Costume Institute's Record-Breaking Heavenly Bodies @ Metropolitan New York Closes October 8

(New York, September 27, 2018)—The Costume Institute's spring 2018 exhibition, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, will close on Monday, October 8, after a record-breaking run at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Since it opened on May 10, it has drawn more than 1.3 million visitors to The Met Fifth Avenue and nearly 200,000 to The Met Cloisters. It is The Costume Institute's most attended show ever.   Heavenly Bodies is the largest exhibition that either The Costume Institute or The Met has ever mounted, covering 60,000 square feet in 25 galleries. Organized by Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, in collaboration with The Met's Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, the exhibition spans The Met Fifth Avenue's medieval galleries, Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries for Byzantine Art, part of The Robert Lehman Wing (this section closed September 9), and the Anna Wintour Costume Center, as well as The Met Cloisters in northern Manhattan.    Heavenly Bodies is the second record-breaking exhibition at The Met this calendar year. Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer brought in more than 700,000 visitors during its run from November 13, 2017, through February 12, 2018, making it the 10th most attended show in the Museum's history.    The Met is grateful to Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman, and Versace for lead sponsorship of the exhibition, and to Condé Nast for additional support.   Extended Hours During its final weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7, the exhibition will open for early viewing with fewer crowds at The Met Fifth Avenue. Visitors who purchase EmptyMet: Heavenly Bodies tickets online can see the show beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $100, and $40 for Members. Docents will be in the exhibition's galleries to guide visitors, and The Met Store and The American Wing Café will be open. Tickets include a complimentary exhibition catalogue and Met tote bag.   Exhibition Overview The thematic exhibition presents a dialogue between fashion and masterworks of medieval art in The Met collection to examine fashion's ongoing engagement with the traditions of Catholicism. A group of papal robes and accessories from the Vatican serves as the cornerstone of the exhibition, highlighting the enduring influence of liturgical vestments on designers. The 42 ecclesiastical masterworks come from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, and many of them have never been seen outside the Vatican.

# # # September 27, 2018 Image: The Met Cloisters Gallery View, Cuxa Cloister, © The Metropolitan Museum of Art