About museum-mcp-server
museum-mcp-server is an MCP server in the Search category: mCP Server for global museum collections: Met Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian — search 700k+ artworks, no API key required.
Install
uvx museum-mcp-serverpip install museum-mcp-serverThis server has no ConduID identity, so agent calls to it are not receipted. Pin the version you install and review the source before granting it credentials.
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README
Museum MCP Server
MCP Server for global museum collections — give AI agents access to 570,000+ artworks from the world's greatest museums. No API key required.
Museums Included
| Museum | Collection Size | API Key |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) | 470,000+ objects | None required |
| Art Institute of Chicago | 100,000+ objects | None required |
Tools (9 total)
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
tool_search_artworks |
Search artworks by keyword in Met or Chicago |
tool_get_artwork_details |
Full metadata for a specific artwork |
tool_search_by_artist |
Find all works by a specific artist |
tool_get_met_departments |
List all Met Museum departments |
tool_search_by_department |
Search within a specific Met department |
tool_get_museum_highlights |
Curated highlights from either museum |
tool_get_random_artwork |
Discover a random artwork |
tool_search_by_period |
Search by historical period (Renaissance, Baroque, etc.) |
tool_compare_museums |
Compare results across both museums simultaneously |
Installation
pip install museum-mcp-server
Usage with Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"museum": {
"command": "museum-mcp-server"
}
}
}
Example Queries
"Search for Monet paintings in both museums"
"Show me highlights from the Metropolitan Museum of Art"
"Find Renaissance artworks in the Art Institute of Chicago"
"Give me details about artwork 436535 from the Met"
"Show me a random artwork from Chicago"
"Compare results for 'ancient Egypt' across both museums"
Data Sources
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: metmuseum.github.io — Open Access API, 470,000+ objects spanning 5,000 years
- Art Institute of Chicago: api.artic.edu — Free API, 100,000+ works including paintings, sculptures, prints
No API Key Required
Both APIs are completely free and require no authentication. This server works out of the box.
License
MIT — Free to use, modify, and distribute.
Author
AiAgentKarl — Building the AI Agent Economy, one MCP server at a time.
README copy captured when this server was indexed; it may lag the repository. The original is authoritative.