About the event:

Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought he’d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.

At the conclusion of a 45-minute illustrated lecture, we’ll have a Q&A. All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me will be available on February 14th.

“An astounding book about an astounding place. All the Beauty in the World is at once a keenly intelligent examination of the power of art and a profoundly empathetic exploration of the workaday culture that makes art visible to all.” 

-Alex Ross, New Yorker staff writer and author of The Rest is Noise

About Patrick Bringley

Patrick Bringley worked for ten years as a guard in the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Prior to that, he worked in the editorial events office at The New Yorker magazine. He lives with his wife and children in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me will be published by Simon & Schuster on February 14, 2023. Bringley also leads guided tours of the Secrets of the Met Museum for Untapped New York.

Advance praise for All the Beauty in the World

“Simply wonderful. This funny, moving, beautifully written book takes the reader on a journey that unfolds as epiphanies. It is a testament to the capacity of art to illuminate life.” 

– Keith Christiansen, curator emeritus, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

“This book makes me yearn to have Patrick Bringley at my side in every museum I will visit for the rest of my life.  Having a copy of All the Beauty in the World in my purse will be the next best thing.”

– Hope Jahren, author of Lab Girl and The Story of More

“Patrick Bringley offers an intimate perspective on one of the world’s greatest institutions. But All the Beauty in the World is about much more:the strange human impulse to make art, the mystery of experiencing it, and the role art can play in our lives. What a gift.”

– Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind

Attendees will receive a link to join the webinar after completing the registration.