Met Breuer closes, building transferred to Frick Collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's site in the building designed by Marcel Breuer, known as The Met Breuer, has officially shut down. During the renovations of its Fifth Avenue mansion, the Frick Collection will temporarily occupy this space. This closure was first announced in 2018 and came shortly after the opening of a Gerhard Richter retrospective on March 4, which was abruptly halted when the Met closed on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Met plans to reopen in late August featuring "Making the Met, 1870–2020" and "Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle." After the Whitney Museum vacated in 2015, the Met leased the building for eight years at an annual cost of $17 million, while facing $150 million in losses and reducing its staff by 80.
Key facts
- Met Breuer permanently closed.
- Building designed by Marcel Breuer in 1966.
- Originally housed Whitney Museum.
- Met leased it in 2015 for 8 years at $17 million annually.
- Frick Collection will use it as temporary space during renovation.
- Gerhard Richter retrospective opened March 4, closed March 12.
- Richter show will not be reinstalled.
- Met faces $150 million losses, cut 80 staff, reduced executive salaries 20%.
- Max Hollein became Met director in 2018.
- Frick renovation led by Selldorf Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle.
Entities
Artists
- Gerhard Richter
- Marcel Breuer
- Jacob Lawrence
- Renzo Piano
- Max Hollein
Institutions
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Met Breuer
- Frick Collection
- Whitney Museum
- Selldorf Architects
- Beyer Blinder Belle
- Armory Show
Locations
- New York City
- Madison Avenue
- Fifth Avenue
- Upper East Side
- Meatpacking District
- Greenwich Village