August 7: People wait on a general admission line to get into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. By the afternoon, museum-goers where looking at around a two hour wait just to get into the museum. Once in the museum, those who wanted to see the "Alexander McQueen:Savage Beauty" exhibit were looking at a additional three hour wait inside.
NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Museum of Art welcomed 661,509 visitors to the Alexander McQueen exhibit during its three-month New York run, the museum announced Monday.
Crowds swarmed to the Manhattan museum over the weekend to catch a final glimpse of "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" before it closed Sunday at midnight.
The Costume Institute display had opened May 4 and extended its run by one week to accommodate the throngs of visitors.
The exhibit paid homage to the celebrated works by the late British designer, who committed suicide in February 2010.
The fashion line, now led by creative director Sarah Burton, achieved worldwide recognition this April for designing the wedding gown worn by the Duchess of Cambridge at the UK royal wedding.
"We are enormously gratified that visitors turned out in record numbers to view this powerful exhibition of McQueen's work," Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, said in a statement.
"The show was an elegant tribute to the designer's artistry, and we are proud to have shared it with such a broad audience, eager to experience the breadth of his genius," he added.
In terms of total visitors, the McQueen show ranked as the eighth most popular exhibition ever held at the museum in its 141-year history.
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