Except for special exhibitions, admission to SAM and the Henry is always, every single minute that they're open, only suggested. It's decent to pay if you can, so be decent. If you can't afford it, don't miss the art because of that, and don't think twice.

This week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been hit with a lawsuit about its signage regarding the fact that you don't have to pay $25 to get in. The accusation is that the museum is trying to fool people with its sneaky small font and attendants who naturally say "$25" when you walk up to the window. The Atlantic has a balanced piece on this, which ends with:

If you still feel guilty about not paying the full price, consider that the museum receives annual grants from the city without paying taxes or rent, has a $2.5 billion investment portfolio, and uses admissions to cover only 11 percent of its operating costs. Six in ten Met tourists don't pay the full $25, but as the AP reporting reveals, many of the people who don't pay are locals who know they don't have to, while it's the unwitting out-of-towners who get yoked into chucking up the full price. Third-party websites don't say the fee is recommended.

Still, the suit goes way too far, "seeking compensation for museum members and visitors who paid by credit card over the past few years." Clearly, the museum can't be expected to find and interview 20+ million people to discover who would have paid what amount between $0.01 and $25 had the font size for "Recommended" been slightly bigger. Let's just hope the suit encourages the Met's signage to be clear enough to out-of-town groups who don't realize they have to pay $100 to see public art.

In the meantime, before fonts are changed and attendants are retrained, arm yourself and everyone you know with this information. Pay. What. You. Can.