Bringing The Met's Masterpieces to Your Own Space
Written by Grace Bercher,, Design by Cassidy Schippel, Media by Kayla Rudy
There is a certain level of prestige and affluence that comes with owning significant artwork, but let’s be honest—not all of us who appreciate art can afford to appreciate art. If we haven’t been lucky enough to go, we at least know of the wonders that lie within the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In recent years, the Met made an initiative to make their pieces open to all people by allowing public access to anyone through their online digital collection library. This changed the game for artist lovers (and soon-to-be artist lovers) everywhere.
We had the idea of taking this idea a step further and bringing iconic art pieces into our own homes and rooms with an easy DIY process. Not to mention the best part: you can do it on a budget.
The first (and most enjoyable) step is exploring the countless pages of artwork from the Met Public Access Library. We must warn you, however, you are unlocking a vault of inspiration that may bring out your inner artist. Here, you can filter by the material used, geographic location, and what era it was created. There are currently 375,000 images to choose from and the Met adds new ones frequently. Grab a snack, settle into a cozy spot, and find your new perfect piece to add to your wall!
Once you’ve finally decided on one or maybe a few of your favorites, download the images to your computer and go to Office Depot’s website. From here, navigate to the printing services option at the top of your screen and select “Blueprint” (this is the most important part). From here, select your downloaded images and move them here to be printed. All that’s left is to pay and pick up—don’t worry, it’s only about five bucks.
If you think your piece may need a structured home or a little something extra to showcase its beauty, consider looking for antique frames to avoid the high cost of brand new ones. HomeGoods, Goodwill, and other resale stores are gold mines for frames and other nifty treasures. Let your creativity run free and visualize the colors and styles that would look best in your space. With or without a frame, your art is display-ready. Pro tip: know a little bit about your image, so that you can feel like your own museum curator when people ask about your new art, because we’re sure they will be dying to know more.
The idea of becoming an art expert overnight is daunting and nowhere near realistic, but the Met is doing its part to make art more available to everyone. For all the people who have dreamed of growing their art collections or simply gaining a deeper appreciation for the arts as a whole, this is a *monumental* opportunity. The desire to explore, be creative, and indulge in curiosities should not come at a high expense. Learning new things should be free and open to all, so we can grow within ourselves and the inspiring world around us.