A Re-creation of Robert Lehman's Sitting Room

Gallery 958 in The Robert Lehman Collection

«Between the huge, eighteenth-century choir screen in gallery 305 and the Museum's cafeteria is a really special place: The Robert Lehman Collection, a series of small, beautiful galleries home to one of the most diverse and beautiful collections of art I've ever seen.»

I'm not alone in my opinion. The Met itself has called this collection "one of the most extraordinary private art collections ever assembled in the United States." It contains nearly three thousand works, including everything from Renaissance dishes to late twentieth-century paintings. They are housed and displayed in intimate rooms designed to mirror the peaceful qualities of a private home—that is, if you happen to have a Rembrandt sitting in your living room. I often wander through the galleries so enraptured by the incredible works that there's barely time to register my disbelief that someone once owned a house like this in the middle of Manhattan.

Particularly pleasant is gallery 958, a space designed to simulate Robert Lehman's sitting room; it contains red velvet damask walls, luxurious curtains, a cozy fireplace, and one of the comfiest couches I have ever sat on. From this exceptional seat, one has the pleasure of having a staring contest with Rembrandt's Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse, which sits above the mantel, while El Greco's Christ Carrying the Cross and Saint Jerome as Scholar watch from either side of the fireplace, and a slew of Dutch masterpieces take in the scene from behind you. This room provides a cool contrast to the immense galleries in the rest of the Museum and a welcome respite for the tired museumgoer. It is by far my favorite place to reflect, relax, rest, and relish my time with great works of art. You're welcome to come explore this space and many others for yourself next Friday, October 17, during the Museum's Teens Take the Met event!

What are your favorite places in the Museum?