<P> From December 1962 to March 1963 , the French government lent it to the United States to be displayed in New York City and Washington , D.C. It was shipped on the new liner SS France . In New York an estimated 1.7 million people queued `` in order to cast a glance at the Mona Lisa for 20 seconds or so . '' While exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the painting was almost drenched in water because of a faulty sprinkler , but the bullet - proof glass case which encased the painting protected it . </P>
when was the mona lisa exhibited in the united states for the first time
From December 1962 to March 1963