06 Jul 2018
New York's Met breaks attendance record as visitors flock to popular US institution
BY Megan Whitby
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has broken its attendance record, with more than 7.35 million visitors coming through its doors in the last year.
The Met is New York’s most visited tourist attraction, with the new record cementing its position as one of the world's most important institutions. The record recognises the last fiscal year, which ended on 30 June.
Founded in 1870, the museum exhibits more than 5,000 years of world art in three different locations across New York – The Met Breuer, The Met Cloisters, and The Met Fifth Avenue.
The museum says that Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer has been its popular draw over the last year, with the exhibition responsible for drawing 702,516 visitors between 13 November 2017 through to 12 February 2018.
Other exhibitions which drew substantial attention were Cristobal de Villalpando: Mexican Painter of the Baroque, which attracted an audience of 256,339; and a David Hockney exhibition, which drew 363,877 visitors.
The Met’s website has also approved a hit, with a total 30.4 million visits through the year, 32 per cent of which came from overseas. The ‘Met's Online Collection’ and the ‘Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History’ are the most visited site pages, with 8.4 million and 9.4 million visitors respectively.
Record-breaking museum attendance is not the only recent success for the Met, which has also recorded its highest amount of donations in a number of years. Through philanthropic gifts, membership contributions, and government support, the museum has generated more than US$250m (€212.6m, £188.5m)
"The Met prides itself on serving the public through our collection, exhibitions, and education programs – all of which meet the highest possible standards," said Daniel Weiss, President, and CEO of the Met.
"Importantly, we're gratified to recognise that these offerings not only resonate with our visitors but also inspire extraordinary support."
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