Car Rental New York and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Many may not consider a museum to be a highlight of a car rental New York vacation, but those people have not considered visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art! The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most significant art museums in the world! Located at the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan, this Museum contains over 2 million works of art from around the world, including treasures of classical antiquity, like those represented in the Greek and Cypriot galleries, to paintings and sculptures from nearly all the European masters, to an extensive collection of American art. The collection also contains extensive holdings of Egyptian, African, Asian, Oceanic, Middle Eastern, Byzantine and Islamic art.

How it Began

The idea of the Museum was first sparked in 1866 by John Jay, a prominent New York laywer, who gave a speech declaring there was a need to create a "national institution and gallery of art". Within the next four years a group of American citizens began collecting works of art and by 1870 The Museum was officially founded.

Exhibitions

Depending on when you are planning a car rental New York visit to the The Metropolitan Museum, you may have the opportunity to see one of the Museums spectacular exhibitions. The Museum presents more than 30 exhibitions each year, representing a wide range of artists, eras, and cultures. Some of the best-known of these have been Treasures of Tutankhamun, The Vatican Collections, Van Gogh in Arles and Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers, Degas, Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries, Seurat, Origins of Impressionism, Splendors of Imperial China, The Glory of Byzantium, and The Private Collection of Edgar Degas. Call in advance to see what exhibitions are on display when you visit.

Permanent Collection

No matter when you book your car rental New York vacation, you can be assured to see the great permanent collection the Museum has to offer. Some of these include:

Egyptian Art - Statuary, reliefs, stelae, funerary objects, jewelry, daily implements, and architecture from prehistoric Egypt through the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms to the Roman period (4th century C.E.).

American Paintings & Sculpture - Portraits, landscapes, history paintings, still lifes, folk art, and sculpture from colonial times through the early 20th century.

Ancient Near Eastern Art - Stone reliefs and sculpture, ivory, and objects of precious metal from a vast area and time span: Anatolia to the Indus Valley, Neolithic period (ca. 8000 B.C.E.) to the Arab conquest (7th century C.E.).

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas - Ritual objects and monuments, articles of personal adornment, and utensils for daily life from three continents and dozens of Pacific islands, 2000 B.C.E. to the present.

Asian Art - Paintings, calligraphy, prints, sculpture, ceramics, bronzes, jades, lacquer, textiles, and screens from ancient to modern China, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia.

Greek & Roman Art - Arts of Greece, Rome, Etruria, Cyprus, and Greek and Roman settlements until the 4th century C.E., including marble, bronze, and terracotta sculpture, vases, wall paintings, jewelry, gems, glass, and utilitarian objects.

Islamic Art - Manuscripts and miniatures, carpets, intricately decorated objects in many media, and architectural elements from the founding of Islam in the 7th century C.E.

How to get to The Museum

Below are some simple directions to get to the Museum in your car rental New York:

  • From The Cloisters, Bronx, Northern New Jersey, and New England: Take southbound Henry Hudson Parkway to 96th Street exit; cross Central Park and turn right on Fifth Avenue; enter Museum parking garage at 80th Street.
  • From Brooklyn and Staten Island: Take Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, or Battery Tunnel to northbound/uptown FDR Drive; exit at 96th Street; turn left on York Avenue; turn right on 86th Street; turn left on Fifth Avenue and enter Museum parking garage at 80th Street.
  • From Bronx, Queens, Long Island, Upstate New York, and New England via Triborough Bridge: Take your car rental New York southbound/downtown FDR Drive to 96th Street exit; turn left on York Avenue; turn right on 86th Street; turn left on Fifth Avenue and enter Museum parking garage at 80th Street
  • From Queens and Long Island via Queensborough Bridge: Use either level; take right-lane exit onto 60th Street (westbound); at Madison Avenue, turn right and drive north/uptown; turn left on 81st Street then left on Fifth Avenue; enter Museum parking garage at 80th Street, park your car rental New York, and take in a piece of world history.

Check out the Brooklyn car rental All Car Rent a Car location at 333 Adams St., Brooklyn, NY 11201