NEW YORK.- Marie Schwartz, an Advisory Director on the Metropolitan Opera’s Board, has donated $1 million to fund the company’s new contemporary visual arts gallery. The venue will be located in the south side of the lobby of the opera house and will open on Friday, September 22 in anticipation of the start of the 2006-07 season, the first under incoming General Manager Peter Gelb. “The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met,” named for Mrs. Schwartz and her late husband in recognition of the gift, will be free and open to the public. Some of the art world’s most innovative and provocative figures have been invited to contribute works inspired by the heroines of the season’s six new productions to the inaugural exhibit.

“The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met,” continues and reaffirms the Met’s long history of groundbreaking relationships with major visual artists, while fostering new opportunities for collaboration. The exhibition has been curated by Dodie Kazanjian, the Met’s curator at large for contemporary art, and the new exhibition space has been designed by Lindy Roy of Roy Co.

Six artists have already produced works for the exhibition: Cecily Brown (Suor Angelica in Il Trittico), John Currin (Helena in Die Ägyptische Helena), Barnaby Furnas (Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice), Makiko Kudo (Princess Yue-yang in The First Emperor), Richard Prince (Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly), and Sophie von Hellermann (Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia). In addition, other leading artists, including David Salle, Verne Dawson, George Condo, and Wangechi Mutu, have also agreed to take part, and the exhibit will continue to evolve until the opening. The works will be on display through the end of the opera season in May 2007.

About the $1 million gift, Peter Gelb commented, “Marie Schwartz’s generous gift allows us to greatly enhance the prominence of visual art in this house. For decades she and her late husband, Arnold, have supported the Met, and we are extremely grateful for this contribution, which will help us bring to display groundbreaking contemporary art to the public for free.

“From Chagall’s extraordinary murals adorning the front of the theater to David Hockney’s stunning sets on stage, the visual arts have long been an integral part of this opera house,” Mr. Gelb said when plans for the new gallery were first announced in February. “With a Met gallery to display new works of contemporary art inspired by our opera repertory, we are continuing this alliance with the visual arts world. We also hope to invite the next Hockney or Chagall to design scenery for future seasons at the Met.”

“We tried to think about how visual artists could be involved with the Met in non-traditional ways,” said Ms. Kazanjian at the February press conference. “‘Heroines,’ as a theme, seemed like a natural place to start. We tapped some of the most original talents working today – people who would bring highly idiosyncratic and challenging perspectives to the exhibition.”