The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that 6.2 million people—from New York City, the tri-state area, across the United States, and 187 foreign countries—visited the Museum during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. For the third year in a row, attendance at the Museum has exceeded six million—the highest levels of visitorship since the Museum began tracking admission statistics more than 40 years ago. The number includes attendance at both the main building on Fifth Avenue and The Cloisters museum and gardens in upper Manhattan, the branch of the Metropolitan devoted to the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. The Cloisters experienced a remarkable 50% increase in attendance in the past fiscal year, attracting nearly 350,000 visitors.
 
“We are proud to announce that, for the third year in a row, we have welcomed more than six million visitors to the Museum,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Metropolitan. “This clearly demonstrates the public’s ongoing excitement for the Museum’s collections, exhibitions, and programs. This September, we will open the new David H. Koch Plaza in front of our main building along Fifth Avenue. Once the construction is completed, this new plaza will become the newest of New York City’s major public spaces, providing a warm and welcoming entry to the Met for our visitors from around the world.”

He continued, “We are also tremendously pleased that The Cloisters celebrated unprecedented attendance over the past fiscal year, which coincided with its 75th anniversary year. An additional 110,000 visitors visited The Cloisters’ exhibitions, collection displays, and gardens, compared to the year before.”
 
This was the first year that the Museum was open to the public seven days a week. In addition, the opening time was moved to 10:00 a.m., while school groups were offered early admission beginning at 9:30. (The Museum previously was closed on Mondays.)

Visitors in Fiscal Year 2014 were drawn in large numbers to the New European Paintings Galleries, 1250–1800 (opened May 23, 2013) and the recently renovated and newly named Anna Wintour Costume Center (opened May 8, 2014). As of June 30, 2014, those gallery areas had welcomed 729,839 and 143,843 visitors respectively.

Exhibition attendance was also particularly strong through June 30 for Jewels by JAR (257,243); Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom (194,105); Balthus: Cats and Girls—Paintings and Provocations (191,866); Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective (189,209); Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500–1800 (180,322); Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China (151,154); and, at The Cloisters, Janet Cardiff: The Forty Part Motet (127,224).

The final weeks of last summer’s popular exhibitions PUNK: Chaos to Couture (which closed August 14 and drew 442,350 visitors), Photography and the American Civil War (which closed August 25 and attracted 323,853 people), and The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi (which closed November 3 and was attended by 395,239 visitors) also contributed to the high attendance in FY 2014.

The 6.2 million overall attendance figure for the Met includes nearly 206,000 school visitors. Membership totaled 151,269.
 
Additionally, the Metropolitan Museum’s website (www.metmuseum.org) recorded more than 26 million unique users in Fiscal Year 2014. The Museum’s Facebook account has more than 1.17 million followers (with a reach of 92 million people).  Its Twitter feed reaches more than 760,000. And its Instagram account, which recently won a Webby Award, now has 180,000 followers. The Museum launched its presence on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media networks, in December 2013; the Met’s posts have already had nearly 3 million views.

The David H. Koch Plaza will open on September 9, 2014. This new public space in front of the Metropolitan will incorporate improved access, contemporary fountains, new landscaping and lighting, and seating. Groundbreaking on the new plaza took place in January 2013.