The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced a severe round of job cuts and budget restructuring this past spring to general alarm. With 6.3 Million visitors each year, and the eye popping profits in its retail shops (they RAKE, with profits ranging $25-30 million annually), it would seem like the Met’s finances would be as rosy as any museum.
Alas, even with major donors making multi-million dollar gifts to the Met, all is not rosy. A New York Times opinion column titled “How the Rich Are Hurting the Museums They Fund” makes the case. How could giving money hurt a museum? It’s complicated.