Metroplitan Museum's Schedule of Upcoming Holiday Mondays Announced

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, the public will have an additional opportunity to view three popular exhibitions-the recently opened Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty; Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York; and Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century-at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Memorial Day is a Met Holiday Monday-one of the extra public viewing days that take place on the Mondays of major holiday weeks and weekends, when historically the Museum has been closed.

Upcoming Met Holiday Mondays in 2011 are: Memorial Day (May 30), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 5), Columbus Day (October 10), and the Monday after Christmas (December 26). During winter and spring 2012, the Met Holiday Monday schedule will be: the Monday after New Year's Day (January 2), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 16), Presidents' Day (February 20), Spring Break (April 9), and Memorial Day (May 28).

The recently opened exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty showcases the late designer's extraordinary contribution to fashion through 100 examples of his iconic work (through July 31). Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York features guitars and other stringed instruments by three New York master luthiers of Italian descent (through July 4). Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century includes some 80 works in which the window motif is a potent symbol for unfulfilled longing and the feeling of being between worlds (through July 4).

"This Memorial Day, we are once again pleased to offer the public an added day to visit the Met, celebrate human creativity, and experience the transformative power of art," stated Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum. "The three very special exhibitions that will be open on this day reflect the broad-ranging nature of our collections-whether it be dramatic examples of high fashion, contemporary guitar design, or drawings and paintings of the Romantic era."

Commenting on the new schedule, Mrs. Rafferty continued: "Since Met Holiday Mondays were inaugurated eight years ago, more than 600,000 visitors have taken advantage of these special days to visit the Museum's galleries. By publicizing a full 12 months' schedule at this time, we hope that even more area residents and tourists will be able to include a visit to the Met in their plans for upcoming holiday weekends."

The Metropolitan's public cafeteria and several of the gift shops in the main building will be open, and Charles H. Tally Holiday Monday Family Programs will be offered on all of these special viewing days. A different selection of exhibitions will be open on each Met Holiday Monday.

Credits: Alexander McQueen: Made possible by Alexander McQueen^TM. Additional support provided in partnership with American Express and Condé Nast. Guitar Heroes: Made possible in part by Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Chilton, Jr. Rooms with a View: Made possible by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation and The Isaacson-Draper Foundation.