New York Online - Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the largest museums in the world, is the most popular of all the New York's singlesite tourist attractions. It boasts two million individual objects in its collection, which makes Metropolitan Museum of Art one of the richest coffers in the arts world.
The museum, frequently referred to as the ''Met'' or the ''MMA'', displays 5,000 years of history of the civilization. The origins of the Met trace back to 1870 when three private collections, made up of 174 paintings, were purchased by private individuals.Since then the collection has been steadily growing, attracting over five million visitors each year. The whole museum is divided into thematic galleries, of which major ones include:
1.European Painting, which comprises over 2,500 masterpieces of the 19th century painters, is one of the largest painting collections in the world. The most precious are the paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Gogh, El Greco, etc.
2.Egyptian Art, the largest collection of Egyptian artworks outside Cairo,
3.The Rockefeller Collection which contains over 1,600 works of art from the Americas, Oceania and Africa
4.The American Wing featuring the Tiffany's glass, painting and the interior decor from the 17th - 20th centuries
5.The Robert Lehman Collection with influential works by Dutch, Spanish and French artists of note
6.Asian Art – the most comprehensive collection of sculpture, painting, ceramics, textiles in the West
7.the Lili Wallace – an ever growing collection of the 20th century and modern art, including the artworks by Picasso and Jackson Pollock
8.Costumes Section – a selection of women's and men's clothing which ranges from the past till the present times
9.European sculture and Decorative Arts collection
10.Iris and B. Cantor Roof Garden – open from May till October hosts the 20th century sculpture exhibitions. It is a perfect venue for having a drink and enjoying a splendid view of Central Park and the whole city of New York.

Seeing the whole collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art would take weeks, thus, it is a good idea to embark on one of the free guided walking tours of the museum highlights and specific galleries on offer.