Several sculptures are exhibited throughout a large, open, indoor court

The American Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is situated in Lenapehoking, homeland of the Lenape diaspora, and historically a gathering and trading place for many diverse Native Peoples, who continue to live and work on this island. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, and future—for their ongoing and fundamental relationships to the region.

Ever since its establishment in 1870, the Museum has acquired important examples of American art. A separate "American Wing" to display the domestic arts of the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries opened in 1924; painting and sculpture galleries and a skylit courtyard were added in 1980.

Today, the Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Monumental sculpture, stained glass, and architectural elements are installed in the Charles Engelhard Court; silver, gold, glass, and ceramics on the courtyard balconies. Narratives of American domestic architecture and furnishings, 1680–1915, are explored in twenty historical interiors, or period rooms. Changing rotations of painting, sculpture, works on paper, and textiles appear throughout the Wing.

The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, our open-storage area and installation space, is also a special attraction. Browse and learn more about the collection.

Collection Highlights

See highlights of American art in the department's collection.

Period Rooms A view of a midcentury modern American living room

Period Rooms

Explore our period rooms online and discover 300 years of American domestic life.

Photograph of a golden statue of a women with a bow and arrow a mid a transparent ceiling with light streaming in

American Wing Primer

Art has a unique way of bringing complicated facts to life. What can it tell us about the multiple histories of two continents over several centuries? Visit the American Wing Primer.

Native Perspectives A painting of a landscape with mountains and a waterfall, and Native Americans camped in the foreground

Native Perspectives

Contemporary Native artists and historians respond to 18th- and 19th-century Euro-American works, presenting alternative narratives and broadening our understanding of American art and history.

Special Attractions

The Henry R Luce Center for the Study of American Art Large room with blue couch, blue coffee table, two computers, and furniture in display cases.

The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art

The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, the American Wing's open-storage and installation space, features wide-ranging collections not on view in the main galleries.