The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870.
The New York State Legislature granted the museum its Act of Incorporation on April 13, 1870. The founding movement brought together businessmen, philanthropists, artists, and civic leaders who wanted New York to have a major public museum that would educate as well as display art.
The Met did not open its current Fifth Avenue building immediately. It first opened to the public on February 20, 1872, at 681 Fifth Avenue, then moved to other temporary quarters as its collections expanded. The museum relocated to its present Central Park site in 1880, where the building has continued to grow through successive architectural additions.
The year 1870 marks the institution’s legal foundation, while 1872 marks its first public opening. That distinction explains why both dates sometimes appear in accounts of the museum’s early history. Founders included John Taylor Johnston, Henry Gurdon Marquand, Eastman Johnson, and Frederic Edwin Church, among others. The original mission emphasized public access, art education, and the development of knowledge.