151st Anniversary of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In honor of a storied legacy of cultural enrichment for New Yorkers and international communities alike, today’s Doodle celebrates the 151st Anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens—businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day—who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. On this day in 1870, the museum was officially incorporated and soon after acquired its first work of art: a Roman sarcophagus. 

The Met has come quite a long way from that first showing to become New York’s largest art museum, with a permanent collection of over 1.5 million objects, spanning over 5,000 years from nearly every corner of the globe. A sampling of the many works of art found at The Met today are depicted in today’s Doodle artwork—including a Byzantine floor mosaic from 500-550 A.D., the armor of German Emperor Ferdinand I from the 16th century, an intricate traditional Lakota/Teton Sioux beaded dress, and the painting "Self-Portrait" by Samuel Joseph Brown, Jr. from the 1940s.

Whether you're a Met regular or planning your first trip to the Museum, be sure to visit a certain blue ceramic hippopotamus from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom nicknamed “William.” An unofficial mascot of The Met, he might soon become your favorite part of the collection.

Happy anniversary to The Met–and here’s to many more!

Visit the MetMuseum.org for a closer look at the artworks featured in today’s Doodle.

Take an immersive online journey through ‘Making The Met, 1870-2020’’ on Google Arts & Culture to learn more about the history, people, and artworks that make the museum what it is today. 

Doodler Q&A with Erich Nagler

Q: How did you first learn about the Metropolitan Museum of Art? What part of the museum's story do you find most inspiring personally? 

A: I was fortunate enough to attend art school in New York, and from the beginning the Met was a treasure trove for both study and inspiration. I think it was my freshman art-history teacher who took our class for my first visit. Every exhibition hall seemed designed to transport you to another place and time. Turn a corner and you are in medieval Europe, then in ancient Japan, then in sub-Saharan Africa. Sometimes, on solo visits, I would wander the galleries with earplugs in, tuning out all the other visitors and simply soaking in all of the visual splendor.

A more secluded part of the collection I find particularly inspiring is the Cloisters, located at the very northern tip of Manhattan. This part of the museum is housed in ancient French monasteries and abbeys. Visiting feels like such a calming departure from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The Unicorn Tapestries from the late Middle Ages are there, which I included as a yellow “o” in the Doodle animation.

Q: What was your creative process for this Doodle? Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular? 

A: I actually began working on this Doodle last year, to celebrate the Met’s 150th anniversary, but had to postpone due to the pandemic. I haven’t yet been able to visit the museum since then, so my goal for the Doodle was to try and recreate the feeling of visiting the museum from numerous past visits.

I started by sketching a bunch of artworks from the museum’s fantastic collection online. As I was drawing, some of the artworks and artifacts reminded me of the Google letterforms. It was hard to tell the museum’s story visually without including the landmark building as well, so I began drawing the architecture of the museum building itself, set against the background of Central Park. 

Finally, I tried to combine both the museum building drawing with the artwork drawings. The looping animation shows where the artworks are located inside the museum; this captures the serendipity and surprise of wandering the galleries and discovering these beautiful masterpieces. 

Now that many museums are re-opening with safety precautions in mind, it feels like the right moment to celebrate one of the world's most iconic art institutions.
 

Q: The Met is home to over 1.5 million pieces of art from all around the world. Is there a specific masterpiece that resonates with you?  

A: It is impossible to choose just one! The magic of the Met comes from the vast diversity of its collection, not from any singular treasure. As a young art student, I was particularly inspired by the museum’s Egyptian Art collection, including the awesome Temple of Dendur and of course William the Hippopotamus.

I knew I wanted to include an Egyptian artifact in the Doodle somehow, and so I chose the magnificent Outer Coffin of the Singer Amun-Re Henettawy to represent an “L” in the Doodle. I love the exquisite painting and fascinating symbolism on the coffin. I am grateful that the museum continues to preserve and protect this three-thousand-year-old masterpiece for future art students and everyday museum-goers alike.

Q: What do you hope people will take away from this Doodle?

A: I have really missed visiting museums during the pandemic, so working on this Doodle was for me like a virtual visit to the Met. I hope that this animated Doodle gives people a little experience of touring the museum, and coming face-to-face with beautiful and captivating art objects from so many different cultures and eras.