--- title: LIFE at the Met Museum: Photos From a House of Treasures description: Egyptian cats and ornate mummy cases; the Hall of Armor and Rodin sculptures; Greek battle tableaux and so much more . . . from 1939. canonical: https://time.com/3879538/the-met-museum-alfred-eisenstaedt-photos-of-the-collection-in-1939/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-10T10:55:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:44.747Z og:title: LIFE at the Met Museum: Photos From a House of Treasures og:description: Egyptian cats and ornate mummy cases; the Hall of Armor and Rodin sculptures; Greek battle tableaux and so much more . . . from 1939. og:url: https://time.com/3879538/the-met-museum-alfred-eisenstaedt-photos-of-the-collection-in-1939/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf10826b56904cd0d/698845fd0b72e393d46e2d69/2711.jpg?branch=production&width=799&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 799 og:image:height: 449 og:image:alt: A Student Studies Sculpture og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: LIFE at the Met Museum: Photos From a House of Treasures twitter:description: Egyptian cats and ornate mummy cases; the Hall of Armor and Rodin sculptures; Greek battle tableaux and so much more . . . from 1939. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf10826b56904cd0d/698845fd0b72e393d46e2d69/2711.jpg?branch=production&width=799&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE at the Met Museum: Photos From a House of Treasures > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 10, 2014 10:55 AM UTC  A seated female student studies statues in a sculpture gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. A seated female student studies statues in a sculpture gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 10, 2014 10:55 AM UTC In March 1939, LIFE magazine celebrated The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with an eight-page article featuring photographs by the great Alfred Eisenstaedt. Most of the pictures that Eisenstaedt took at the museum in January of that year, however, never made it into the magazine. Now, in a gallery that includes published and unpublished photos from the shoot, LIFE.com presents a selection of evocative (and sometimes playful) images that offer a virtual tour, of sorts, through one of the world’s great museums, taken at a time in the Met’s history when one could, on a good day, walk through the collections and not be confronted with the jostling crowds that today seem to fill the massive building to bursting every day of the week. Here, in beautifully stark black and white, are the Egyptian cats and the ornate mummy cases; the Hall of Armor and the Rodin sculptures; the Greek battle tableaux and the quiet, elegant architectural exhibitions — in short, the myriad elements and scenes that have always made a trip to the Met (as LIFE put it in 1939) “as much fun as rummaging through a king’s attic.”  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, seen from across Fifth Avenue, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A sculpture of a big cat (perhaps a jaguar) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, photographed in January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The Struggle of Two Natures in Man, a sculpture by George Grey Barnard, stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  An encaustic portrait of a young man is seen on a mummy's casket, in the Egyptian collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Two Egyptian cat figures on display in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A little boy stares up at a medieval suit of armor in a glass case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A steel helmet (allegedly) dating to the time of Joan of Arc in the 1400s is shown in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  An ornate helmet adorned with semi-nude figures in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Proven a fake in 1961, this warrior statue was thought to be Etruscan when it was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  This head of a warrior statue was alleged to be Etruscan when it was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 1939\. It was proven a fake in 1961. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Skylights brighten an interior sculpture court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A sculpture of an Egyptian sphinx, half man, half animal, crouches in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Modeled in 1880 by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, this bronze cast sculpture of Adam was photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in January 1939\. Bronze Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Standing behind an easel, two art students copy work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Ramps and colonnades are featured in an unidentified model included in the Egyptian Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  An Egyptian sculpture of a figure kneels while holding objects in both hands in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Two Egyptian mummy cases featuring crossed arms and ornate decoration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A lone woman stands at the threshold to an Egyptian tomb at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Egyptian sculptures of a sphinx and seated figure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A sculpture of riders atop charging horses is displayed in a corridor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A Greek statue of a man stands among other sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A Greek statue of a male youth appears to stride through a hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Figures fight and fall in battle as part of a Greek sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  An unidentified sculpture of a nude archer takes aim at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A visitor takes in Roman sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A seated female student studies statues in a sculpture gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A helmet in the Hall of Armor features stylized facial features and mustache at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A fully armored figure sits atop a partially armored horse figure in the Hall of Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Intricate battle scenes decorate armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Glass cases display full suits of armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The Hall of Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A group of Asian statues at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A statue from Asia is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A statue of a Hindu deity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A fragment of a hand from an Asian statue is displayed on a pedestal at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  A staircase on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Costumes featuring volumes of cloth, bustles and corseted waists on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Wrapping eerily hides works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, January 1939. 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