New York City Car Rentals and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Let New York city car rentals whisk you to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where you can soak in a world of culture. The Met, for short, is one of the worlds largest art museums.

New York city car rentals say theres an extremely large Egyptian exhibit in which you can walk through a real tomb. You can see how the Egyptians made their famous makeup, and discover some of the beautiful artifacts found in ancient Egyptian burial shrouds.

Another exhibit is the Homes and Cultures exhibit, in which you walk through life-size rooms and homes from the colonial era.

If youre into fashion, youll want to catch this Clothes and Costumes exhibit. Youll find an extremely large collection of period clothing, dating all the way back to the 1600's until today (even Madonna's famous cone-bra is on display here).

Quick facts:

The Met opened February 20, 1872
Founding Superintendent was publisher George Palmer Putnam
James J. Rorimer was director from 1955 to his death May 11, 1966
Thomas Hoving succeeded as director from March 17, 1967 to June 30, 1977
Phillipe de Montebello is the current director

Its massive collection covers a 5000-year span and contains items such as:

Classical Antiquity treasures like Greek galleries and Cypriot galleries
An extensive collection of American art
Extensive holdings in Egyptianincluding the Temple of DendurAfrican, Asian, Oceanic, Middle Eastern, Byzantine and Islamic art
Recreations of notable interiors
European masters, including Botticelli, Breugel, Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, El Greco, Manet, Monet, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Gogh, Velazquez and Vermeer
African, Chinese and Japanese art exhibits
Collection of antique weapons and armor from mostly Europe, but also United States, Middle East, and Japan

Interesting fact:

New York city car rentals ask if you knew that one of The Met's latest purchases and the most expensive piece of art is Duccio's Madonna and Child. The museum paid more than 45 million dollars. The painting is only 8 x 11 inches.

About the building

Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould designed the original Metropolitan Museum of Art was a gothic-style brick building. Critics were not kind when the Museum opened in Central Park in 1880. New York city car rentals note that they described the Met as "a cross between a train station and a packing house.

Since then, the Museum has grown and now covers 13 acres. With the many additions around the Museum, not much of the original structure can be seen today. You might be able to see a part of the original buildings brick wall in the Lehman Wing. Architects expanded the Museum in a classical style.

Something to try out

New York city car rentals suggest you:

Walk north the length of the building before entering the Met.
When you reach the end of the building, take the first path west into the Park past the slanted glass wall of the Temple of Dendur.

Depending on when you walk here, youll discover a beautiful surprise:

In full daylight, the clear glass panels reflect back on the Park, like a giant mirrored mosaic
In a dark sky, the Temple, illuminated inside, looks like it has an inner light

If you keep circling around the Museum, go to the left, youll find the Obelisk on the right side, beside the Greywacke Arch. Take another left turn and go past the Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground at East 79th Street. New York city car rentals say you will find a cast of Paul Manship's sculpture "Group of Bears".

Downtown Manhattan 741 Broadway, New York, NY
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-253-2299

Midtown Manhattan 200 E. 33rd St. New York, NY
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-683-7205

Westside Manhattan 229 W.60th ST. New York, NY
New York, NY 11023
Phone: 212-784-8700

LaGuardia Airport Holiday Inn 37-10 114 Street (In the lobby)
Corona NY 11368
Phone: 718-505-6969

Doubletree Newark Airport 128 Frontage Road (In the lobby)
Newark, NJ
Phone: 973-424-1000

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Franklin Square, Long Island, NY 11010
Phone: 516-481-6026