Now Showing at the Met: “Artemis and the Stag,” Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial, formerly of the Albright-Knox Gallery
[UPDATE: The Met’s press office has now confirmed that “Artemis and the Stag” is indeed ensconced in its galleries.]
I’m going out on a bit of a limb for this one, but a tipster has informed me that the Metropolitan Museum has quietly put on view, near the entrance of its new Leon and Shelby White Court, one of the most celebrated antiquities sold by the Albright-Knox Museum last year at Sotheby’s—the $28.6-million “Artemis and the Stag” (above). My source, who five months ago reliably told me that Damien Hirst‘s shark would be placed on view at the Met (before this had been reported elsewhere), says that he saw the bronze in the galleries on Friday, and that Artemis’ label describes it as from a “private collection.”
The Met had previously purchased from the Albright-Knox auction a $3.18-million Elamite copper figure of a horned hero.
While you’re saying hello to Artemis, please also say goodbye to Euphronios (below):
The museum’s celebrated calyx-krater, ca. 515 B.C., has a one-way ticket to Rome later this month, as part of the Met’s agreement to return a group of objects claimed by Italy. It will join the other restituted objects in the “Nostoi” exhibition at Rome’s presidential palace. The Met is supposed to get long-term loans “of works of art of equivalent beauty and importance to the objects being returned.”
But when I tried to find out when the Euphronios will go off view and what will come from Italy in its place, Elyse Topalian of the Met’s press office informed me:
We still don’t have an official set date for the last day that the Euphronios will be on view and can’t confirm the reciprocal loans yet either, but will pass on the information when details are set.
I’ll update if and when I get official word from the Met on these comings and goings. Galleries are closed Mondays, so I can’t hunt down the stag myself.