Why New York's Metropolitan museum is leader of the free world of art

The Met, all set to rebuild its modern wing, mixes Rembrandts with Pollocks to create an unrivalled cocktail of past and present. Why can't British art museums be as open-minded?

If only Britain had a place like New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. This great compendium of art and culture on the edge of Central Park is about to rebuild its modern wing in other words, to improve on what is already an unrivalled cocktail of past and present. Meanwhile it has just launched so much of its collection for free download that its website temporarily crashed under the pressure of public excitement.

No other great museum has the Metropolitan's range. Its name is appropriate for it turns the whole world, across all time, into one buzzing city. You can stroll from an Egyptian temple to a Renaissance studiolo, from a roomful of Rembrandts to an encounter with Jackson Pollock.

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