The Metropolitan Museum of Art has given up a lot this year. Deprived of their annual gala, and their summer show, the galleries have been closed for almost five months.
In a statement yesterday, the museum announced plans to reopen its doors on 29 August as part of New York’s phased reopening. The city has said that galleries will be able to reopen as early as 20 July, however, the Met has set their opening for a month later to allow appropriate time to prepare. The museum announced that it was laying off 81 members of staff in April as a result of lockdown.
President of the Met, Daniel H. Weiss, said that: “The safety of our staff and visitors remains our greatest concern.”
He continued: “We are eagerly awaiting our reopening as, perhaps now more than ever, the Museum can serve as a reminder of the power of the human spirit and the capacity of art to bring comfort, inspire resilience, and help us better understand each other and the world around us.”
Washington Heights’ Met Cloisters will reopen after the main museum, though no formal date has been set as yet. The Met Breuer will not reopen – the space belongs to the Whitney Museum of American Art and will be handed over to the Frick in July. The final Met show there – “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All,” was open for some nine days in March before museums across the country were closed. Reopening was looked into, however, for logistical reasons, was ultimately unsuccessful.
