Met Cloisters Features
Met Cloisters News
January 2023
The permanent collection is on view.
About the Met Cloisters
This lovely branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. The compound is an assemblage of actual cloisters and other buildings from France and Europe. It was assembled by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in the 1920s.
A cloister is a home for monks or nuns. In architectural terms, a cloister is a covered walkway that surrounds a courtyard. Many medieval buildings in France and Europe are designed this way.
The Cloisters was created by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the second in the Rockefeller family whose wealth came from Standard Oil. He purchased several estates to create Fort Tryon Park. The museum’s sculpture collection is built upon the collection of George Grey Barnard which Rockefeller purchased. Rockefeller added the Unicorn Tapestries to the collection. These are the museum’s signature art works. The museum’s collection includes illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows.
The first thing you notice about the Met Cloisters is the building which opened in 1938. It is built primarily of elements from the French monasteries and abbeys of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Trie-sur-Baïse, and Froville. The Met Cloisters contains several lovely gardens planted in the manner of the period.
The Met Cloisters are designed to give you the feeling of being in a medieval monastery or abbey. It is a lovely, serene place. It is hard at times to believe that this is Manhattan. The Cloisters is a great place to visit in summer. The stone keeps the rooms cool naturally. The rooms are also air conditioned to preserve the art works.
Met Cloisters Tickets
Tickets are good for same day admission to the Met Fifth Avenue and Met Cloisters.
New York State residents can pay what you wish at Met ticket offices.
Subways
(A) to 190th St
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