Two members of the Metropolitan Museum of Art have sued the museum for fraud, saying that the museum misleads visitors into thinking that admission fees are mandatory, not suggested.

The price of $25 for adults, and less for seniors and students are not clearly stated as suggested fees, contend Theodore Grunewald and Patricia Nicholson, longtime members of the museum, in their suit.

The pair said they took a survey that resulted in 85% of nonmembers saying that they thought admission to the museum was mandatory.

“Instead of providing free and open access to art for the masses, without regard to socioeconomic status (as originally designed), the MMA has transformed the museum building and museum exhibition halls into an expensive, fee-for-viewing, elite tourist attraction, where only those of financial means can afford to enter a publicly subsidized, city-owned institution,” the suit says.

Six million people visited the museum last year.