The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cloisters Museum Observe MLK Jr Day Today

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters museum and gardens will be open to the public on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (today, January 21), the next in the series of "Met Holiday Mondays."

Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum, stated: "We are pleased to offer the public an added viewing day at the Museum's Main Building and The Cloisters on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a school holiday. The long weekend provides an excellent opportunity for a family or group visit."

In the Metropolitan Museum's main building, at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue, several exhibitions will be available. African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde reveals the American engagement with African art during the years that followed the 1913 "Armory Show" (on view through September 2); 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 (through February 18); and Matisse: In Search of True Painting, showcasing the way in which the acclaimed French artist Henri Matisse questioned, repainted, and reevaluated his work (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.

In the Metropolitan's main building, Charles H. Tally Holiday Monday Family Programs specially organized for today, January 21, 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, and the gift shop at The Cloisters will be open.

The Museum's main building and The Cloisters will also be open this spring on four additional major Monday holidays: Presidents' Day (February 18), 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: African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde: Made possible by the Friends of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. 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.

More Articles by This Author...