For tickets, call the Concerts & Lectures Department at 212-570-3949 or visit
www.metmuseum.org/tickets, where updated schedules and programs (including
additional lectures that are free with Museum admission) are available.
Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open
Tuesday–Saturday 10–5:00, and Sunday noon–5:00.
Student discount tickets are available for some events; call 212-570-3949.
Friday, March 12, at 6 p.m. – The Curator Speaks. The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, presented by Timothy B. Husband, Curator, Medieval Art and The Cloisters. The Belles Heures, or "Beautiful Hours," is a true masterpiece of illumination and a treasure of The Cloisters collection. Timothy Husband will explain its function, structure, and production, and examine its many engaging illustrations and the astonishing artistic achievement they represent. The brief lives of the gifted Limbourg brothers, who painted the miniatures, will be discussed, along with that of the manuscript's owner, Jean de France, Duc de Berry, one of the greatest art patrons of all time. This event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, on view at the Metropolitan Museum March 2-June 13, 2010. The exhibition is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Michel David-Weill Fund.
Tickets: $23
Saturday, March 13, beginning at 10 a.m. – Early Music Exposed, a daylong exploration of early music, coordinated and hosted by Frederick Renz, founder of the Early Music Foundation and director of Early Music New York. The three-session event will feature lecture-demonstrations by some of New York's most notable exponents of historically informed performance, and showcase musical instruments from the Metropolitan Museum's collection.
Morning Session: 10 a.m.-noon – The Jigge Is Up: Dance in Shakespeare's Time, featuring the New York Historical Dance Company, Dorothy Olssonand Kaspar Mains, co-directors, with Flying Forms, an instrumental ensemble; and The Art of Persuasion: A Musician's Rhetoric, featuring Parthenia: A Consort of Viols, with Gary Thor Wedow, lecturer, Julianne Baird, soprano, and Paul Hecht, actor.
Afternoon Session: 2-4 p.m. – From Chant to Organum: Improvised Polyphony of the Middle Ages, featuring Lionheart, a male vocal sextet; and From Manuscript to Concert Hall: Revival of Fifteenth-Century Chansons, featuring Asteria, voices and lute.
Evening Session: 6-8 p.m. – Playing by Numbers: Baroque Continuo Realized, featuring ARTEK, an instrumental and vocal ensemble, Gwendolyn Toth, director; and The Flute's Glory Days: Traversing the Eighteenth-Century Traverso, featuring members of the Grand Tour Orchestra, Charles Brink, director.
This event celebrates the reopening of The André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments and features instruments from the Museum's collection. This series is made possible in part through a grant to the Early Music Foundation from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Tickets: Entire day $45; single sessions $20
Saturday, March 20, at 6 p.m. – Monet's Painting and Gardening at Giverny, presented by Eric T. Haskell, director of the Clark Humanities Museum, Scripps College. This lecture explores the relationship between Claude Monet's gardening practices and painterly techniques, and how these two elements came together in his famous series of landscape paintings made near his home at Giverny. The illustrated presentation highlights the Metropolitan Museum's Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies (1899) as well as dozens of other canvases made by the Impressionist master from the 1890s until his death in 1926.
Tickets: $23
Wednesday, March 24, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201, Masterpieces of World Art: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, presented by Pace University professor Janetta Rebold Benton. This series offers global insight into masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to the present day. This spring, the lecturer studies the period from about 1600 to 1800, comparing the art of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods in Western Europe with contemporaneous achievements throughout the world. The six-part series begins with Baroque in Italy: From Caravaggio to Bernini and Saint Peter's Basilica; Mosque of Masjid-i-Shah in Iran; Manuscript Painting in India; Himeji Castle in Japan.
Series tickets (6 Wednesdays): $120
Single tickets: $23
Wednesday, March 24, at 2:30 p.m. – Chopin and Schumann at 200, presented by pianist, teacher, writer, and broadcaster David Dubal. This lecture will explore the fragile relationship between two virtuosi who met only once in their lifetimes—Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) and Robert Schumann (1810-1856), both of whom celebrate bicentennials this year. Although Schumann was Chopin's most admiring critic, Chopin could not abide Schumann's music. Nonetheless, each one dedicated works to the other, indicating the admiration they had for each other's talents. The program will include live performances by students from The Juilliard School.
Tickets: $23
Wednesday, March 31, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201, Masterpieces of World Art: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, presented by Pace University professor Janetta Rebold Benton. This series offers global insight into masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to the present day. This spring, the lecturer studies the period from about 1600 to 1800, comparing the art of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods in Western Europe with contemporaneous achievements throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on March 24, continues with Baroque in France: From Poussin to the Palace of Versailles; Sculpture in Africa; Taj Mahal in India; Painting in China.
Series tickets (6 Wednesdays): $120
Single tickets: $23
Tuesday, April 6, at 11 a.m. – Four Extraordinary American Architects. David Garrard Lowe , author of Art Deco New York, will examine the lives and work of four strikingly different architects— Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), Louis H. Sullivan (1856-1924), Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924), and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)—in a four-part series that explores how America's rich cultural variety is reflected in its architecture. Revelatory insight into the designers' dramatic personal lives will enrich each discussion. The series begins with Charles Follen McKim, Master of Perfection: Pennsylvania Station; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Columbia University.
Series tickets (4 Tuesdays): $100
Single tickets: $25
Wednesday, April 7 at 11 a.m. – Art History 201, Masterpieces of World Art: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, presented by Pace University professor Janetta Rebold Benton. This series offers global insight into masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to the present day. This spring, the lecturer studies the period from about 1600 to 1800, comparing the art of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods in Western Europe with contemporaneous achievements throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on March 24, continues with Baroque in Flanders and Holland: From Rubens to Rembrandt and Vermeer; Miniature Painting in Iran; Shrines and Palaces in Japan; Ceramics in Central America.
Series tickets (6 Wednesdays): $120
Single tickets: $23
Friday, April 9, at 6 p.m. – The Curator Speaks. The Drawings of Bronzino, presented by Carmen C. Bambach, curator of Drawings and Prints. Presented in conjunction with the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572), the celebrated Florentine academician, poet, and court artist to the Medici, this lecture will highlight Bronzino's work as a draftsman in relation to his paintings and tapestry designs. The lecturer will also share some "behind-the-scenes" moments that informed the Metropolitan's large-scale exhibition, which features all the drawings by or reasonably attributed to Bronzino. These were assembled from museums and private collections throughout Europe and the United States, and most have never before been on view to the public. This event is presented in conjunction with The Drawings of Bronzino, on view at the Metropolitan Museum through April 18. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi and the Polo Museale Fiorentino, Florence. The exhibition is made possible by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund. Additional support is provided by Dinah Seiver and Thomas E, Foster.
Tickets: $23
Tuesday, April 13, at 11 a.m. – Four Extraordinary American Architects. David Garrard Lowe, author of Art Deco New York, will examine the lives and work of four strikingly different architects— Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), Louis H. Sullivan (1856-1924), Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924), and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)—in a four-part series that explores how America's rich cultural variety is reflected in its architecture. Revelatory insight into the designers' dramatic personal lives will enrich each discussion. The series, which began on April 6, continues with Louis H. Sullivan, Theorist of Skyscrapers, Inventor of Art Nouveau: The Chicago Stock Exchange; The Auditorium Building.
Series tickets (4 Tuesdays): $100
Single tickets: $25
Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. – The Met in Bloom, presented by Remco van Vliet and Cas Trap, leading event designers whose floral creations can be seen in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum. The speakers will share many of their insider "tricks of the trade," starting with how to choose the right flowers to make truly magnificent arrangements.
Tickets: $23
Friday, April 16, at 6 p.m. – Sacred Palaces, a two-part series presented by author Olivier Bernier. The Cambodian kings built a temple at Angkor Wat for which nothing was too grand or expensive, and where architecture and sculpture came together to create a truly dazzling palace for the gods. Five centuries later, the Indian emperor Shah Jahan built his wife the most splendid mausoleum anyone had ever seen: the Taj Mahal, whose white marble façade inlaid with semi-precious stones has become an iconic image of royal splendor and architectural genius. The series begins with Angkor Wat and the Splendor of the Khmer Kings.
Series tickets (2 Fridays): $40
Single tickets: $23
Tuesday, April 20, at 11 a.m. – Four Extraordinary American Architects. David Garrard Lowe, author of Art Deco New York, will examine the lives and work of four strikingly different architects—Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), Louis H. Sullivan (1856-1924), Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924), and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)—in a four-part series that explores how America's rich cultural variety is reflected in its architecture. Revelatory insight into the designers' dramatic personal lives will enrich each discussion. The series, which began on April 6, continues with Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, From Gothic to Art Deco: Saint Bartholomew's Church; West Point.
Series tickets (4 Tuesdays): $100
Single tickets: $25
Wednesday, April 21, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201, Masterpieces of World Art: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, presented by Pace University professor Janetta Rebold Benton. This series offers global insight into masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to the present day. This spring, the lecturer studies the period from about 1600 to 1800, comparing the art of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods in Western Europe with contemporaneous achievements throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on March 24, continues with Baroque in Spain and England: From Velázquez to Saint Paul's Cathedral; Sculpture in Nepal; Painting in Korea; Churrigueresque Baroque in Mexico.
Series tickets (6 Wednesdays): $120
Single tickets: $23
Thursday, April 22, at 11 a.m. – Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presented by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman, Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. This three-part series surveys the first exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum to focus exclusively on the works of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in the collection. The Museum's holdings of the artist's paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics—never before seen in their entirety—reflect the full breadth of Picasso's genius and span the course of his long and influential career. The series begins with The Early Years: Barcelona to Paris. This series is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on view April 27-August 1. The exhibition is made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.
Series tickets (3 Thursdays): $60
Single tickets: $23
Friday, April 23, at 6 p.m. – Friday, April 16, at 11 a.m. – Sacred Palaces, a two-part series presented by author Olivier Bernier. The Cambodian kings built a temple at Angkor Wat for which nothing was too grand or expensive, and where architecture and sculpture came together to create a truly dazzling palace for the gods. Five centuries later, the Indian emperor Shah Jahan built his wife the most splendid mausoleum anyone had ever seen: the Taj Mahal, whose white marble façade inlaid with semiprecious stones has become an iconic image of royal splendor and architectural genius. The series, which began on April 16, concludes with The Taj Mahal: A Mughal Masterpiece.
Series tickets (2 Fridays): $40
Single tickets: $23
Tuesday, April 27, at 11 a.m. – Four Extraordinary American Architects. David Garrard Lowe, author of Art Deco New York, will examine the lives and work of four strikingly different architects— Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), Louis H. Sullivan (1856-1924), Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924), and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)—in a four-part series that explores how America's rich cultural variety is reflected in its architecture. Revelatory insight into the designers' dramatic personal lives will enrich each discussion. The series, which began on April 6, concludes with Frank Lloyd Wright, The Chicago Years: The Robie House; Unity Temple.
Series tickets (4 Tuesdays): $100
Single tickets: $25
Tuesday, April 27, at 2:30 p.m. – The Sound of Broadway: Richard Rodgers, America's Waltz King, presented by broadcaster and American musical theater aficionada June LeBell . The best of Broadway returns to the Metropolitan Museum with a two-part series on the great waltzes of Richard Rodgers (1902-1979). Each session features informative and entertaining conversations with well-known Rodgers experts, plus live performances, special guest appearances, and multimedia presentations. Featured speakers include pianist/conductor Gerald Steichen of the New York City Opera. The series begins with Rodgers and Hart in 3/4 Time.
Series tickets (2 Tuesdays): $40
Single tickets: $23
Wednesday, April 28, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201, Masterpieces of World Art: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, presented by Pace University professor Janetta Rebold Benton. This series offers global insight into masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to the present day. This spring, the lecturer studies the period from about 1600 to 1800, comparing the art of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods in Western Europe with contemporaneous achievements throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on March 24, continues with Rococo: from Watteau to Fragonard in France, Hogarth to Gainsborough in England; Palaces in Germany; Ceramics in China; Painting in Japan; Palacio Torre Tagle in Peru.
Series tickets (6 Wednesdays): $120
Single tickets: $23
Thursday, April 29, at 11 a.m. – Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presented by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman, Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and contemporary Art. This three-part series surveys the first exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum to focus exclusively on the works of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in the collection. The Museum's holdings of the artist's paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics—never before seen in their entirety—reflect the full breadth of Picasso's genius and span the course of his long and influential career. The series, which began on April 22, continues with Cubism and Classicism. This series is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on view April 27-August 1. The exhibition is made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.
Series tickets (3 Thursdays): $60
Single tickets: $23
Friday, April 30, at 6 p.m. – Orientalism and New York: The Roots of Modernism. Architectural historian Barry Lewis explores how "orientalism" in architecture, as interpreted by certain Western designers, paved the way for the emergence of modern design. Beginning in the 1850s with the design for Central Park and continuing into the 1870s with Louis Comfort Tiffany's Veteran's Room of the Seventh Regiment Armory, proto-modern architects, influenced directly and indirectly by Middle Eastern notions of design, forged an entirely new style of architecture that still resonates today.
Tickets: $23
Note: All ticketed lectures include entrance to the Metropolitan Museum's galleries, including The Cloisters museum and gardens, on the day of the event.
January, 2010
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