Pay whatever you are comfortable paying.
The Met is actually being sued over this. Note what the article says about the 1893 law (which is explained in great detail in the book that came out about the Met a few years ago -- basically the only way the city would give them the space was if they agreed to the "suggested donation".)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/vi...300055/NYC-museum-accused-defrauding-visitors
Enjoy your visit.
You can give whatever you want. If they roll their eyes, too bad for them.
I was just about to post this. Because not only is the Met not forthcoming about the suggested donation, they DO roll their eyes at people and
insinuate in such a way, as to suggest anything LESS that the top amount is wrong. It didn't that I was a poor college student when I first went to the Met and not only the cost of admission was a lot, the 75 cents subway fair both ways was a hardship.
Decades later, (as described below,) I ended up working at the Met, doing catered galas & fundraisers there. I know some parts of some of the wings inside and out. So I didn't want to pay full price for going in to only see one of the Tiffany glass windows I had seen a gazillion times, but wanted to study in-depth for an art project. I paid $5 and was given quite a guilt trip until I let cashier know the catering company I worked for and she realized I was there all the time. I wasn't a tourist, and it wasn't my first time at the Met, planning to see every wing.
I can only imagine the guilt trip they give to others.
Last I checked, the Met does not have free days, the way MOMA has free Friday evenings. It really isn't right that people who, for a variety of reasons don't pay full price are guilt tripped or not truly told the OPTION to pay less.
Other times, when there is an exhibit I really want to see, of course I pay full price. There are usually special expenses involved with the temporary, traveling exhibits. And the Met usually doesn't discount or have donation fares for them.
Which happened once when I was at the MOMA in Queens. I forget the artist exhibit I wanted to see. I had procrastinated and it was the very last day, and I knew it was going to be a zoo full of other procrastinators.
When I got there, rather early, the line was wrapped around one corner of the building. When I got to the front of the line, the line was so long, it had wrapped fully around all four corners, then across & down the street.
I gave the cashier $20 for the $15 admission. She stared at bill, stunned for a moment like she had never seen a $20 bill before. Then she asked how much I want back. Huh??? I said I want $5 back.
She said, "You are going to pay $15?"
"Yes, the newspaper said the exhibit is $15."
She had to walk away and find $5 to give me.
After I stepped out of line, I turned to one of the friends I was with told her the strange interaction.
She asked, "How much did you pay?"
What the heck is with everybody??? "$15. The price of the exhibit! What did you pay?"
"A penny. It's 'Pay As You Wish' day. Everyone is just paying a penny."
Sure, enough, I peeked back over at the cashier, and everyone was giving a penny. No wonder the cashier was so stunned and didn't even have bills to hand back to me. No wonder the line was across the street.
I felt cheated for a moment as I didn't know could pay any amount. Then I remembered I would have paid the full $15 any other day I got in, and I knew the money was going for all the expenses of the special exhibit.
However, if the museum really could not afford to let people into that exhibit for a penny, they could have ended the exhibit a day earlier or re-scheduled the 'Pay As You Wish' day.
The museum is non-profit. I wouldn't feel comfortable paying anything less than the suggested donation.
They may be non-profit here in America and not government subsidized the way they are in Europe, but the ones in NYC are hardly lacking in dollars of funding. (Don't know about other cities.) My cousin books for one of the top, posh catering companies in NYC. I used to be roped into working the larger, multi-thousands to multi-million dollar, high-end events. Think, the MET Costume Ball they have every year. Most of these events are fundraisers or wedding receptions for the uber-rich who can afford the high price tag to rent out the museum spaces.
Google "Club Met" (with the quotes) and Dendur, and you will find many articles & pictures where the huge room of the Temple of Dendur is essentially turned into a nightclub for the uber-rich. The American Wing, Arms & Armory and the Japanese garden are often used too. At MOMA, it is the huge
empty room where Monet's Waterlilies are against the wall. That revamped space, when MOMA remodeled, was purposely thought out for their dinner parties. It stuffs about 50 ten tops. At the Natural History Museum, it is usually the Great Rotonda & the room with
all the American elephants in the center., as well as the Whale Room.
Back when the Japanese garden wing was being built at the Met, any billionaire who
donated a set amount of multi-millions of dollars could have a wing named after them, and put in their favorite art collections. (Until they ran out of wings.)
That is why the Japanese garden is called
Astor Court. And the lobby is called Vanderbilt Hall and the American Wing is named after the Whitneys. I think there are Getty & Rockefeller rooms. If not, they certainly do house their personal collections, on
loan to the Met, MOMA, as well as having so much artwork, they each have other American museums named after them.
Several times, each season, these multi-billionaires have several parties & fundraisers at the museums. It always astounds me how many thousands of dollars they spend to hold a fundraiser, to raise even more money.
That $25 admission to the Met is one hour of a caterwaiter's salary. If the Museum fundraisers really were scraping for money and needed every dollar, every museum admission, they can do a very simple affair, cut down the staff and posh frills like fancy flowers & centerpieces, which run into the thousands of dollars, too. But, they don't, they have the money to
spend to put on the posh affairs to raise multi-millions.
If people truly can't afford the $25 admission, don't feel bad for only paying what you can. Just say a silent thanks for one of the billionaires who continue to make it possible to have a suggested
donation.
