The Met Breuer Museum in New York was a must-see destination for lovers of modern art and architecture. It showcased impressive collections of 20th- and 21st-century art, including works by such masters as Kandinsky, Rothko, and Lichtenstein.
History
The building that later housed the Met Breuer was constructed in 1966 for the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Architect Marcel Breuer, one of the representatives of the Bauhaus movement, created a brutal, monumental structure made of concrete and granite, which became an iconic example of Brutalist architecture.
In 2015, the Whitney Museum moved to its new building near the High Line and leased the historic space to The Met for a long-term period. In March 2016, the museum reopened under a new name — Met Breuer, in honor of the architect.
In 2020, the Met Breuer closed; the building was taken over by the Frick Collection while its main building underwent renovation.
Collection and Exhibitions
The Met Breuer had no permanent collection of its own, drawing instead from the vast holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
It exhibited works of modern and contemporary art of the 20th–21st centuries, pieces by artists who preceded modernism, and temporary thematic projects combining old and new art.
Among the museum’s most notable exhibitions were:
- “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible” (2016)
An exploration of unfinished works from the Renaissance to the present.
- “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry” (2016)
One of the key exhibitions of African American artist Kerry James Marshall.
- “Lygia Pape: A Multitude of Forms” (2017)
A major retrospective of Brazilian artist Lygia Pape.
- “Everything is Connected: Art and Conspiracy” (2018)
An unusual exhibition at the intersection of art and conspiracy theories.
Additionally, the Met Breuer became The Met’s new center for photography, hosting major exhibitions of works by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and others.
Interesting Facts
- The museum’s name honored architect Marcel Breuer, whose building became a landmark of modernist architecture.
- The unique inverted-trapezoid window design was one of the building’s signatures.
- The structure used hand-crafted concrete panels that created a monolithic effect.
- The Met Breuer served as a site for The Met’s experimentation with new approaches: exhibitions often combined works of old masters with those of contemporary artists.
- Due to financial pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum closed earlier than originally planned.
- Despite its closure, many of the Met Breuer’s ideas — especially interdisciplinary exhibition formats — became part of the main program at The Met Fifth Avenue.
