Description: This installation features fourteen bold and colorful paintings created by contemporary Aboriginal Australian artists. Drawn from a private collection in the U. S., the installation provides an introduction to Aboriginal painting, which has become Australia's most celebrated contemporary art movement and has attained prominence within the international art world. The works on view -- all of which have never before been on public display -- were created primarily over the past decade by artists from the central desert, where the contemporary painting movement began, and from adjoining regions, to which the movement spread. On view are paintings by prominent artists, including some of the founders of the contemporary movement, as well as emerging figures. This is the first presentation of contemporary Australian Aboriginal painting to be held at the Metropolitan Museum.

Venue Description: Accommodates some of the greatest cultural treasures in the world, representing every category of art from just about every country from every time period from the Stone Age to the present. It houses the finest American art in the world, as well as an impressive collection of European, Greco-Roman, and Ancient Egyptian art. The Egyptian Art gallery includes a whole temple that was shipped to America as a gift. Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is (at least) a full-day affair, and an essential part of any trip to New York. The Cloisters

A branch of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters are devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. The building itself is built with actual chapels, cloisters and other pieces of Gothic and Romanesque architecture. Inside, one can see sculpture, tapestries, magnificent stained-glass windows, and more. The most-renowned treasures include the Book of Hours by Jeanne d'Evreux, the Bury St. Edmonds cross, the Chalice of Antioch, and the Unicorn Tapestries. The Cloisters are situated on the beautiful rolling grounds of Fort Tryon Park, which has magnificent views of the Palisades.

Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays?Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Met Holiday Mondays in the Main Building: May 26, and September 1, 2008, sponsored by Bloomberg 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. All other Mondays closed; Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec. 25 closed Recommended Admission (Includes Main Building and The Cloisters on the Same Day)

Adults $20.00, seniors (65 and over) $15.00, students $10.00 Members and children under 12 accompanied by adult free Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827. For More Information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org No extra charge for any exhibition.

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