Met Breuer Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Met Breuer
Met Breuer Building (2019)
Established	March 18, 2016 (2016-03-18)
Dissolved	March 13, 2020 (temporary closure) June 23, 2020 (permanent closure)
Location	945 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Type	Art museum
Public transit access	Subway: at 77th Street Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M79 SBS

The Met Breuer was an art museum in New York City. It showed modern and contemporary art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The museum was located in a special building called the Breuer Building. This building is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The Met Breuer opened in March 2016. It was a branch of the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, often called "the Met." The museum displayed art from the Met's collection. It also held special shows about single artists or specific art themes.

In March 2020, the museum temporarily closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months later, in June, the Met announced that the museum would close for good. The building was then used by the Frick Collection for a few years while their main building was being fixed up.

The Met Breuer's Story
Art Shows at the Met Breuer
Images for kids
See also

The Met Breuer's Story

Renovated lobby

The idea for the Met Breuer started in 2008. A generous person named Leonard Lauder helped make it happen. After three years of talking, the Met and the Whitney Museum of American Art agreed in 2011. The Whitney Museum owned the building.

The Met Breuer opened its doors in March 2016. This was part of a big plan to improve the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Architects Beyer Blinder Belle updated the Breuer Building. The Met planned to spend about $17 million each year to run the museum. This helped the main Met museum show more modern art. The Met rented the building from the Whitney Museum for eight years.

Sheena Wagstaff was in charge of the Met Breuer. She was also the head of modern and contemporary art for the main Met museum. Thomas P. Campbell, who was the director of the Met, wanted the Met Breuer to reach a global audience. He saw the Met Breuer as an important part of the world's largest art museum. Both Campbell and Wagstaff thought the building itself was a work of art.

The museum's first shows were very interesting. One show featured art by Nasreen Mohamedi. Another was called "Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible." It showed incomplete artworks from over 500 years. This included a painting by Pablo Picasso that had never been seen before.

In September 2018, the Met decided to leave the Met Breuer earlier than planned. The lease was expensive, and not enough people were visiting. The Frick Collection then planned to use the building temporarily. This would happen while their own building was being renovated. The Met Breuer was supposed to close in July 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to close early, on March 13, 2020. In June 2020, the Met announced the museum would close permanently. The building reopened as the Frick Madison in March 2021. It housed the Frick Collection until 2024.

Art Shows at the Met Breuer

The Met Breuer hosted many different art exhibitions during its time. These shows featured a wide range of artists and art styles. Here are a few examples of the interesting exhibitions that visitors could see:

"Nasreen Mohamedi" (March – June 2016)
"Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible" (March – September 2016)
"diane arbus: in the beginning" (July – November 2016)
"Kerry James Marshall: Mastry" (October 2016 – January 2017)
"Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed" (November 2017 – February 2018)
"Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body (1300–Now)" (March – July 2018)
"Gerhard Richter: Painting After All" (March 2020)