Metropolitan Museum of Art's Sunday tours showcase global collection amid renovations

On a late winter Sunday afternoon, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Great Hall bustles with over 15,000 visitors, fewer than the typical 25,000 daily attendance. Tour guide Lenore Pott, who has worked at the museum since 2014, leads a group of 17 through a 'Highlights of the Museum' tour, selecting six to eight objects from the Met's 1.5 million-item collection to illustrate international art history. Her eclectic choices span from a 2,700 B.C. Aegean stone figurine in the Greek and Roman Art section to a 19th-century Congolese power figure in the African gallery, Caravaggio's 1610 painting 'The Denial of St. Peter' in European art, and Jackson Pollock's 'Number 28, 1950' in Modern and Contemporary Art. The tour navigates corridors, connecting spaces, and galleries with cathedral-like ceilings, including the Vélez Blanco Patio, a 500-year-old Spanish courtyard. The museum's 1902 entryway, designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, features domes, arches, and a grand staircase that captivate visitors. Renovations have affected areas like the Arts of Oceania in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Pott's 60-minute journey offers an intimate workshop-like experience, moving through diverse collections that tell a story of evolving art.