The Met To Begin Replacing Skylights In 2018

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Metropolitan Museum of Art will begin a project to replace skylights in its European paintings galleries in 2018, museum officials announced this week. The project has been two years in the making and will likely take four years to complete, officials said.

The museum will begin deconstructing about 60 percent of its Old Masters galleries containing European paintings in April to prepare for the first phase of the skylight replacement project, museum chairman of the European paintings department Keith Christiansen said. Construction on replacing those skylights is set to begin in June, Christiansen said.

Although the project will be "incredibly disruptive" when the skylights are replaced the visitor experience at The Met will be transformed for the better, Christiansen said.

The remaining 40 percent of the European paintings galleries will remain open during the first phase of construction. The reconstructed galleries will reopen during the second phase of the project, museum officials said.

The museum's current skylights have been in use since 1939 and the louver system that controls the skylights dates back to the 50s, Christiansen said. The Met has been conducting research and prep work to replace the skylight for the past two years, and even set up a skylight testing site in New Jersey to find the perfect replacement lights and systems, Christiansen said.

In total, 30,000 square feet of glass will be replaced during the construction project, museum officials said.

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