Metropolitan Museum of Art Celebrates Presidents' Day with 'Met Holiday Mondays'

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters museum and gardens will be open to the public on Presidents' Day (today, February 18), the next in the popular series of "Met Holiday Mondays."

Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum, stated: "Presidents' Day provides our visitors with a splendid opportunity to enjoy the many treasures of the recently renovated paintings and sculpture galleries in the American Wing. A particularly relevant work of art for this holiday is the magnificent and well-known painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. In addition, masterworks of the Museum's collection of medieval art are on view at The Cloisters, which will begin to celebrate its 75th anniversary year this May."

What to See on February 18
In the Metropolitan Museum's main building, at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue, the New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts-featuring 26 recently renovated and enlargEd Galleries of paintings from the 18th through the early 20th century-will be open. Presidents' Day is also the final opportunity to see George Bellows, a retrospective of the noted early 20th-century American artist, who is remembered for his depictions of boxing matches and New York City's crowded parks and streets, often covered in snow. The exhibition Matisse: In Search of True Painting showcases the way in which the acclaimed French artist Henri Matisse questioned, repainted, and reevaluated his work (on view through March 17).

SelectEd Galleries featuring the Museum's Permanent Collection will also be open. Family greeters will be present in the Museum's Great Hall to direct visitors to areas of particular interest.

At The Cloisters museum and gardens, visitors will find masterpieces of the Museum's renowned collection of medieval art, including the famed Unicorn Tapestries, and hundreds of examples of exquisite staiNed Glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and paintings, all in a magnificent architectural setting along the Hudson River that evokes the Middle Ages. The Cloisters is located in Fort Tryon Park, in northern Manhattan.

Related Programs and Amenities
In the Metropolitan's main building, Charles H. Tally Holiday Monday Family Programs specially organized for February 18 include discussion and sketching activities that will be available for families with children ages 5 through 12 at 11 a.m., noon, 1:15 and 2:30 p.m. These programs are free with Museum admission.

Museum cafés and restaurants and several of the Museum gift shops in the main building, as well as the gift shop at The Cloisters, will be open.

Upcoming Holiday Mondays
The Museum's main building and The Cloisters will also be open this spring on three additional major Monday holidays: Spring Break (March 25 and April 1) and Memorial Day (May 27).

A different selection of galleries and exhibitions will be open each Holiday Monday.

Credits: George Bellows: Made possible by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation. Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Matisse: In Search of True Painting: Made possible in part by Vacheron Constantin. Additional support provided by the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund and the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund. Organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, and the Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris. Supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.