The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the fourth-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. It is the most-visited museum in the United States and the fourth-most visited art museum in the world.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 with its mission to bring art and art education to the American people. The museum’s permanent collection consists of works of art ranging from the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt, through classical antiquity to the contemporary world. It includes paintings, sculptures, and graphic works from many European Old Masters, as well as an extensive collection of American, modern, and contemporary art. The Met also maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceania, Byzantine, and Islamic art. The museum is home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes, and decorative arts and textiles, as well as antique weapons and armour from around the world. Several notable interiors, ranging from 1st-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries.