Fashion Collection at the Met
Can you really see New York in three days? We sure tried, we wanted to give Lana, our guest, the grand tour. In an email quote from her today. She said, “And my visit with you is still a highlight, despite the speed, as u say.”
Metropolitan Fashion collection
I hoped we would get to at least two museums on Friday, the 5th, but alas, after only one, we were ready for the heap. Have you been to the Metropolitan lately? Egad, it’s a few cities in one building. It’s a place to get your fill of the innovative and of antiquity. The rooftop is amazing. If you don’t go anywhere else in this building, you must visit the rooftop. The glass-like structure, a 2-way mirror was fun, like the fun-house mirrors in a carnival. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rooftop glass 2-way mirror garden exhibit until Nov. 2nd
Glass structure
There is an app for the Met, so you can plan your visit, but since I claim naivety in the app realm, we visited the Met without a plan. At one time, I was familiar with the museum. I thought there would be no problem. I was sorely mistaken. The museum app starts with a lovely, clean design that begs to be explored. It doesn’t open on a home screen, but takes you immediately to its featured exhibitions, listing those that will end soonest at the top and exhorting you to “catch them while you can.” Clicking onto each exhibit’s page provides a nice description of the work being shown, while other sections of the app showcase both masterpieces and oddities in the museum’s extensive collection. These tabs are expertly curated, and echo the Met’s larger social media strategy, which feels surprisingly current for an institution filled with antiquities.
Entry into Temple Dendoor
I was overwhelmed. But after a brief deep breath, I said, “Follow me.” I led Lana, and hubby Tom to the newest exhibition. The Temple of Dendur (Dendoor in nineteenth century sources) is an Egyptian temple that was built by the Roman governor of Egypt, Petronius, around 15 BC and dedicated to Isis, Osiris, as well as two deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain, Pediese (“he whom Isis has given”) and Pihor (“he who belongs to Horus“). The temple was commissioned by Emperor Augustus of Rome and has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1978. If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth the trip, you get to walk through a real Egyptian temple. Those folks were really small, the door openings are quite narrow.
Central Park
Lunch in the Member’s dining room, was the delight of the day, a lovely quiet space overlooking Central Park. Best place in the museum to dine. Next stop was to see the paintings, as much as we had the energy to see. 15-17th century, 18th century Impressionism, 19th century Hudson River, it was endless. To get to each exhibit, we walked miles and miles and miles. The museum is ten cities in one.
Monet
We had lots to see, so we ran, didn’t walk, over to the American Wing, since this was Lana’s first visit to America. Make sense? We whizzed through, which was frustrating for me since furniture and the decorative arts is part of my soul. But most important, I showed Lana and Tom (who bless his heart, chauffeured us into and out of the city) the Herter Brothers furniture that once graced the rooms at Lockwood, the very same company that decorated the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in 1867. I had to show Lana Lockwood, although we didn’t get there until Monday on the way to the airport. Where else would she get her very own private tour of an American National historic landmark built in 1867.
What is your favorite at the Metropolitan Museum?
Albert Bierstadt part of an American Indian painting in the West.
I love Museum Mile! The Cooper Hewitt is my favorite, Gail. Loved this blog, as NYC is my favorite city in the world.
But, but Kristan, the museum mile has moved, it’s all in the Met. LOL. We thought we were going to die, we were so wiped. We didn’t even have time to peek up the street to show Lana, this . . . this is the famous miracle mile . . . of New York museums. We went from the parking lot inside the museum, to the rooftop, to the dining room and to the exhibits. Maybe we SHOULD have had a glass of wine with lunch to soften the blow of our feet running out of pep.
This is a must see for me next time I’m in the city, Gail. Thanks for the tip! I’ve been passing along all of your posts to my step son and his wife and they are loving getting the inside scoop on all the NYC hot spots:-)
Really? Thank you. Wow, you never know who is watching, listening, doing. It’s fun seeing the blog commentator participants list grow, from all over. Most comment on my email, but that’s ok. People are not sure that this public venue is safe. My web designer has made it rock solid now. I think I am coming up on my fourth or fifth year doing my blog every week. I must check that date, it is curious. I enjoy hearing from you as you travel along with me. I must mention how wonderful your blog was today. Come back and put in your link please.
I haven’t been to the Met in years – like, forty of them, so I’m sure it’s changed a bunch. But I still remember it as one of the most magical days of my life, also because it was one of the few outings I experienced alone with my late Dad.
My favorite was the 15th century Dutch exhibit, where I had the thrill of seeing a piece by my favorite artist, Jan Van Eyck. I remember being surprised at how tiny it was. Van Eyck, along with his sister Margaret, was often commissioned for manuscript illuminations – tiny, detailed masterpieces for personal prayer books. Yet, he also did huge, bigger-than-life sized multi paneled oils for altarpieces. Years later, I was blessed to see his Ghent Masterpiece in St. Bavos Cathedral in Belgium.
You’ve brought back a wonderful memory for me, Gail. Glad you and your friend enjoyed this amazing center of culture and history.
Claire, gorgeous choice of writing as name, Claire was my mother’s name. Thanks for visiting. Now you have brought tears to my eyes because, like you, a favorite person in my life was my Daddy, he remained my Daddy into my adult life and to the day he passed. As a child, he took me to the zoo almost every Sunday, and taught me to love rainy days. “The rain makes the grass green and the flowers grow.” said he. Thanks for apprising me of jan Van Eyck’s small canvases. Illustration/illuminations, you say. I know illuminations in the decorative arts, as they have appeared in early centuries created by artists in India.
Upon your next visit to the Met, you will be amazed at the collections. I saw Isis Aphrodite sculpture for the first time, in a glass case. I realized, walking through the French, English, American and other furniture/decorative art wings how much I would like to go back to review what I spent twenty years teaching, taking my students and my friends on tours. It would be fun to go together.