The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives collects and preserves the corporate records and official correspondence of the Museum. By doing so, they increase the knowledge and understanding of the history of the Museum. Archives holdings include Board of Trustees records, legal documents, Museum publications, office files of selected Museum staff, architectural drawings, press clippings, and ephemera.
The Archives was established under the Museum’s 1870 Constitution, which states that the secretary of the corporation “shall have custody of and preserve the corporate seal and the archives.” Until the 1960’s the Archives primarily served as a resource for the Museum’s secretary, other officers, and trustees, but has since expanded in scope to serve the needs of the Museum as a whole and the public.
Newly processed collections include:
TheDurr Friedley Records, 1906-1918
and
The William Church Osborn Records, 1904-1953
Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives is Cool Site for March 2010
