Inside The Met: The Birthday Surprise Preview

As the glamorous, highly-anticipated Costume Institute show “About Time” comes together, museum staff wonders who will pay for new acquisitions, the crucial but very costly research and conservation work, and infrastructure projects vital to the survival of an antique building.

Questions are raised about some of The Met’s most treasured objects, many obtained unethically and reflecting the tastes of the wealthy 19th-century industrialists and entrepreneurs who founded the museum.

The first episode of Inside The Met goes behind closed doors to reveal how the museum functions, venturing above and below the public galleries for a close-up look at the work of curators, conservators and executives.