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We Were There: Tour of the Metropolitan Museum
November 20, 2021 @ 2:00 pm
$69
Art museums are fascinating places, and full of astonishing beauty. But like everything historical, they also have an intimidating side as well: the stories we’re told about the art are all about “dead white men” (that is, cisgender, straight, white, elite men). But really, it’s not about that at all!
Come on this fun and informative tour, learn the real backstories of the art—the lowdown— and find out that there are people with whom we can all identify in the masterpieces. There are strong women, sexy women, lesbians, gender-queer people of several kinds, people of color, queer people of color, gay relationships—in short, every race, gender, and sexuality in our world has ancestors in the Met’s collection.
Let us take you around and introduce you to:
- an Egyptian pharaoh who was really a woman (though often portrayed as a man)
- a Roman Emperor and his boyfriend
- a boy actor in drag
- the American lesbian who led Paris’ leading artistic salon
- the first black artist displayed in the Met (who was also gay)
- a gender-queer female (?) artist from 19th century France who appears as a man in the middle of the Met’s 2nd largest painting; and more!
Prof. Andrew Lear is a renowned expert on same-sex relations in Greek and Roman antiquity. During his academic career, he taught at Harvard, Pomona College, and NYU. In recent years, he has founded Oscar Wilde Tours, the LGBTQ history and culture tour company and Shady Ladies Tours, a women’s history and culture tour company. He is also working with actor/author Stephen Fry on a podcast about the “Scandals and Secrets of London’s National Portrait Gallery.”
Where does the tour meet?
The tour meets in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum, to the right of the entrance, at the feet of the colossal granite statue of a Pharaoh (Amenhemet II).
When does the tour meet?
Please meet us 15 minutes before the start time. And give yourself time to get through the museum’s security line and (if necessary) to leave your coat in the coatroom before that time. Note that the Met will not allow you to carry backpacks etc in the galleries. Also, there are no restrooms available in the Great Hall, but a restroom break will be made halfway through the tour.