The Metropolitan Museum is extraordinary in scope and size, and a visitor to this world-famous museum should plan on staying the entire day. In formation since 1870, the Metropolitan Museum's collection now contains more than three million works of art from all points of the compass, ancient through modern times. At their website, about 3,500 objects—fifty highlights from each of the Museum's curatorial departments as well as the entire department of European Paintings—can be searched by artist, period, style, or keyword.
Following is a list of the permanent exhibitions.
American Decorative Arts
Furniture, silver, pewter, glass, ceramics, and textiles from the late 17th to early 20th century, as well as domestic architecture in furnished period rooms
American Paintings and Sculpture
Portraits, landscapes, history paintings, still lifes, folk art, and sculpture from colonial times through the early 20th century
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Stone reliefs and sculpture, ivory, and objects of precious metal from a vast area and time span: Anatolia to the Indus Valley, Neolithic period (ca. 8000 B.C.E.) to the Arab conquest (7th century C.E.)
Arms and Armor
Armor for men, horses, and children, weapons, and martial accoutrements of sculptural and ornamental beauty from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and America
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Ritual objects and monuments, articles of personal adornment, and utensils for daily life from three continents and dozens of Pacific islands, 2500 B.C.E. to the present
Asian Art
Paintings, calligraphy, prints, sculpture, ceramics, bronzes, jades, lacquer, textiles, and screens from ancient to modern China, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia
The Cloisters
Art and architecture of medieval Europe, including sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, paintings, and tapestries (see also "Medieval Art")
The Costume Institute
Seven centuries and five continents of fashionable dress, regional costumes, and accessories for men, women, and children, up to the present
Drawings and Prints
Graphic art of the Renaissance and after, encompassing prints in all techniques, sketches to highly finished drawings, illustrated books, and other works on paper
Egyptian Art
Statuary, reliefs, stelae, funerary objects, jewelry, daily implements, and architecture from prehistoric Egypt through the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms to the Roman period (4th century C.E.)
European Paintings
Major canvases, panels, triptychs, and frescoes by Italian, Flemish, Dutch, French, Spanish, and British masters, from the 12th through the 19th century
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Sculpture, furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork, scientific instruments, textiles, and period rooms of the major Western European countries from the Renaissance through the early 20th century
Greek and Roman Art
Arts of Greece, Rome, Etruria, Cyprus, and Greek and Roman settlements until the 4th century C.E., including marble, bronze, and terracotta sculpture, vases, wall paintings, jewelry, gems, glass, and utilitarian objects
Islamic Art
Manuscripts and miniatures, carpets, intricately decorated objects in many media, and architectural elements from the founding of Islam in the 7th century C.E. onward, from Morocco to India
The Robert Lehman Collection
A private collection of paintings, drawings, and decorative arts given to the Museum, rich in works from the Italian and Northern Renaissance through the 20th century
The Libraries
Rare first editions, artists' treatises and manuals, illustrated atlases, scrapbooks, fine bindings, and seminal works of art history from the Museum's research libraries
Medieval Art
Early European, Byzantine, Carolingian, Romanesque, and Gothic works from the 4th to 16th century, including sculpture, tapestries, reliquaries, liturgical vessels, and more (see also "The Cloisters")
Modern Art
American and European paintings, works on paper, sculpture, design, and architecture representing the major artistic movements since 1900
Musical Instruments
An international array of instruments of historical, technical, and social importance, as well as tonal and visual beauty, from accordions to koras to zithers.
Photographs
Prints and daguerreotypes from the early history of the medium, European and American avant-garde works, and contemporary contributions from around the world.
Antonio Rotti Textile Center
Tapestries, velvets, carpets, embroideries, laces, samplers, quilts, and woven and printed fabrics from all periods and civilizations, dating back to 3000 B.C.E.
Dining Options at the Met
Click here for a list of dining venues.
