Metropolitan Museum of Art Celebrates Presidents' Day with 'Met Holiday Mondays'

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters museum and gardens will be open to the public on Presidents' Day (today, February 18), the next in the popular series of "Met Holiday Mondays."

Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum, stated: "Presidents' Day provides our visitors with a splendid opportunity to enjoy the many treasures of the recently renovated paintings and sculpture galleries in the American Wing. A particularly relevant work of art for this holiday is the magnificent and well-known painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. In addition, masterworks of the Museum's collection of medieval art are on view at The Cloisters, which will begin to celebrate its 75th anniversary year this May."

What to See on February 18
In the Metropolitan Museum's main building, at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue, the New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts-featuring 26 recently renovated and enlargEd Galleries of paintings from the 18th through the early 20th century-will be open. Presidents' Day is also the final opportunity to see George Bellows, a retrospective of the noted early 20th-century American artist, who is remembered for his depictions of boxing matches and New York City's crowded parks and streets, often covered in snow. The exhibition Matisse: In Search of True Painting showcases the way in which the acclaimed French artist Henri Matisse questioned, repainted, and reevaluated his work (on view through March 17).

SelectEd Galleries featuring the Museum's Permanent Collection will also be open. Family greeters will be present in the Museum's Great Hall to direct visitors to areas of particular interest.