Met’s Raphael Show Assembled Through Power, Persistence, and Billions in Loans

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Raphael: Sublime Poetry” brings together 33 paintings and 142 works on paper, the largest Raphael survey in the U.S. Curator Carmen Bambach spent eight years negotiating loans from 60 institutions across 11 countries, including the Louvre, Uffizi, and Prado. Private loans include two drawings owned by billionaire Leon Black, purchased for $48 million and $47.8 million. The exhibition’s aggregate value is estimated in the billions, with Morgan Stanley as lead sponsor and major funding from Ken Griffin. Bambach’s persistence included eight personal visits for one loan and appeals to director Max Hollein for difficult cases. The show features works like The Alba Madonna from the National Gallery of Art and La Fornarina from Palazzo Barberini. Courier expenses may have exceeded $2 million. The exhibition runs through 2026.