All posts tagged: Metropolitan

Download 1,600+ Publications from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Books, Guides, Magazines & More

Download 1,600+ Publications from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Books, Guides, Magazines & More

Published by José

Many of us in these past few gen­er­a­tions first heard of the Met­ro­pol­i­tan Muse­um of Art while read­ing E. L. Konigs­burg’s nov­el From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweil­er. More than a few of us also fan­ta­sized about run­ning away to live in that vast cul­tur­al insti­tu­tion like the book’s young pro­tag­o­nists Clau­dia and Jamie Kin­caid. Yet among oth­er, more prac­ti­cal con­cerns, we might have won­dered where we were going to secure enough read­ing mate­r­i­al to get us through those long after-hours nights. Konigs­burg had Clau­dia and Jamie vis­it the for­mer Don­nell Library Cen­ter, but what about in the Met itself? What we prob­a­bly did­n’t real­ize in our youth was that, in addi­tion to being a muse­um, the Met is a pub­lish­er. Now, at the Met­Pub­li­ca­tions dig­i­tal archive, we can read a great vari­ety of the books, guides, and peri­od­i­cals it’s put out for more than a century–from a 1911 cat­a­log of the muse­um’s col­lec­tion of pot­tery, porce­lain, and faïence (which refers to pot­tery of the tin-glazed vari­ety) to — as of this writ­ing — the …

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 490,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 490,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use

Published by José

Update: The Met­ro­pol­i­tan Muse­um of Art has put online 492,000 high-res­o­lu­tion images of artis­tic works. Even bet­ter, the muse­um has placed the vast major­i­ty of these images into the pub­lic domain, mean­ing they can be down­loaded direct­ly from the museum’s web­site for non-com­mer­cial use. When you browse the Met col­lec­tion and find an image that you fan­cy, just look at the low­er left-hand side of the image. If you see an “OA” icon and the words “pub­lic domain” (as shown in the exam­ple below), you’re free to use the image, pro­vid­ed that you abide by the Met’s terms. In mak­ing this col­lec­tion avail­able online, the Met joined oth­er world-class muse­ums in putting large troves of dig­i­tal art online. Wit­ness the 88,000 images from the Get­ty in L.A., the 125,000 Dutch mas­ter­pieces from the Rijksmu­se­um, the 50,000 artis­tic images from the Nation­al Gallery, and the 1.9 mil­lion images from the British Muse­um. It takes a lit­tle patience. But once you start surf­ing through the Met’s dig­i­tal col­lec­tions, you can find and down­load images of some won­der­ful mas­ter­pieces. We’ve …

Metropolitan Museum of Art Signs Cultural Agreement with Thailand

Metropolitan Museum of Art Signs Cultural Agreement with Thailand

Published by skeptic

The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently signed a memoradum of understanding (MOU) with Thailand formalizing collaborative efforts to study and display Thai art. A signing ceremony took place on April 25 at the museum in New York with Phnombootra Chandrajoti, director-general of Thailand’s Fine Arts Department, and Max Hollein, the Metropolitan Museum’s director and CEO. Thailand’s consul general in New York, Somjai Taphaopong, and the Ministry of Culture’s executive director of its national museums office, Nitaya Kanokmongkol, also attended the signing ceremony. Related Articles “This agreement reaffirms our commitment to furthering the world’s understanding and appreciation of Thai art and culture,” Hollein said in a press statement. “We value our open and ongoing dialogue with the Kingdom of Thailand, and look forward to future collaborations.”   Somjai Taphaopong, Consul General of Thailand in New York, said: “The collaboration between The Met and the Fine Arts Department of Thailand reflects the close ties between Thailand and the U.S., particularly at the level of people-to-people and institute-to-institute contacts, which help strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries …

Met police chief praises ‘professional’ conduct of officer in antisemitism row | Metropolitan police

Met police chief praises ‘professional’ conduct of officer in antisemitism row | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

The commissioner of the Metropolitan police has praised the “professional” conduct of the sergeant who stopped an antisemitism campaigner at a pro-Palestinian march and warned that officers at other protests had been “set up” by activists using “fakery” to undermine the force. In an interview with the Guardian, Mark Rowley said the sergeant involved in the incident with Gideon Falter would not be disciplined and vigorously defended the Met’s handling of the six months of protests since the 7 October attacks on Israel. Defying calls for his resignation, Rowley faced a series of crisis meetings on Monday with the two people who could oust him – the home secretary, James Cleverly, and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan – as well as British Jewish groups. It followed footage emerging of a Met officer telling Falter, of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, that because he was “openly Jewish” he would not be allowed to walk across a pro-Palestinian protest march through central London on 13 April. A 13-minute video of the exchange shows the officer offering to escort …

What does a longer video of the exchange between Met officer and antisemitism campaigner tell us? | Metropolitan police

What does a longer video of the exchange between Met officer and antisemitism campaigner tell us? | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

Coverage of the exchange between Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, and an unidentified Metropolitan police officer during a large pro-Palestinian march on Saturday 13 April initially centred on a clip released by the CAA. In the 55-second clip, the police officer says: “You are quite openly Jewish, this is a pro-Palestinian march, I’m not accusing you of anything but I’m worried about the reaction to your presence.” Sky News has since released a 13-minute video which shows a much longer and more nuanced exchange between Falter and the officer in Aldwych, central London. Much of the dialogue is indistinct due to the noise of the passing demonstration, or because Falter or the police officer are obscured by others while they are speaking, or because the pair are talking over one another. The Sky video does not appear to include the comment about Falter being “openly Jewish”. Who is in the Sky News video? Falter is accompanied by several men, some of whom are wearing kippahs (Jewish skull caps). Falter is …

Met chief likely to survive calls to quit over officer’s ‘openly Jewish’ comment | Metropolitan police

Met chief likely to survive calls to quit over officer’s ‘openly Jewish’ comment | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

The Metropolitan police commissioner is expected to survive calls for his resignation over a video of an officer suggesting that being “openly Jewish” was a provocation to pro-Palestinian protesters. A government source said that the home secretary, James Cleverly, retained full confidence in Sir Mark Rowley, and sources inside the Met rejected any suggestion that he was considering his position. Rowley faced calls to quit from the former home secretary Suella Braverman and the Campaign Against Antisemitism after its chief executive, Gideon Falter, was described by an officer as being “openly Jewish” during a pro-Palestinian demonstration earlier this month. Another officer told Falter he would be arrested if he did not leave the vicinity of the protest, as his presence was “antagonising”. But the row looks likely to continue, and Cleverly and the policing minister, Chris Philp, are expected to discuss it directly with Rowley. More pro-Palestinian marches are planned, which may open the Met up to continued criticism that it is too soft on demonstrators. The force says it is acting in line with …

Metropolitan Museum of Art Hires Its First Provenance Research Head

Metropolitan Museum of Art Hires Its First Provenance Research Head

Published by skeptic

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has named Sotheby’s executive Lucian Simmons to the newly created head of provenance research. Simmons is currently vice chairman and worldwide head of the restitution department, as well as senior specialist for the Impressionist and modern art department at Sotheby’s. He begins his new role in May. The Met has faced scrutiny over the provenance of its 1.5 million holdings. The creation of the position, followed six seizures conducted in 2022 alone, with the Manhattan DA’s office taking antiquities from Greece, Italy, and Egypt totaling $1.1 million. The office also seized a $25 million statue of a Roman emperor that had been illegally removed from a Turkish archaeological site. Related Articles “He has a vast amount of experience understanding the level of research you need to apply and what timelines you need to set to get to a result,” Max Hollein, the museum’s director and chief executive, told the New York Times. “He probably had to deal with more issues at Sotheby’s than have many other institutions. You have to vet …

Met to pay £10,000 to woman detained overnight after Sarah Everard vigil | Metropolitan police

Met to pay £10,000 to woman detained overnight after Sarah Everard vigil | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

The Metropolitan police has agreed to pay £10,000 in damages to a woman arrested at the Sarah Everard vigil in Clapham, her solicitors have said. Jennifer Edmunds was detained overnight and charged with breaching Covid restrictions at the Clapham Common gathering on 13 March 2021, said Bhatt Murphy Solicitors. The solicitors said the charges were dropped 15 months later, and Edmunds sued the force for breaching her human rights, false imprisonment, assault, misfeasance in public office and malicious prosecutions. The legal settlement was reached on 5 February this year after proceedings issued at the mayor’s and City of London court, they added. Edmunds said she will split the damages with pro-Palestinian protesters “who have also been victims of police”. She said: “While I am relieved for this to finally be over, three years after Sarah Everard’s death, and almost three years after I was threatened with criminal charges for exercising my inalienable right to protest her murder, in that time I have also seen the state clamp down yet further on our collective freedom to …

Met police to return lost sim card of bullied schoolgirl who killed herself | Metropolitan police

Met police to return lost sim card of bullied schoolgirl who killed herself | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

Scotland Yard will return the lost sim card and phone of a bullied schoolgirl who killed herself, after the items were found months after her family requested their return. Mia Janin, a 14-year-old pupil at Jewish free school (JFS) in Kenton, north-west London, died on 12 March 2021. Police admitted losing evidence it had gathered following her death last year – including the teenager’s main phone, second phone and sim card – but have since recovered them. A Metropolitan police statement said: “As part of our investigation, we examined a number of items belonging to Mia, including a sim card from her main phone and a second handset. “Last year, when her family requested the items be returned, we were unable to locate them within the property store. However, they have since been recovered and we have spoken to representatives for the family this week to arrange return of the items.” Mia was found dead at her family home in Barnet and an inquest was told she had been bullied by other JFS students. Barnet …

Met detective sacked for racism has been reinstated and sent on leadership course | Metropolitan police

Met detective sacked for racism has been reinstated and sent on leadership course | Metropolitan police

Published by skeptic

A Metropolitan police detective initially sacked for racism has been reinstated and sent on a leadership course, the Guardian has learned. DS Neil Buckmaster was dismissed in 2021 after a discipline panel found him guilty of gross misconduct. The panel heard he had used racist terms, which he gave to avatars while playing an online football game. A public complaint led to an investigation, and Buckmaster was sacked and placed on a list barring him from employment in policing, Scotland Yard announced. When asked about Buckmaster’s continued services, the force said he had been dismissed but an appeal tribunal set aside the guilty finding. The Met added that a new misconduct hearing date was set but its directorate of professional standards reviewed the case and decided not to proceed. It also said the case added to the strength of the commissioner Mark Rowley’s argument that he, and not an appeals tribunal, should have the final say about who works in the Met. Buckmaster is now back in the Met and is still a detective sergeant. …