Is your museum guide losing your attention? Shady Ladies Tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York aim to make history and art entertaining and insightful. Created by the team behind Oscar Wilde Tours, these tours reveal the scandalous and provocative aspects of art while also exploring how sexuality has been represented across cultures and eras.
Shady Ladies Tours offers themed walks through the Met that highlight courtesans, mistresses, and celebrated beauties from ancient Greece to contemporary works. Each tour blends lively storytelling with scholarly context, so visitors gain both enjoyment and a deeper understanding of how eroticism, gender, and desire have been depicted in visual culture.
Featured tours include the flagship Shady Ladies expedition, which presents a wide-ranging survey of seductive and controversial figures in the collection; Gay Secrets of the Metropolitan, which uncovers representations of same-sex love and coded imagery that has persisted across centuries; and Sexy Secrets of the MFA, a focused look at erotic themes within the museum’s permanent holdings. These itineraries encourage visitors to notice subtleties, question received histories, and appreciate the interplay between art, society, and personal lives.
All tours are led by Professor Andrew Lear, founder of Oscar Wilde Tours and a respected scholar of the history of sexuality. Known for his expertise in erotic imagery in Greek and Roman art and for teaching excellence recognized by multiple awards, Lear combines rigorous scholarship with engaging presentation. His approach makes complex subjects accessible and invites audiences to think critically about the social contexts that shaped these works.
Shady Ladies Tours are ideal for anyone who wants a museum experience that is both informative and entertaining—whether you’re a first-time visitor, a seasoned museumgoer looking for a fresh perspective, or someone interested in how art reflects intimate human experiences. By balancing wit and scholarship, the tours open the Met’s galleries in new and memorable ways.
