Museum Collections

The Museum is home to over 227,000 objects, spanning the creative achievements of the Western world since the first century AD and those of Asia since the third millennium BC. The European holdings date from the Medieval era to the present, and the collection of arms and armor is the second largest in the United States. The American collections are among the finest in the country, as are the expanding collections of modern and contemporary art. In addition, the Museum houses encyclopedic holdings of costume and textiles as well as prints, drawings, and photographs that are displayed in rotation for reasons of preservation.

Search the Collections

Objects in the collection are searchable by either keyword or, if known, Accession Number.

New Acquisitions

The Museum's collections continue to grow with new purchases and gifts from generous donors.

Curatorial Departments

The Museum's collections are overseen by eight curatorial departments organized by medium, geographic origin, and/or chronology.

Audio Tours

Take a self-guided tour of objects in the collections, anytime you want. Subscribe to the Museum's free Audio Podcasts.

ART 24/7

The goal of ART 24/7 is to make the entire collection accessible to everyone, everywhere, at any time, by publishing detailed records and high-quality photographs of each object online.