Secrets of the Met Museum: The Humble Beginnings

New York City, New York. December 11th, 1969, a date the Met Museum won't soon forget. The night was chillingly cold, with a thick fog rolling through the streets of New York City, obscuring the facade of the famous museum. Inside, the gallery stood silent and majestic, every piece of art exuding the aura of centuries gone by. Unknown to the guards and the visitors who had left for the day, a sinister plot was about to unravel, and one that would shake the very foundation of the institution.

TIMELINE
1870: Founded in 1870 and inaugurated at its present location in 1880, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was a relatively late entrant compared to its European counterparts.
1948: The Met Museum has long displayed a 4,000-year-old Sumerian statue from Iraq, and it has been one of the centerpieces of the museum since 1948.
1969: December 11th, 1969, a date the Met Museum won't soon forget.
2011: In Italy, after a relentless investigation spanning a decade, a trove of 6,300 Greco-Roman artifacts were wrestled from his possession in 2011.
2012: While Hecht, who passed away in 2012 at age 92, was never convicted due to the expiration of the Statue of Limitations, he consistently refuted any role in illegal art transactions.
2023: In 2023, a total of 27 ancient relics, hailing from ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt, and valued at a staggering $13 million, were seized for the way they were acquired by the museum staff.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of New York City is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 122 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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