Metropolitan Museum and Cloisters to Observe Veterans Day Weekend with Free Admission, 11/11 & 12

On Veterans Day (Sunday, November 11) and the following day (Monday, November 12), active and retired members of any branch of the U.S. armed forces will be admitted free of charge, along with one guest each, to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters museum and gardens upon presentation of their military identification. November 12 is a Met Holiday Monday, when the Metropolitan's main building and The Cloisters-which have historically been closed on Mondays-will both be open to the public. Regular admission policies will apply to all other visitors.

"As a special tribute to the men and women who are now serving in our country's armed forces-or who have served in the past-the Metropolitan Museum will offer them free admission on Veterans Day and the following day, a Met Holiday Monday," noted Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum. "In the Museum's main building, the recently renovated American Wing will be available for viewing, along with special exhibitions on contemporary art, Renaissance sculpture, and photography. And at The Cloisters, we continue to show treasures of medieval art and architecture from our Permanent Collection."

What to See on November 11 and 12
In the Metropolitan Museum's main building, at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue, the New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts allow visitors to experience the history of American art from the 18th through the early 20th century. A suite of 26 renovated and enlargEd Galleries provides a captivating setting for many well-known and well-loved masterpieces. A highlight of the new installation is the monumental canvas Washington Crossing the Delaware that depicts a turning point in the Revolutionary War. Special exhibitions will also be available for viewing: Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years (on view through December 31) examines the nature and extent of artist Andy Warhol's influence in contemporary art; Bernini: Sculpting in Clay (through January 6, 2013) features 40 of the small clay models created by the great Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) to help him visualize life-size or colossal marbles (on view through January 6); and Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop (through January 27) features some 200 creatively altered photographs from the 1840s to the 1990s. SelectEd Galleries featuring the Museum's Permanent Collection will also be open.

The Cloisters museum and gardens displays masterpieces of the Museum's renowned collection of medieval art, including the famed Unicorn Tapestries, and hundreds of examples of exquisite staiNed Glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and paintings, all in a magnificent architectural setting along the Hudson River that evokes the Middle Ages. The Cloisters museum and gardens is located in Fort Tryon Park, in northern Manhattan.

In the Metropolitan's main building, Charles H. Tally Holiday Monday Family Programs specially organized for Veterans Day include discussion and sketching activities that will be available for families with children ages 5 through 12 at 11 a.m., noon, 1:15, and 2:30 p.m. These programs are free with Museum admission. A complete listing of programs and activities to be held at both the Metropolitan Museum's main building and The Cloisters can be found on the Metropolitan Museum's website at www.metmuseum.org. Museum shops and parking are available at both locations. Museum cafés will be open in the main building.

The next two Met Holiday Mondays will be on December 24 and 31. Closing time on these two Mondays only will be 5:00 p.m.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Hours -- Main Building
Fridays and Saturdays
9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sundays, Tuesdays-Thursdays
9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Hours -- The Cloisters Museum and Gardens
March-October:
Tuesdays-Sundays
9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
November-February:
Tuesdays-Sundays
9:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.

For more information, call (212) 535-7710 or visit www.metmuseum.org.