The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is ready for a major makeover. The museum announced Tuesday that philanthropists Jonathan and Lizzie Tisch have donated $10 million to the institute, which will allow the museum to renovate its costume-related galleries. A new 4,200-square-foot wing will be named after the institute's benefactors: the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery.
The money couldn't have come at a better time. In 2009 the Met acquired the Brooklyn Museum's renowned costume holdings -- an extensive collection that was the result of over a century of collected and that included 23,500 objects. The Tisches' gift, in addition to sprucing up the exhibition space, will also go to renovating the museum's study collection and conservation center to help house its newly expanded collection (which now comprises some 35,000 pieces). And with more museums embracing fashion as art, the Costume Institute's exhibitions have gotten grander and grander each year -- now that the Met has an even more extensive collection, expect its main exhibitions to go up in scale and scope.
