The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the world’s largest and most important art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art that span five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe. The Museum is located in New York City at 1000 Fifth Avenue on the eastern edge of Central Park, between East 77th and East 81st Streets.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens living in New York City. The Museum’s collection began with a gift of 174 paintings and sculptures from the private collection of John Jay, one of the founding trustees. Today, the Museum’s holdings include more than two million works of art from every part of the globe and spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present. The Museum’s extensive collection is displayed in seventeen different curatorial departments, each with a specialized focus.
