5.24 Million Visitors at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009-10
By STAN PARCHIN
June 30, 2010
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| View of Apse Gallery, Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries for Byzantine Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced today that combined attendance at its Fifth Avenue building and The Cloisters Museum and Gardens reached 5.24 million people for the fiscal year ending today. This is the first time since 2001 that than more than 5 million visitors viewed its permanent collection and special exhibitions, one of the highest recorded figures in the institution's 130-year history.
Paramount to the Met's high attendance was a very strong program of more than 30 exhibitions, many drawn almost entirely from the museum's encyclopedic holdings of world art from prehistoric through contemporary times. The group was led by Vermeer's Masterpiece "The Milkmaid" (September 10-November 29, 2009) with 329,446 visitors. As of today, three current exhibitions continue to be major attractions: Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (April 27-August 14, 2010) with 387,574 viewers; Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú (April 27-October 31, 2010, weather permitting) with 208,313 attendees; and American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity (May 5-August 15, 2010) with 175,033 visitors.
Museum memberships reached a record high of 139,000 people. Visits to the Met's Web site increased by 14% to nearly 40 million hits. 195,000 students attended the museum. Day trips by New York City area school groups increased by 50%.
Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, stated: "This landmark attendance figure underscores the vibrancy of the museum's exhibitions and collections for its audiences from around the world. It also sends a signal about the enduring importance of culture and cultural institutions to the public, especially during this period of recession."