With holiday breaks coming up, there’s no better time to visit a museum, many decked out for the winter season. According to a figure released in 2024 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are more than 35,000 museums in the United States, each with hundreds of objects, artifacts, and histories to be explored.

While many museums plan rotating exhibits to keep their stories fresh and attract new visitors, permanent collections are no less of a draw, representing well-curated stories and one-of-a-kind pieces and examples that keep patrons coming back to visit their old favorites. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one such example and always a great destination.

With 1.5 million art pieces and four floors of exhibition space, The Met, the fourth-largest museum in the world, is a maze of history and culture representing 5,000 years of art from around the world.

The Met’s famed permanent collection is among the world’s finest but its must-see artworks are often overshadowed by the 30 new, limited-time specialty exhibitions and installations it puts on each year. It’s almost impossible to see it all during one visit!

Where to start? What not to miss?

I came across this article written by Gabriel Kirellos, a published travel writer and editor, in a recent article in The Collector. Here are her 10 must-see, don’t-miss artworks from The Met’s permanent collection that can help you make the most of your next visit:

1. Sphinx of Hatshepsut, ca. 1479–1458 BCE (Gallery 131). This monumental granite sculpture dates back to the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. That’s around 1479-1458 BCE. The Sphinx of Hatshepsut represents Pharaoh Hatshepsut. The latter is one of the few female rulers who assumed the full powers of a pharaoh. The sphinx is carved with the body of a lion and the head of a human, and it combines traditional symbols of royal authority and divine protection.

2. Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat, Vincent van Gogh, 1887 (Gallery 825). This Vincent van Gogh painting (1887) is an example of Van Gogh’s evolving style. This artwork was painted during the artist’s time in Paris. This self-portrait reveals the exploration of color, light, and brushwork by Vincent Van Gogh.

3. Composition, Piet Mondrian, 1921 (Gallery 911). This painting, dating back to 1913, marked a historic moment in the transition of Piet Mondrian from representational art to abstraction. Composition is rooted in cubism. It’s an early piece that shows Mondrian’s experimentation with simplifying form and reducing his subject matter to geometric shapes.

4. Young Mother Sewing, Mary Cassatt, 1900 (Gallery 768). The artist was one of the late 19th-century most famous painters. Back at the time, it was not common for women to work in this field. Cassatt was renowned for her sensitive depictions of maternal relationships. Mary Cassatt’s style was mostly influenced by Impressionism. This is evident in her use of light, soft brushstrokes, as well as vivid colors.

5. Portrait Of A Woman With A Man At A Casement, Fra Filippo Lippi, 1440 (Gallery 602). The painting is Italy’s earliest surviving double portrait. Art historians believe that the couple in the painting might be Angiola di Bernardo Sapiti and Lorenzo di Ranieri Scolari. Both of these were married around 1439. The artist, Fra Filippo Lippi, was orphaned early and placed in a monastery by his aunt, who helped him become a painter. Over his lifetime, Lippi was captured by pirates and held captive for 18 months. According to legend, he gained his freedom after painting a portrait of his captor.

6. Queen Mother pendant mask (Iyoba), 16th century (Gallery 136). A 16th-century exquisite ivory mask from the Kingdom of Benin honoring Queen Idia, mother of Oba Esigie. It symbolizes the immense respect and political power that Queen Idia held in Benin’s court. The Queen was instrumental in helping her son during his reign, a role that led to the creation of the title “lyoba,” or Queen Mother.

7. Self-Portrait With Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785 (Gallery 632). Self-Portrait shows how skilled Labille-Guiard is with light, texture, and composition. But on top of that, it also highlights her advocacy for the education of women in the arts during the 18th century. It’s worth noting that the artist was one of the very few women admitted to the prestigious French Royal Academy. Her student, Capet, who appears in the painting, remained by Labille-Guiard’s side throughout her life.

8. Bowl with Arabic inscription, 10th century (Gallery 450). This bowl, produced in Nishapur, Iran, is a remarkable example of Samanid-era ceramics. It’s an earthenware bowl decorated with a black-slip inscription over a white background and covered with transparent glaze. The Arabic inscription on this bowl advises the following: “Planning before work protects you from regret; prosperity and peace.” This style of pottery was widely produced in the Samanid Empire.

9. Maya monumental figure, ninth century (Gallery 999). The Maya Monumental Figure is a symbol of the artistic prowess of Maya civilization during the Classic Period (ca. 250–900 AD). This figure likely served a ritual or ceremonial function. It represented a deity in an official capacity. For instance, the rulers of the Maya were often depicted as divine intermediaries. They were thought of as linking the human and supernatural worlds together, and monumental sculptures like the Maya Monumental Figure often symbolized the authority of the rulers.

10. Young Woman With a Water Pitcher, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1662 (Gallery 614). A hallmark of Vermeer’s work, this painting represents domestic tranquility and refinement in 17th-century Dutch society. Young Woman with a Water Pitcher was the first Vermeer painting to enter an American collection. It was purchased in 1887 by Henry Gurdon Marquand.

Read the complete article from The Collector, here: https://www.thecollector.com/artworks-metropolitan-museum-of-art-nyc/