New Galleries Will Open For Oceanic Art at Metropolitan Museum

Metropolitan Museum Presents Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, 1808-1842: November 20, 2007-February 24, 2008

The silversmithing firm established in Boston (1808-1811) and Philadelphia (1811-1842) by Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner produced silver of unprecedented quality and grandeur. This exhibition is the first devoted entirely to their work and its role in commemorating the U.S.'s pride as a nation.

It will feature monumental vessels that celebrate naval and civic heroes as well as domestic and personal items, all of which display sophisticated design and skilled manufacture.

The grand scale and patriotic imagery that characterize much of their work reflect the country's coming of age as a commercial, industrial, political, and artistic center. English and Continental models will provide background and context for the American achievements. In addition, an extremely rare group of surviving drawings belonging to the Metropolitan Museum will illuminate the creative process. The exhibition catalogue is made possible in part by the William Cullen Bryant Fellows. The exhibition was organized by The Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. Accompanied by a catalogue. Press preview: Monday, November 19, 10:00 a.m.-noon

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche: November 20, 2007-January 6, 2008

The Museum continues a long-standing holiday tradition with the annual presentation of its Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene-embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above-adorns the candlelit spruce. Recorded music and daily lighting ceremonies will add to the enjoyment of the holiday display. The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

New Galleries for Oceanic Art: Opening fall 2007

The Metropolitan's galleries for Oceanic Art, dedicated to the arts of the Pacific Islands, will reopen in a permanent installation in fall 2007. The Pacific encompasses more than a thousand distinct cultures and hundreds of artistic traditions in an area that covers about one-third of the earth's surface. Completely redesigned and reinstalled, the galleries will present a substantially larger portion of the Museum's Pacific holdings than was previously on view. Featuring renowned masterworks from the Metropolitan's Oceanic collection as well recent acquisitions, the installation will display sculpture and decorative arts from the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia. The project also includes the Museum's first gallery devoted to the arts of the indigenous peoples of Island Southeast Asia.
Accompanied by a publication.

New Galleries for Native American Art: Opening fall 2007

The permanent galleries devoted to Native American art will reopen in the fall of 2007. Drawn from the Metropolitan's American Indian collection, the exhibited works will include wood sculpture from the Northwest Coast of North America, ivory carvings from the Arctic, wearing blankets and katsinas from the Southwest, and works on hide from the Great Plains. Archaeological objects, particularly those of the Mississippian era, will be part of the re-installation. Represented will be ceramic vessels, of the type previously known as Moundbuilder, that were given to the Museum in 1879.

Reopening of the Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts: Opening late fall 2007

The Wrightsman Galleries will undergo extensive renovations to improve climate control and security, introduce new lighting and fire suppression systems, and incorporate numerous decorative changes. The new lighting in particular will greatly enhance the revised presentation of the Museum's renowned collection of French furniture and related decorative arts. A large group of objects will receive conservation treatment and several pieces of seat furniture will receive new upholstery, modern re-creations of the original show covers. The galleries will also include important works previously not on view, such as a mid-17th-century carved ebony cabinet on a stand and a late-18th-century. -- www.metmuseum.org

Teaser

Metropolitan Museum Presents Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, 1808-1842: November 20, 2007-February 24, 2008

The silversmithing firm established in Boston (1808-1811) and Philadelphia (1811-1842) by Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner produced silver of unprecedented quality and grandeur. This exhibition is the first devoted entirely to their work and its role in commemorating the U.S.'s pride as a nation.

Body Text

It will feature monumental vessels that celebrate naval and civic heroes as well as domestic and personal items, all of which display sophisticated design and skilled manufacture.

The grand scale and patriotic imagery that characterize much of their work reflect the country's coming of age as a commercial, industrial, political, and artistic center. English and Continental models will provide background and context for the American achievements. In addition, an extremely rare group of surviving drawings belonging to the Metropolitan Museum will illuminate the creative process. The exhibition catalogue is made possible in part by the William Cullen Bryant Fellows. The exhibition was organized by The Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. Accompanied by a catalogue. Press preview: Monday, November 19, 10:00 a.m.-noon

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche: November 20, 2007-January 6, 2008

The Museum continues a long-standing holiday tradition with the annual presentation of its Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene-embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above-adorns the candlelit spruce. Recorded music and daily lighting ceremonies will add to the enjoyment of the holiday display. The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

New Galleries for Oceanic Art: Opening fall 2007

The Metropolitan's galleries for Oceanic Art, dedicated to the arts of the Pacific Islands, will reopen in a permanent installation in fall 2007. The Pacific encompasses more than a thousand distinct cultures and hundreds of artistic traditions in an area that covers about one-third of the earth's surface. Completely redesigned and reinstalled, the galleries will present a substantially larger portion of the Museum's Pacific holdings than was previously on view. Featuring renowned masterworks from the Metropolitan's Oceanic collection as well recent acquisitions, the installation will display sculpture and decorative arts from the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia. The project also includes the Museum's first gallery devoted to the arts of the indigenous peoples of Island Southeast Asia.
Accompanied by a publication.

New Galleries for Native American Art: Opening fall 2007

The permanent galleries devoted to Native American art will reopen in the fall of 2007. Drawn from the Metropolitan's American Indian collection, the exhibited works will include wood sculpture from the Northwest Coast of North America, ivory carvings from the Arctic, wearing blankets and katsinas from the Southwest, and works on hide from the Great Plains. Archaeological objects, particularly those of the Mississippian era, will be part of the re-installation. Represented will be ceramic vessels, of the type previously known as Moundbuilder, that were given to the Museum in 1879.

Reopening of the Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts: Opening late fall 2007

The Wrightsman Galleries will undergo extensive renovations to improve climate control and security, introduce new lighting and fire suppression systems, and incorporate numerous decorative changes. The new lighting in particular will greatly enhance the revised presentation of the Museum's renowned collection of French furniture and related decorative arts. A large group of objects will receive conservation treatment and several pieces of seat furniture will receive new upholstery, modern re-creations of the original show covers. The galleries will also include important works previously not on view, such as a mid-17th-century carved ebony cabinet on a stand and a late-18th-century. -- www.metmuseum.org