Anyone who is familiar with the non-public side of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will recognize the parts of the building which Christine Coulson describes in the interconnected, somewhat fantastic short stories that comprise her book, “Metropolitan Stories” (Other Press, 2019).They will see in their mind’s eye the paintings conservation studio used as the backdrop for a photo shoot of an important donor and his gift in one story and will know the details of the long study and treatment of Tullio Lombardo’s “Adam” after it fell from its pedestal which, in another story, is precipitated by a decision on the part of the sculpture to step off of its pedestal. While most readers who don’t yet know this side of the MET will be thrilled at the glimpse behind the scenes, for those who do,reading these stories will make us feel like true insiders.
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