The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the revered New York City institution with millions of pieces in its halls, announced Thursday it is dropping the name of the philanthropic Sackler family, whose name is linked to America's opioid epidemic.
The Met said seven exhibition spaces named in honor of the late Dr. Mortimer Sackler and Dr. Raymond Sackler and their descendants will no longer carry the moniker.
"The Museum and the families of Dr. Mortimer Sackler and Dr. Raymond Sackler have mutually agreed to take this action in order to allow The Met to further its core mission," the museum said in a statement.
The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, makers of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which has been blamed for hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths.
The family agreed that it was best for all parties that the Sackler family name no long be connected of the country's most famous cultural institutions.
"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,” the family said in a statement released by the museum.
“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,” it said.
Met President and CEO Dan Weiss thanked the family for its support and its "gracious" exit from public view.
“The Met has been built by the philanthropy of generations of donors — and the Sacklers have been among our most generous supporters,” Weiss said in a statement. “This gracious gesture by the Sacklers aids the Museum in continuing to serve this and future generations. We greatly appreciate it.”
