News

Sackler name being removed from Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition spaces

by Sarakshi Rai - 12/09/21 1:09 PM ET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and members of the Sackler family announced on Thursday that the Sackler name would be removed from seven exhibition spaces, including the wing that houses the Temple of Dendur.

In an emailed statement, the museum and descendants of the late Mortimer Sackler and Raymond Sackler announced that “they have mutually agreed to take this action in order to allow The Met to further its core mission.”

The Met had previously distanced itself from the family’s funding, announcing in 2019 that it would no longer accept gifts from them over increased scrutiny of Purdue Pharma’s role in the ongoing opioid crisis.

“Our families have always strongly supported The Met, and we believe this to be in the best interest of the Museum and the important mission that it serves,” members of the Sackler family said in a statement.

“The earliest of these gifts were made almost fifty years ago, and now we are passing the torch to others who might wish to step forward to support the Museum,” they added.

Dan Weiss, president and CEO of the museum, said in a statement that the museum “has been built by the philanthropy of generations of donors — and the Sacklers have been among our most generous supporters.”

“This gracious gesture by the Sacklers aids the Museum in continuing to serve this and future generations. We greatly appreciate it,” Weiss added.

Multiple museums around the world — including the Louvre in Paris, the Tate museums in London, and Britain’s National Portrait Gallery — are no longer accepting gifts from longtime Sackler benefactors, The New York Times reported in 2019.

In May, members of the Sackler family, who own Purdue, the maker of OxyContin, created a website in which they deny responsibility for the opioid epidemic and push back on “false narratives” they say were promoted by lawyers and the media, despite Purdue settling lawsuits on the crisis in the billions and twice pleading guilty of federal crimes.

The Department of Justice in September moved to block a controversial bankruptcy deal that would allow members of the Sackler family to give up ownership of Purdue and supply more than $4 billion in cash and charitable assets over nine years in exchange for immunity against future lawsuits.

—Updated at 2:58 p.m.

Tags Opioid crisis Opioid epidemic purdue pharma Sackler family The Met