All language subtitles for Inside.Americas.Treasure.House.The.Met.S01E03.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

Nestled in New York's Central Park,

this is the largest art
museum in America.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is 2.3 million square feet

of objects spanning 5,000 years of
history.

The museum really was
an audacious vision,

to create a cultural centre that
rivalled the greatest in the world.

The Met is a collection
of collections -

paintings, jewellery,
textiles, statuary,

and the world's most
famous fashion gala.

Every year we're pumping out
something pretty amazing.

It's America's treasure house.

The collection is what excites every
curator

to be part of this institution.

In 2020 the Met turned 150.

In its pomp, and ready to
celebrate...

I'm this excited!

..but as the revels began,

Covid-19 struck New York.

REPORTER: There are new warnings
about the coronavirus outbreak.

For the first time ever,
the Met was shut - indefinitely.

In the summer, the urgent
need for social justice,

highlighted by the Black Lives
Matter movement,

had the museum promising to change.

But how to pay for it?

Without tourists and with restricted
viewing,

The Met's in the red.

And they come to you for the money
for this?

And I've got find
the money to do it.

The building itself needs
constant repair.

But what about conservation
and research?

For me this piece is not very big.

To finish this one, two years.

Who will pay for new
acquisitions...?

I don't think I will ever see
this rarity

and beauty on the market again.

..and the blockbuster exhibitions
that keep the tills ringing?

It's a massive undertaking.

I mean, it's the best, for
costuming,

it's the best for fashion.

The Met has always relied on patrons
and donors,

but as the economy shrinks,

do philanthropists have anything
left to give?

The truth of the matter is,

nobody can really take care of 403
guitars.

It's Autumn 2020.

Halloween and Christmas
are not far off.

But at New York's Metropolitan
Museum of Art,

they're not feeling celebratory.

The pandemic's left a $150 million
hole in their finances.

Once, 25,000 visitors came through
these doors every day.

Post-Covid, safety regulations
mean it's 5,000 at most.

Maybe give them a chance. Give them
a chance to get their stride.

It's like you're coming out
of a cocoon.

Nine months into the Met's
anniversary year,

President Dan Weiss is
philosophical.

The world has changed in such
seismic and remarkable ways,

I think it's important to be mindful
of the many things I don't know

and cannot do.

And, therefore, to be appreciative
of others who can do those things.

The violin on my wall reminds me
both of its beauty,

its magnificence, but also of
when I aspired to learn to play it.

And in very short order my teacher
concluded

I didn't have an ear for music

and I would never be able to learn
to play the violin.

I suspect as a teacher
she was a complete failure,

but I look at this instrument
and I'm reminded of both things.

It is one of the great objects
of the musical universe for me

and, boy, I cannot play it.

I just don't know how.
But I love to watch people who do.

Most people think leadership is
about telling everybody what to do.

And I...I don't see it that way.

Any leadership job is really
about empowering other people

to do what they can do better
than anyone else.

And I'm very good at surrounding
myself with people

who are a lot more
talented than I am.

Slow and keep an eye on the front.

Safety concerns mean few
staff are allowed on site.

The heavy lifting team are in today,

to send home a four-tonne megalith
lent by a Senegalese museum.

Keep coming...keep coming. Stop!

The Met's cash-strapped,

but must lend and borrow
on a global scale

to mount exhibitions visitors
will pay good money to see.

We've got to go slow, guys.

Transportation costs are huge,

but the safe handling of other
people's treasures is essential.

Right, let's stop, guys.

Conservators must oversee every
movement.

It is nice to come into the museum
and do...do our job.

I don't think any of us
will ever forget this year.

It's like a mile marker.

It's going to be before and after
this year.

Watch that corner, Derek.

When they first started
talking about the 150th anniversary,

I remember doing that quick
calculation in my head,

I'm like, "Oh, my God,
that's an election year."

And I just knew it was going to
be a crazy year.

But I don't think any of us
could have imagined the levels.

Project manager Margaret Choo has
been working from home

for six months.

The avid baker had been asked to
make the Met's official

150th birthday cake,

but had to eat it herself in March

and some of April.

I was super excited to make it.

I'd had ideas of what
kind of decorations I would do

and what kind of flavours
I would do.

And when it didn't happen it was
kind of crushing.

Today, Met executives have a
finance meeting -

Margaret's got permission to
return to Fifth Avenue...

with her cake!

This part is my favourite,
decorating the cake.

Putting all the things that really
make it, like, a wow!

Like, a reason to celebrate.

I haven't been back in over six
months,

which is the longest I haven't been
there in, like, almost ten years.

Seeing the pictures from the opening
day

and how totally jubilant and excited
people were,

it shocked me to see
how needed it was.

I'm feeling pretty nervous,
just not knowing what to expect.

You know, the stickers on the floor
and signs,

that just wasn't
a part of the museum when I left it.

Hi, Clyde.

Hi, there! Oh, my gosh!

On the Executive Floor,

the Met's landmark year has been
memorable,

for all the wrong reasons.

What is inside? So this is like a
vanilla with raspberry jam.

Wow! And the bottom one is a
chocolate.

Chocolate.
Espresso whisky.

You like cake, too?
What is this? Yeah, everyone.

Director Max Hollein has seen his
anniversary exhibition schedule
collapse.

Margaret, this is quite delicious.
Thank you.

I'm going to have to try both of
them. You have to.

Oh, my God!

Clyde B Jones leads the team
that must find sponsors with money,

as the economy tanks.

Communications Chief Ken Weine has
yet more bad news.

The numbers have been "meh"
the last couple of weeks.

We can only go to about 5,000.

And some days during the week
has been as low as 2,800.

And when we reopened there was this
huge joint appetite among many.

Right. But now that school is back
and whatnot...

With cases rising in the city,

people are just a little bit more
reluctant to go out.

We can't bring donors back.

We can't do...we can't do
stewardship.

We can't invite people in.

We're in the relationship business.
That's right.

How do you do relations in this? How
do you do relationships when you
can't see people?

Even our staff of almost 2,000,

we asked back, I don't know,
400-ish.

To the others we said,
please don't come back.

You know, it's like a wild fire
across the cultural landscape

and, and who can, erm,
survive in the long run is really,

really going to be scary.

I mean, we're not going anywhere,
in terms of improving,

until Europeans are allowed
to fly here.

New York City enjoyed a million
visitors from China

last year for the first time ever.

The Met was their number one
destination.

How many years is it going to take
for that, erm, group to come back?

A very loyal, wonderful group of
visitors who spend a lot of money.

Every single constituency of the
museum is going to have to

come together to get us back
to...to...to where we were.

It's going to be the funders,
it's going to be the visitors,

because people have to be willing to
come back into the museum

in greater numbers than they are
right now.

The community is going to
have to come together, in a way,

to encourage civic engagement.

Income from visitors helps keep
the building open and the lights on.

Four blocks long, five storeys high,

2.3 million square feet
under 14 acres of roof,

six of them of glass.

MECHANICAL BUZZING

Patrons and foundations have donated
huge sums to the Met,

but mostly for art.

Few want to pay for photocopiers,
floor polishers,

or specialist lifts like this

that cost thousands of dollars new
or used...

We call it spider rig.

..or this team showing how many
people it takes

to screw in a light bulb.

I know that's the job, but we do
more than changing light bulbs.

But we have between 60 to 70,000
light fixtures

throughout the building.

It's a complicated job,
believe it or not.

Clyde Jones has an inspiring
view of glass roofs

being replaced at a cost
of $150 million.

A project begun before Covid.

Much of what
we do is a personal connection -

having people in the museum,
having them see the objects,

having them
engage with the exhibitions.

We have been able to engage with
folks in small groups,

but it's a whole lot more difficult
to do 100 engagements

with two people, than it is to do
one engagement with 200 people.

It's through the generosity
of individuals and corporations

and foundations that we're able
to be here at all.

Central to the imminent remodelling
of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and
the Americas galleries

will be the replacement of a vast
wall of glass.

There are structural
issues with these windows.

They're the same as there
are in the Temple of Dendur -

but that's north facing
and this is south facing.

There are objects in here that
cannot be in the direct southern
sun.

So these windows have had to be
shaded,

which is really unfortunate.

It's dark and it's enclosed.

I mean that sort of points to
deepest darkest Africa,

when in fact those cultures are
bright

and they're open and they're sunny,
and the space should reflect that.

And they come to you for the money
for this?

I mean, you've got to find the money
to...

And I've got to find the money to do
it. Right, exactly.

People said, "Oh, you're not
going to be able to raise money

"for Arts of Africa, Oceania and the
Americas.

"There's no...there are no young
people who are interested in that."

But we found that that
was, in fact, not the case.

We've raised about 90% of the money
before Covid.

There are a lot of people who
care about the many cultures

that are represented
in these galleries.

We've got to figure out what
people are passionate about

and help them find that passion
here in the walls of the Met.

There are still collectors
in the vein of the Rockefellers

and the Havemeyers.

But the regular member,

the person who makes
a gift of $25 to the museum

because they had a great time,
those people are just as important.

Some senior staff
salaries are sponsored.

Michael Gallagher is
Head of Painting Conservation,

a post funded by an aeronautics
corporation.

After months at home,

he has permission to return to
a passion project

he had to abandon in March.

My first day back
and I'm completely choked up

to be back in here, to be handling
an object again.

I've had a wave of, "Oh, my God,

"I've forgotten how much I love
this.

"What an incredible privilege it
is."

This was a new discovery,

the Bohemian Picture
by the Master of Vyssi Brod.

When I saw this picture in Paris,

the background was entirely
over-painted.

But there was a suggestion of an
intact original background
underneath.

So we took that risk.

In fact, the Chair of the
Acquisitions Committee said,

"On a scale of one to ten,
how sure are you

"that you can get that over-paint
off

"and that the original's intact
underneath?"

And for no good reason,
I said a nine.

Erm, and...

..could have been,
could have been the end of things.

The panel was to be
auctioned in Dijon.

Potential buyers knew X-rays
had revealed

what lay beneath the over-painting -
but not its condition.

Gallagher was sure
he could remove the dark material,

but didn't know if the masterpiece
would come off with it.

The removal of the over-paint all
takes place under the microscope.

The pigment's imbibed
a lot of varnish over the years.

You can see the colour change where
there's some varnish

been taken off here,
and where it is still on here.

The colour palette has been
a sort of shock to everyone.

This painting was from the middle
of the 14th century,

so it's an incredible survivor.

I'm saving removing the varnish

from the central figure group till
the end.

That will be like dessert,
because it'll be straightforward.

The varnish on the very top is
probably a late-19th century,

early-20th century.

The over-paint is quite a bit
older than that.

One of the frustrations of getting
older in conservation is

just as you feel that your judgment
is getting better

is when your eyesight starts to go.

Working on instinct,
taking a gamble,

is part of the conservator's job.

But the Covid cash crisis has made
the museum risk averse.

Right now there is no question
we would not be probably

pursuing the acquisition.

I don't think I could responsibly
take that risk again.

Head of European Paintings, Keith
Christiansen, comes to the studio.

He is soon to retire -
this is a bittersweet moment.

It's really amazing.

I think people will be
bowled over by this.

It's the colour,
the brilliance of this background.

It's just extraordinary,
and I don't think

I will ever see this rarity
and beauty on the market again.

The price obviously was
considerable.

Yeah. This will have been a very
inexpensive picture for what it is.

It was about $6 million,
yeah, yeah.

Which sounds like...
Which sounds like a lot.

But for something of this rarity and
beauty it's actually not that much.

I can tell you right now there are a
number of collectors who

would jump at this right now.

And we're not
buying for the short term,

we're buying for the long term.

And...

..the next generation will not even
think about what it was paid.

All they will be pleased is that
it's here and that they can see it.

The obligation of a great museum is
the movement of things

from the private sphere
into the public sphere.

There's not a visitor who doesn't
go into the Van Gogh Gallery

and is grateful for the occasion
of seeing them.

And who cares that this museum spent
$60 million

for the landscape with cypresses.

All they know is that standing in
front of it is something

that they will carry with them
for the rest of their lives.

However, following Covid and the
financial, really, disaster
that has been part of it,

and with all the staff cuts that
we've had,

it would be very difficult to
justify spending that kind of money.

However, a generation later they
would look back and say,

"Gee, that was a shame that the
museum didn't have the foresight to
do this."

You know, I'm glad I'm
not in that position.

That's the Director's job, to juggle
long term mission

with what we're doing in a real
crisis right now.

The cash crisis has led to
a freeze on acquisitions,

but just conserving the museum's
existing collections takes time,

and time is money.

For now, in the textile labs,

Anna Szalecki is still able
to take her time.

This is special
because this is 14th century.

So this is part of really
huge history.

Bringing back this
tapestry to the beauty,

I forget my neck hurts
or eyes hurt.

I work so many years
on the conservation field,

but when I finish my career it will
be something, something unique done.

For me this piece is not,
not very big.

For castle, this is small size.

I really work on carpets
and tapestries, huge tapestries.

To finish this one,
two years it will be done.

I do fast as...as much as I can,

but because this is unique,
I have to do it in a very good way.

It's not like the museum has
exhibition and put back

and spends 20 years in storage

and hangs only one year or two
years.

But this one,
it will hang for 100 years.

The department head, Dr Janina
Poskrobko, has a large team.

She knows personnel
and projects could be in jeopardy.

We needed a lot of time
for research, for study and more

and more of the museum's funds are
being restricted.

I've never told Anna this

but I expected this project would
have not been funded for long.

A week later, at home on
Staten Island,

Janina Poskrobko is
up early to say her prayers.

Today, the
Head of Textile Conservation

catches an early ferry
for Manhattan.

Professor Walter Denny
is coming for breakfast.

He heads a group of textile friends
and supporters.

These are the people
who are supposed to help us,

maybe not that they will donate
money to us,

but maybe they will be able
to bring us donors.

Janina hopes Walter will help her
fundraising drive.

Walter probably will be hungry

because his drive from Massachusetts
is very long.

This is Polish sausage called
kabanosy,

tomatoes and dry apples
and Polish bread.

And Polish yeast cake.

Walter is a friend,
he's a fantastic scholar.

The professor is a frequent visitor,
but somehow remains trim.

He's really here for the love
of textiles.

In 2007, when I came down here
for the first time,

I stumbled into one of the most
marvellous experiences of my life.

But this is one of the priority
projects,

the King Arthur Tapestry.

And one of the most famous
objects in the Met.

Would you like to see the
Barberini coat?

Sure.

Janina unveils another treasure.

Might Walter elicit donations
for this project

from other fabric fanciers?

We're just letting it rest quietly

so that we can get it into the case
and it's pretty amazing actually.

And it's got the busy little bees of
the Barberini family

right down there.

It became very clear that in this
very difficult time

it is really... my role increasing,
erm, in terms of...finances.

It's an amazing object.

And I'm so glad that it's finally
going to go out on display.

The loveliness of the cape is
enveloping Walter,

when Janina makes her move.

So we had this great Autumn
on the Rope from 18th century.

Yeah. But it required
a lot of conservation.

But it's a complete piece
so we can think about it.

As long as someone would come up
with the funds to do it.

Janina has given it her best shot.

Walter knew she had to ask.

From the point of view of someone
who has very little in the way

of money to give,
but he gives everything that he can,

what binds people together
and the relationship between the
museum and its public

is in fact enthusiasm, love,
excitement and passion.

This is a passion.

Not only that, the nice
thing about this passion is

it's not quite as infectious as
Covid,

but if you're eloquent enough
you can infect other people with it.

So, I was wondering if you could
speak a little bit to

how you work inter-departmentally.

The Met must ignite that
passion in the next generation.

Around 200 interns
are currently in training -

a vital investment
in the museum's future.

I was curious about the
collaborations between famous
conservations at the Met...

The head of education is watching
an online mentoring session.

The Met is committed to creating
a more diverse workforce.

A recent $5 million bequest
provides each intern with a salary.

The intern programme immediately
opens up and diversifies.

And by diversity, I don't just
mean, you know,

differences you can see,
but in points of view.

The idea is to bring in young
scholars

with different ways of seeing the
world.

Begin there,
and as they do their research

and they move on in their careers
they will ask different questions.

They would question
the established canons.

And you would shift the field
more or less from the inside out.

I think it can start
happening as early as five years,

as these people
graduate from school, you know,

and beginning to get into entry
level positions and going forth.

And, you know, we just did
the first 150 years.

I would hope the next 150 years
will be completely different.

A Californian of Vietnamese descent,

Kevin Pham is an intern with
the Medieval Department,

funded by donor cash.

This is so incredible.

And this is your first time at the
Cloisters, right?

The Met Cloisters
is his official base,

but Covid meant he could never
visit in person - until today.

Co-intern Shania Johnson is with
him, on the phone.

One of my professors back home
told me about the internship

and how could I pass up
an opportunity like the Met?

The Met Cloisters is
a network of medieval buildings,

home to a collection of objects
that, until now,

the interns have only
experienced virtually.

Oh, my, those vaulted ceilings!

I know, right?!

Being paid to study makes interning
possible for students

from communities and backgrounds
under-represented

in the Met's staff lists.

My family, my parents,
my grandparents,

they never had the opportunities to
go to museums,

to enjoy artwork,
to understand art.

And that's something that I'm
fighting for -

that a lot of my peers
are fighting for, too.

We're fighting to be in these
places,

not just as guests admiring the
artwork,

but doing this kind of work,
as well.

I still love the little detail of,
of baby Jesus

tugging on the first
King's, like, hair like that.

It froze a little bit.

Oh, whoops! Hello, hello, hello?

Kevin's main mission today is to see
a 16th-century book

of flower paintings he's marvelled
at online.

Hi, Shania. Hello.

I'm so glad you can be here to see
this.

So what we're looking at is
a book of flower illustrations that

dates to the early-1500s.

So we're looking at a roughly
500-year-old book here.

And every single flower depicted, we
grow... Absolutely. ..in the gardens
here.

That was actually going to
be my question.

I'm glad to know that that's
happening.

Yeah, this manuscript provides
a bridge between, you know,

the works of art that we have on
display

and the natural
works of art that we have outside.

I really don't know what to say.

I'm just so overwhelmed
by the beauty of all of it.

This opportunity is just once in a
lifetime, to be able to work

on these masterpieces and to be here
in person now to see them as well.

I feel like I'm just, like, on the
edge of tears constantly,

just looking at all of this.

You really can't replicate this
experience online at all.

And the Met certainly has
a lot of work to do,

but I'm here and I'm an intern,

that's definitely something.

And I'm not the only one, as well.

And we're here because we love art

and that shouldn't be limited to,
you know,

rich old white men with beards.

It should be for everyone.

From the day it opened,

The Met has relied on philanthropy,

gifts of money
and also of precious objects.

In 2019, the Musical Instruments
Department Exhibition Play It Loud

featured 130 instruments,
many of them lent by rock legends.

They included guitarist
Steve Miller, who sent this unique

Gibson Les Paul.

PLAYS GUITAR LICK

DELAY-EFFECT GUITAR CHORD

Yeah!

Jayson! Hey, Steve!

How are ya?

I'm good, we can't see you yet.

Miller has been a key
donor to the Met for years.

He knows that right now the museum
needs its friends to rally round.

That's been ten years now, so...
2011, yeah.

Well, yeah, yeah.

And, gosh, we've done three shows
and it's just been fantastic.

To actually have an input is
really gratifying

and it's so important for just
our culture,

for all of us to
support our museums.

That we're fortunate
that we live in a time

when we have these institutions.

For now, he can't enter the museum,

but Miller can ask curator
Jayson Dobney

to help him
edit his massive guitar collection.

How many guitars do you have?

Well, I have I think 405
instruments in my collection.

And, well, now I have to say 403
because I've given you two of them.

The two best ones.

Two magnificent ones.

The truth of the matter is, nobody
can really take care of 403 guitars.

I have my first guitar,

I still have three of them
that I play all the time.

So, I'm totally happy
making the collection accessible

to other people and to have other
people play the instruments

so that they don't just sit
there in a glass box.

The guitar celebrates a great maker
and a special relationship.

My godfather was Les Paul

and I was around Les when I was
starting

from the time I was like five years
old. So...

I play electric guitar like he did.

Les Paul developed a lot of the
tools that we use in recording.

And besides all that,

he was one of the greatest guitar
players in the world.

For me, it's a great, great
opportunity to be useful, really.

So, what the...and nothing could be
better than that, so...

Gosh, Steve, thank you so much.

The Les Paul will join the museum's
permanent collection.

Exhibitions like Play It Loud
surprise those

who think the Met's just
marble and old masters.

The Costume Institute
doesn't do dowdy.

Their annual exhibition is
always an extravaganza.

The department's preparing their
landmark year blockbuster show.

These are the biggest exhibitions
that we do at the Met,

without a doubt.
Broadway theatre is probably

the closest to this
kind of level of production.

About Time needs to draw crowds
and make a big statement -

The Met's still got it.

It's a massive undertaking.

Of course this was conceived of
before everything happened,

and actually completely built.

And it had to sit in the production
company warehouse

for three months until we could
bring them in.

Now, costs are closely monitored,

but before Covid, shows like it
cost around $3.5 million to stage.

Much of the money for About Time
came from the 2019 Met Gala -

the event that every year funds
the museum's Costume Institute.

Gotham's glossiest social
event brings out the stars

for the ultimate photo opportunity.

Designers dress them in couture that
echoes the theme

of the annual exhibition.

But in 2020,
Covid has taken the ball away.

The Costume Institute's head curator
will miss the money,

but also the glow the event
provides.

The show gets so much attention
through the attention the gala gets.

It's such an extraordinary moment.

The show really
basks in its reflected glory.

And it's also, you know, it's a
time for the community

to come and celebrate fashion.
So, that's been sad.

Bolton has made About Time
a meditation

for the Met's anniversary year.

The passage of time is
central to the setting.

There are two different clocks,
clock one, clock two.

We're currently in clock two.

So it's 120 garments in 60 pairings.

The show looks at fashion
and temporality.

We wanted to highlight master
works from our collection.

And we had this
concept of the Met's 150 years.

So we're producing two timelines.

The lower run is
a very linear chronology of fashion,

but the second timeline behind are
pieces that relate through

the silhouette or material or
motif or decoration.

So, through these sort of
pairings,

rather than having times as
succession of events,

it's this coexistence of the past
and the present.

What the show tries to also address
is notions of longevity

and how particular motifs or
silhouettes endure.

This one's one of my favourite
juxtapositions.

So this is the princess line.

And it was a silhouette that
basically had no waist seam.

But what it does is
create a very elongated torso,

elongated silhouette. And I paired
it with McQueen's Bumster.

Everyone used to say he was
inspired by the builder's bum,

but he was really
looking at the princess line.

By having trousers and,
in this case, a skirt,

that slip down,
you have the same elongated torso.

The rationale for black was any
monochrome colour,

but particular black,
emphasises the form of a dress.

It's art as theatre.

This off Broadway production
costs a fortune.

But the Institute has help in kind,
as well as in cash.

Like all Met departments, they rely
on the kindness of strangers

and the closest of friends.

While fashion fans await the opening
of About Time,

In Pursuit Of Fashion keeps them
engaged.

It's a presentation of rare
couture

from the archives
of collector Sandy Schreier.

In 2018, she donated 165
garments to the Costume Institute.

The department is used to dedicated
followers of fashion,

but to Associate Curator
Jessica Regan,

Mrs Schreier is a one-off.

Sandy was really ahead of her
time in thinking about fashion

as an art form.

She was building what
she saw as a collection,

as a group of objects that were
worthy of preserving.

You know, that is a unique
thing among fashion collectors.

She collected very instinctively,

but she had an incredible eye

and, of course,
she developed this great level

of kind of stewardship.

This collection is inherently a
reflection of her taste, of course,

but also her personality,

because these selections were so
personal

and she has a wonderful
sense of humour.

She always said to us that this
was something that was fun for her.

I think that she very much
appreciates designers who, you know,

embrace that sense of wit
and playfulness and fun.

We did make a great number
of visits and, you know,

spent a lot of time just
chatting about her collection

and she always had the most
wonderful stories.

Sandy lives 600 miles away
to the west,

in Detroit, Michigan.

SANDY: From the opening of the Met
exhibition,

everybody was saying that this was
the greatest thing

they had ever seen.
Because it's a fairy tale.

You know, I never knew
that my life was a fairy tale

until they said that.

In the 1950s, Sandy's father was
the furrier who dressed

the wives of Motor City magnates.

They thought I was adorable.

They thought I looked like a little
Shirley Temple.

And they began gifting me
with their unwanted

and, very often,
sometimes unworn couture.

And that's how my collection began.

They all thought I was going to
play dress-up in the objects

they were giving me.

But I never even tried them on.

I felt that they were too
precious to even touch.

By the time I was in my early teens,

I already had hundreds of these
beautiful, gorgeous gowns.

Although everyone in Detroit made
fun of me - my friends,

my relatives, everybody said,

"Oh, my goodness,
you're just a bag lady."

I mean, they didn't have that
expression in those days,

but I was the little girl with
bags of old clothes.

It was, in fact, the start of what
would become one of the most

important private
collections in America.

What I care about is fashion as art.

When Sherwin and I were teenagers,

I persuaded my parents to loan us
the car,

and I didn't tell them
where we were going.

And we drove to New York
so I could show Sherwin the Met.

And as we walked through
the galleries, I said to Sherwin,

one day my beautiful dresses
are going to be right here.

The garments could have
gone to any museum,

but to collectors like Sandy,
only the Met will do.

The Costume Institute holds
items from around five centuries.

Many of them are actual garments.

The best are available
for exhibitions,

others are kept as references
for fashion researchers.

There's also a huge
accessories archive.

We have almost 33,000 objects
overall.

Shoes, hats and jewellery.

Parasols.

Handbags, fans.

Muffs, collars, aprons.

The benchmarks of the Met's
founders still pertain.

Beauty and excellence
determine which hats

and handbags are worthy
of the collection.

It's a combination of acquisition
from an auction house

or a dealer, as well as donation.

Sometimes it's a collector that
collected a lot of pieces

and sometimes it's a donation

straight from the designers
themselves.

No detail is too fine to
be of interest.

The Met has a pair of
Alexander McQueen Armadillo shoes

from his final catwalk show,
Plato's Atlantis.

These were purchased for us.

They were designed for Alexander
McQueen and they are iconic

because of the shape
they create on the foot.

They are sought after objects.

Lady Gaga wearing them
certainly helped their prestige.

But what was
the genesis of the design?

The Met has traced the London
shoemaker McQueen hired

to interpret his ideas, with a view
to acquiring her original artwork.

I received an email from Andrew
Bolton from the Met

to say that he...

was potentially interested
in acquiring the archive.

It's so exciting.

I've kept every single
bit of artwork.

Trained at the Royal College of Art,

it was the sculptural qualities
of her own footwear range that

attracted designer Lee McQueen to
Georgina Goodman.

He said, erm, "Can you draw?"

And I was like, "Yeah, I can."

And he put some paper in front of
me, he goes "draw something".

I think I drew ten things.

He looked at them and he said,

"Do you think you could
work with me?"

And I went, "Yeah. I do.
I could work with you.

"I'd love to work with you".

This is a research and design
folder for the Alien shoe.

It's the same collection
as the Armadillo.

This is actually a drawing that's
been amended in a meeting with Lee.

Oh, and here is a very early
sketch of the Armadillo.

It does function as a shoe, you can
wear it, it can be walked in.

Originally he wanted it
with no heel.

But there had to be
sort of a compromise.

But it was about getting this form.

Working with Lee, I had to interpret
what he was thinking, look at...

what the clothes were
and suggest ideas.

It's not my job to
put my thoughts on paper,

it's my job to interpret his vision.

I think the right place for these
drawings is the Met.

Alexander McQueen is such a key
part of fashion history.

And I think the Armadillo shoe was
a pretty key element

that people do remember.

But I don't know how to
preserve the archive.

They are very precious to me

and I want it handled with white
gloves by lovely curators.

And these drawings should be
seen by other people.

When I show students of footwear,

they get excited because they know
the object.

And then to see the process is
so special.

Showing a drawing or showing where
an idea has come from

actually helps people connect to the
object.

If other people could be inspired
by it,

that's really exciting

and that does help you feel
validated as a creative.

These drawings will add depth to the
stories the Institute can tell.

The Met's reputation as a centre
of academic excellence

is enhanced by donations like these.

In East Harlem, Naqiya Hussain
is about to become a Met donor.

She's investing $20 in two tickets

to the most romantic
destination in town.

This is a date dress, I would say.

I think it's maybe not right.

I'm going to go try
something else on.

Met dates are all the rage.

Like so many Manhattan youths,

Naqiya and her beau Cyril have for
months been locked down,

going out but staying in.

The challenge has been finding...

things to do and ways to be
romantic.

The bigger question isn't the dress,

the bigger question is
the accessories.

Except I can't really
think about shoes.

Not if you have a
date at the museum.

Because...

you have to wear...

something that won't
destroy your back.

Have you heard of the museum
shuffle?

What's the museum shuffle?

It's when you, just,
your feet start hurting,

so you start just doing this.

The Met, for me, is my place.

I'm very familiar with the space.

I really love being there,

so to be able to share that with
someone is exciting.

Even if you're not interested
in art,

it's not even about beauty,
it's about having conversations

about how ridiculous
something looks,

or how something makes you laugh
or reminds you of something.

Make-up time. I mean, the little
make-up I will do.

I would never take someone
to the Met on a first date.

It's too important a space for me.

It's like you have to earn...

You have to earn that,

for me to be able to feel like,

"OK, this is a person who I think
we will have a good time."

I don't want to be in that space
and not enjoy myself.

It's like meeting your family,
you have to earn that.

For me, you have to earn the Met.

We've been to the museum
once before,

this will be the first where it's
just the two of us.

My hand is cold? It's cold outside.
I can warm it up.

Took you forever to get here.

I'm excited to share it with him.

This is from where my mum grew up.

And talk more and get him to open
up about parts of his life

that maybe didn't occur to him
to talk to me about.

The museum is open, but feels empty.

Naqiya and Cyril enjoy
the tranquillity of solitude

in the Asian Department.

Oh, this one's really cool, too,
look.

Oh, this would have been painted.

I do not look like that.

What do you mean?

SHE CHUCKLES

OK.

I think if you're the kind of person
who enjoys being in museums,

then it's nice to have a partner who
also potentially can find joy in it.

But if your partner
absolutely hates it,

then I would imagine it would make
a really boring date, right?

Around this corner should be
my favourite object.

Look at it!

The striding figure with
ibex horns and upturned boots,

and no pants.

It feels like someone with
a sense of humour made him.

That didn't occur to me but sure.

Also, like,
why boots but no pants?

I love him.

So, like, this is all carved
plaster.

The Moroccan Court is one of my
favourite places in the museum.

It's intimate and it's a moment to
just breathe and relax.

To do that and feel safe,

given everything that's been
happening with Covid,

it feels exceptionally lucky to be
able to have access

to things like that.

A successful date?

Yeah, I think so.

Well, none of the security guards
scolded us so I think that's a win.

Yeah.

OK.

Is he a keeper?

This one? Yeah.

For now, yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

Locals like Naqiya don't have to
pay to enter the Met,

but while New Yorkers
are the only visitors,

donations like hers are vital.

The Met relies on community spirit.

Since the 1870s, it's drawn wealthy
art lovers to the neighbourhood.

Good girl.

Every evening, Dan Weiss
walks his dog Ali

along the west side of Fifth Avenue,

knowing he's just feet from millions
of dollars worth of treasure.

Well, one of my predecessors said
that one of the missions

of this museum is to get all of the
art on that side of the street

onto this side of the street.

And for 150 years this is what
we've been doing.

Our building is filled with art that
used to be across the street.

What a good girl!

We live right across the street.

Some of the exhibitions do have
lines that go

right in front of our sidewalk here.

And we're fortunate
to have the Met as our neighbour.

We look out and we see
the Temple of Dendur

and the northern part of the museum.

Mr and Mrs Abbey made their fortune
practising law -

and spent it on art.

We've been married 63 years.

That's all.

We first started collecting posters.

Then we went to prints.

Then we graduated to paintings.

Oils, paintings.
Oils and period furniture.

Some ancient textiles.

Glass, contemporary paintings.

Along with their conventional
artworks,

the couple have a more
specialised interest.

We have a wonderful bamboo
collection.

We walked into a gallery -

Diane said, "I've never seen
anything quite like these.

"These are just wonderful."

A spark went off and we decided
that we would try to put together
a collection.

Eventually, they amassed
over 200 pieces,

guided by their neighbours
across the street.

So this artist dips it into hot
water

to make it soft.

And then he bends it...

Monika Bincsik and others have
become part of our family,

in a sense, as we have become part
of the Met family.

In 2017, Monika and the Abbeys
staged a Met exhibition

that showed bamboo as no
niche interest.

We had over 430,000 people...
visitors.

We were speechless, really.

We didn't have really any
idea about the quality,

we knew it was terrific,
but we...we were not...

It was just for us.

We did it because we loved it.

We feel that it's only
fair for the world to see them.

It's like what you do
with your children.

Well, you have them
only for a certain period of time.

And then you're...
And out they go.

On October 29th, About Time opens.

The annual Costume Institute
exhibition is still a big draw.

New York has always been
America's fashion capital.

The faithful turn out in droves
for Andrew Bolton's costume drama.

The Met Gala was cancelled so the,
like, the exhibition is very,
very anticipated.

I mean, it's the best for costuming,
it's the best for fashion.

Keith Prewitt, Head of Security,
makes his own fashion statement.

I've always attributed the way that
that I dress

to my time
in the Secret Service.

When you're with the President and
Vice President of the United States

you have to be dressed accordingly,
so...

So you were one of the men in black?

Yes, I was. Or navy blue or
Cambridge grey.

This is the fall edition.

Change is the engine of the modern
fashion industry.

Andrew Bolton's exhibition invites
contemplation of things eternal.

It's been really cool to see
people really getting deep into

observing the comparisons.

And then they come through this way,

and they sort of are amazed
by the mirrored room.

To see the reflection
of the pieces on the ceiling

and experiencing each piece in three
dimensions was really extraordinary.

Somehow the Met manages to
show clothing

and show fashion in a new
way each time.

Just the space is so beautiful

and just really like a treat
for your eyes, you know?

I feel like it's a nice...little
bit of escapism right now.

Every year is always
inspiring, innovative.

Like, mind blown every single time.

We're so excited to see this exhibit

and unfortunately we did not get in.
The guard did not let us in.

We tried so hard. It was sold out.
We want to see all the art and
fashion.

And we love clothing and fashion.

And it's like the only thing to
do in New York City right now, so...

Yeah, there's not really much going
on. Everything is... There is
nothing else going on.

Everything's banned,
we can't go out after ten o'clock.

At the end of October, the streets
around the museum turn ghoulish.

It's Halloween.

The Met pumpkin,

like the Great Hall floral display
that changes every week,

is provided for in perpetuity by a
single bequest.

The financial structures,
tax write-offs

and corporate sponsorships that keep
the whole art sector afloat

might be about to change.

The Met was founded on philanthropy.

Citizens from every income group
have given what they can,

in cash and in kind.

The upcoming election might bring
a new administration

or return the old one.

At present,
all it delivers is anxiety.

No-one really knows what's going to
happen

in one of the greatest
elections in American history.

And the consequences of one outcome
or the other are seismic.

And I would maintain that we're not
partisan, but we are political.

Political in the sense that what
politics ultimately is about

is who gets what.

The Met has money worries,

but is wealthy compared to
smaller institutions.

Some industries have received
a Covid bailout,

but there's been
little for the arts.

On November 3rd,
America goes to the polls.

Communications chief,
Ken Weine, and his wife, Barbara,

join the rest of America
by the television.

There was a line about six people
deep at the liquor store tonight.

I do think that it's
an obsession for people this year.

I am hopeful that it will be
decided by 11 o'clock tonight.

Jeremy, our son,
thinks Friday at the earliest.

Barbara will not engage.

The stakes are really
high for New York City.

The economic impact on the pandemic
is everywhere.

What that means for the cultural
institutions across the city

is devastating.

When you read the paper and the
Germans threw billions of euros
at the arts world,

and that's not going to happen in
the United States, regardless of
who wins tonight.

It really exposes the American model
of funding of cultural institutions.

We fund our museums,
our hospitals, our universities

through private philanthropy.

And, OK, what's going to happen now?

This isn't said out of worry of what
will happen to the Met,

the Met will continue to be a
strong, important institution.

But what that means for the dance
company in Staten Island

or the small museum in The Bronx,
that writ large across the country,

it's really challenging.

It's not hyperbole when you see the
historians

and the commentators on TV saying
this is the most important election
in our lifetimes,

if not the, you know,
modern history of America.

I just this afternoon was going back
and forth,

should I send a note to our
department saying...

"I won't cross any partisan
lines here.

"Sending strength to each of you,
and to our city and nation,

"as we get ready for whatever this
next chapter will bring."

But, look, we're New Yorkers, we've
both lived here for 30 years-ish.
Yeah. Right?

We are very much of a bubble here
where people pretty much

are all on the same team.

We've been through intense
elections, but...

nothing compares to what our city

and country is going
through right now.

7.15, we have so long to go!

Three days later, Ken Weine has no
fingernails left to chew on.

Having all waited months and months
for the election,

sure enough here we are and the
counts are still going on.

The news is kind of coming at us
in many different ways.

The virus is raging again.

We had this news alert that Pfizer,
a vaccine - that's great.

But you got to think, for this
museum to be working to the capacity

it needs to,
how long is that going to take?

You know, the Met is a place where
we plan things,

you know, we have 40 exhibitions.

An exhibition takes three to five
years for its gestation process.

But we don't know what's
going to happen...

days ahead of us right now.

What makes this environment
so challenging,

it's not necessarily
"did my candidate win or lose?"

it's that uncertainty, I think,
is wearing on people.

And we have just unending
uncertainty right now.

The Met holds art from five
millennia.

Objects that have seen pestilence
and upheaval.

Taking the long view comes
naturally to Dan Weiss.

The Egyptians left so many records.

There is so much papyrus
material that survives.

I'm trained as a medievalist
and a classicist

and I tend to gravitate
towards that material.

There's something really
powerful about the history

of the Egyptian civilisation,
that it endured for three millennia.

Three millennia!

The American experiment is now at
250 years.

I think at this
moment in our history in 2020,

the American question is open.

With all of the advances that we
have made in technology

and science, what
we have done with that knowledge

and that insight is, I think,
disappointing.

That as we stand in this museum
surrounded by the history

of great civilisations that have
come and gone,

ours is more advantaged, more
progressive,

more informed than any other in
history.

But thus far, it's an open
question

as to how long we'll endure and
what we'll do with our knowledge

and, at the moment,
it's hard to say.

REPORTER: CBS News and we are coming
on the air with breaking news...

On November 7th comes resolution.

CBS News projects that
Joe Biden has been elected

the 46th President
of the United States.

HORNS BEEPING,
CHEERING

In New York,
they're dancing in the streets.

But in many states,
citizens feel cheated and aggrieved.

At the Met, Director Max Hollein

is with Jackson Pollock's
Autumn Rhythm.

I just find it
absolutely breathtaking.

And I still remember
when I was a young kid

and came first to the Met
from Vienna, Austria,

it was an even bigger canvas back
then when I was a small child.

The collection is, of course,
what excites us,

and what excites every curator to be
part of this institution.

In the
Musical Instruments Department,

Jayson Dobney shares that
excitement,

and a Met Stradivarius, with
musician Mariella Haubs.

PLAYS STRADIVARIUS

Already in the last year or two
we've focused on

recontextualizing our collection

and we'll be even more prioritised
now coming out of this crisis.

The Met is now 150 years
and eight months old.

For Dan Weiss, it's been
a year to remember.

My job as a leader, to be surrounded
by people of such great talent,

dedication, who love this
place as they do, is inspiring.

The President and the Director are
about to change the museum for good.

The movement for Black Lives Matter

and all the questions of social
justice, and against discrimination

and against racism, has a lot to do,
for sure, with how this institution

is being staffed, and how we act
as an institution in the community.

But it also has to do about not
only what we show,

but also how we show it
and what kind of context we provide.

I think it is a remarkable
moment for us,

this moment of Covid
and Black Lives Matter,

and political distress all in this
country at the same time.

Whatever comes next,
only time will tell.

But I think we all recognise this
is a turning point.