now reunited at the @le_grand_palais — a truly unique installation and groundbreaking research by @metmuseum curator Wolf Burchard (you can see him in the video unrolling the carpets!) together with Sèvres and Mobilier national curators Emmanuelle Federspiel and Antonin Macé de Lépinay. Met Trustee extraordinaire Marina Kellen French @marinafnyc was instrumental in making this project possible. Another @met_esda colleague, @elizabeth.cleland as well as @mettextileconservation @giuliachiostrini are part of this major endeavor as well. From September 8 onwards, we’ll show the four Savonnerie carpets in The Met’s collection in the Met’s Wrightsman Galleries in New York! @met_esda @mobiliernational @manufacturesnationales @sevresmanufactureetmusee @le_grand_palais @metmuseum #wolfburchard

Two great Met parties in a row: The Met Art & Artists Gala - an annual glamorous celebration of who makes the Met - with a fantastic group of artists, donors, trustees, friends and colleagues in attendance. Powered by our Gala Co-Chairs @drsamanthaboardman @anntbomb @dasha @amygriffin @aerin and @jordanmcasteel . And on the night before the annual Met Holiday Party - celebrating who keeps the Met running! Powered by our staff and volunteers! @metmuseum

Ever since I can remember Frank was a dear friend of my father, mother and the whole family. In 1996, during our first year in the US, Berta and he invited Nina and I (touring the West Coast on a road trip) to stay with them at their famous home in Santa Monica. In 1997 we celebrated the opening of the Guggenheim Bilbao together (my photos of Frank Gehry with his sons Sam and Alejandro and with the King and Queen of Spain). We never stopped seeing each other and every time we connected he reminded me of his special bond with my parents Hans and Helene. A most extraordinary, trailblazing architect and beloved, caring, wonderful person. #frankogehry