The Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the director of the museum. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. With 6,953,927 visitors to its three locations in 2018, it was the
third most visited art museum in the world. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments.
The director, currently
Max Hollein
Max Hollein (born 7 July 1969 in Vienna) is an Austrian art historian and the current Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He served as Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from July 2016, until Apri ...
, is responsible for acting as a "curator, lawyer and diplomat", according to ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. They produce around 40 exhibits at the museum a year, manage the museums' approximately 2,200 employees, and oversee the collection and curatorial departments.
The Director currently reports to
Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of the Museum. The director typically has had a large degree of autonomy in operation, with
Philippe de Montebello refusing to report to then president and CEO
William Macomber in 1977.
It has generally been the highest-ranking official in the museum's leadership, with the director serving as president. On June 13, 2017, the Met announced the reestablishment of a separate museum president, higher than the director.
Past directors have historically been prominent figures in the art world. Past directors include: United States consul at
Larnaca
Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 1 ...
in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
and
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient
Luigi Palma di Cesnola
Luigi Palma di Cesnola (July 29, 1832 – November 20, 1904), an Italian-American soldier, diplomat and amateur archaeologist, was born in Rivarolo Canavese, near Turin. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil Wa ...
,
Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum Sir
Caspar Purdon Clarke, secretary of the
Art Commission of Boston and director of the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
Edward Robinson,
Parks Commissioner of New York City Thomas Hoving
Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving (January 15, 1931 – December 10, 2009) was an American museum executive and consultant and the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Early life
He was born in New York City to Walter Hoving, the head of Ti ...
, and director of the
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Max Hollein
Max Hollein (born 7 July 1969 in Vienna) is an Austrian art historian and the current Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He served as Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from July 2016, until Apri ...
.
List
See also
*
List of presidents of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
References
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