Metropolitan Museum of Art

How to Use This API

1. Search for Artworks

https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/search?q=sunflowers&hasImages=true

Search the full collection by keyword. Add hasImages=true to filter only objects with images.

2. Get Object Details by ID

https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/objects/437133

Returns full details for object ID 437133 (Van Gogh's "Sunflowers"). Includes primaryImage, artistDisplayName, medium, dimensions, creditLine, classification, and more.

3. Search by Department

https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/search?departmentId=11&q=painting&hasImages=true

Search within a specific department. Department IDs include: 1 (American Decorative Arts), 6 (Asian Art), 9 (Drawings and Prints), 10 (Egyptian Art), 11 (European Paintings), 19 (Modern Art), 21 (Photographs).

4. List All Departments

https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/departments

Returns all museum departments with IDs and display names for filtering.

5. JavaScript — Art Search

async function searchMet(query, departmentId) {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({
    q: query,
    hasImages: true
  });
  if (departmentId) params.set('departmentId', departmentId);
  
  const resp = await fetch(
    `https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/search?${params}`
  );
  const searchData = await resp.json();
  
  // Fetch details for first 5 results
  const details = await Promise.all(
    searchData.objectIDs?.slice(0, 5).map(async id => {
      const r = await fetch(
        `https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/objects/${id}`
      );
      return r.json();
    }) || []
  );
  
  return details.map(o => ({
    title: o.title,
    artist: o.artistDisplayName,
    date: o.objectDate,
    medium: o.medium,
    image: o.primaryImage
  }));
}

searchMet('water lilies', 11).then(artworks => {
  artworks.forEach(a => {
    console.log(`${a.title} — ${a.artist} (${a.date})`);
  });
});

6. Python — Get Artwork with Image

import requests

def get_artwork(object_id):
    resp = requests.get(
        f'https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/objects/{object_id}'
    )
    obj = resp.json()
    
    print(f"Title: {obj['title']}")
    print(f"Artist: {obj.get('artistDisplayName', 'Unknown')}")
    print(f"Date: {obj.get('objectDate', 'N/A')}")
    print(f"Medium: {obj.get('medium', 'N/A')}")
    print(f"Dimensions: {obj.get('dimensions', 'N/A')}")
    print(f"Classification: {obj.get('classification', 'N/A')}")
    if obj.get('primaryImage'):
        print(f"Image: {obj['primaryImage']}")
    return obj

get_artwork(436535)  # Starry Night