ART

Metropolitan to Help Romanians: New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will help the Romanian National art museum restore a collection damaged by revolution and four decades of Communist rule. Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan, met with senior cultural officials in Romania last week to assess the damage. He plans to try to raise corporate support to give the Romanians basic materials and equipment. One way to help may be to exhibit at the Met six to eight of the best works from the Romanian collection, which features El Grecos, Van Eycks and French Impressionists, De Montebello said. The Romanian collection and its Bucharest museum were severely damaged in the revolution that toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu on Dec. 22. It also had suffered for years beforehand from lack of funds and political manipulation, according to Romanian and American museum officials.