The Metropolitan Museum of Art is getting much more suggestive.
Starting July 1, visitors will be asked to cough up $25, a five-buck increase — although admission will remain “Pay what you wish.”
Also going up are the suggested donations for seniors and students — a $2 hike, to $17 and $12, respectively.
This year’s average donation is down 16 cents a visitor, and the Met’s multibillion-dollar endowment has yet to recover from the recession, a spokesman explained.
The museum declined to reveal how many people actually make the full suggested donation.
“Since the average cost to the museum of each visitor is $40, we believe it is fair and, above all, necessary to increase recommended admission levels at this time,” said CEO Thomas Campbell.
“As with many not-for-profit institutions, the fund-raising environment and other revenue streams continue to pose challenges in this current economic climate.”
OK — but locals and tourists alike say they have no intention of ponying up that extra $5.
“I’m one of those New Yorkers who only give a dollar,” said Phyliss Casper, 84, of Manhattan. “The young man in front of me gave a nickel, which I thought was cheesy.”
Then there’s Swedish tourist Philip Schulz, 19, who put in 50 cents and said he felt no obligation to pay anything at all.
“Art is such a thing as should be free,” he reasoned. “I’m not an economist, but when I see how many peo ple are standing in line, I realize that even if I don’t give them $20, the museum will still be here tomorrow.”
Unlike the Museum of Modern Art and other New York cultural institutions, the Met will accept as little as a penny — a policy that’s perhaps too well publicized.
“We came knowing we didn’t have to pay the full amount,” said Ruth Stewart, 28, an ecologist from Brisbane, Australia.
“When you travel on a budget, $25 is, like, your food for the day.”