Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art can pay as little as a penny to see the museum’s priceless collection of art. However, a lawsuit is suggesting that most visitors, especially tourists, are paying $25 for entrance to the museum due to a sign which points to a ‘recommended’ $25 adult admission.
‘The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances,’ attorney Arnold Weiss told The Associated Press. ‘But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction.’
The suggestion is that many people don’t understand that $25 is only a recommended price, and that people are free to pay as much as they choose as long as they do pay something.
‘I just asked for one adult general admissions and he just said, “25,”’ a high school maths teacher said. ‘It should be made clear that it is a donation you are required to make. Especially for foreign tourists who don’t understand. Most people don’t know it.’
The lawsuit alleges that the museum’s recommended donation sign is purposefully scheming to get more money from visitors and that this is a violation of an 1893 New York state law which grants visitors free admission for at least five days and two evenings per week. The lawsuit seeks compensation for those who have visited the museum and paid for their entry via credit card.
‘They are violating the statute, plainly and simply,’ lawyer Michael Hiller told the BBC. ‘The museum was designed to make art accessible to the public.’
Museum spokesman Harold Holzer has strongly denied the allegations that the museum is working to defrauding its customers.
‘We are confident that the courts will see through this insupportable nuisance lawsuit,’ he said. ‘The idea that the museum is free to everyone who doesn’t wish to pay has not been in force for nearly 40 years. Yes, you do have to pay something.’
Yet a former museum supervisor is set to testify against the museum, noting that during his time training admission cashier’s he was told to train them to encourage people to pay a full admission fee. The supervisor will also testify that the sign was changed from ‘suggested’ to ‘recommended’ in 2010-2011 because the museum thought this would encourage more people to pay the $25.
The Met is one of the world’s most famous and wealthy museums, annually drawing in six million visitors. Last year, approximately 11% of the museum’s budget came from admissions.
