Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

When she joined the Gardner Museum, our Director Peggy Fogelman asked herself a question — “who was the public to whom Isabella bequeathed her Museum? Was Boston around 1900 anything like the Boston we know today? What civic issues did Isabella care about and how might that inform the Museum’s future?” It is the privilege and responsibility of every Gardner Museum director to interpret Isabella’s legacy for a new era and new generations of Bostonians, to ensure its relevance and sustainability in a changing society. This can be uniquely challenging in a museum that cannot collect and cannot rearrange the works of art within its historic galleries. 🔗 Read Peggy Fogelman's reflections on the legacy of the Museum’s founder, who was ahead of her time, and continues to inspire in more ways than she could have imagined. → https://lnkd.in/ejbuxkFc . . . #isabellastewartgardner #gardnermuseum

A hidden gem with Imperial significance that you might miss, but shouldn’t 🐢 This crane and turtle box was designed and produced to be given to guests at the imperial banquet for the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of the Meiji Emperor and Empress in 1894. Aside from two others in private collections, all examples of this bonbonnière are in the collection of the Japanese Imperial Household. 🔗 Discover the story behind this box—and how it became part of Isabella's collection: https://lnkd.in/eDH59QuJ

#MusicAtTheGardner 🎻 This Sunday, we welcomed the wonderful Sphinx Organization back to the Gardner, their Boston home, for the final stop on their Fall tour. We heard works by Derrick Skye and Juantio Becenti, both of whom the Gardner has previously commissioned—as well as the remarkable 19th-century composer and globe-trotting pianist Teresa Carreño. Sphinx Virtuosi, a string orchestra drawn from the nation’s finest Black and Latinx orchestral performers, aims to evolve the breadth and impact of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement. Learn more about music at the Gardner—and our Weekend Concert Series: https://lnkd.in/eKyJVPe5

🖼️: Dodge MacKnight (1860-1950), The Road to Córdoba, Mexico, 1907. 📍: On view in the MacKnight room 🌎 Isabella Stewart Gardner and the artist Dodge Macknight had a shared love for Spanish speaking cultures. Both visited Mexico—Isabella by train in 1881 and Macknight in 1907—when he painted this watercolor of Córdoba. On his trip, Macknight wrote to Isabella, “I’m in the Tropics, the banana leaves wave over me as I walk in deep blue shadows; the hibiscus and the bougainvillea, and vines with flowers of many hues all make a tangle…” Learn more about this painting and explore the collection: https://lnkd.in/e4mi5SMS

"If you visit Boston without going to the Gardner, you’re missing out on something you’ll never see anywhere else." The Washington Post listed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as one of the 10 best smaller art museums in America—and called it "one of the most remarkable cultural products of the American 19th century." https://lnkd.in/gYUSWyit

👀: This saucer has a secret. Can you spot it? Peeking out from the back of the Vatichino is an extremely delicate pink and white Cup and Saucer, embellished with the name “Isabella” in raised gold letters. But beneath that perfect-looking surface, there's a fascinating history of meticulous repairs to old adhesive, stains, and cracks. Take a peek behind the scenes to see how experts brought this fragile 1884 bone china cup and saucer back to life, undoing nearly a century of wear and tear. ☕: Learn more about the repair on our blog: https://lnkd.in/e6jhZy9u

🌎 Cultivating a More Sustainable Future Today, in honor of International Day of Climate Action, we are unveiling our Climate Action Plan. In the face of the threat presented by climate change, we aim to model a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future to uphold the commitment of our founder, Isabella Stewart Gardner: to protect and preserve this Museum and its collection for the education and enjoyment of the public forever. We've already had significant accomplishments, including geothermal wells, a rainwater retention system, lighting upgrades, and public programming. 🔗Get the full story at https://lnkd.in/eNQipQ3C

💐 Dennis Miller Bunker's "Chrysanthemums" Isabella's friend, painter Dennis Miller Bunker, was inspired by her impressive collection of brightly colored chrysanthemum blossoms. Recently returned from a summer in England where he studied Impressionism in the style of Claude Monet, Bunker practiced his newly adopted technique of broken brushstrokes on the fantastic variety of chrysanthemums. As this year's chrysanthemum display enchants the courtyard, don't forget to pay this beautiful example of American Impressionism a visit—it's in the Blue Room. ___ 🖼️: Dennis Miller Bunker (American, 1861–1891), Chrysanthemums, 1888. Oil on canvas

⭐ Free Admission Nov 6th⭐ 🗳️ Isabella Stewart Gardner built the institution that bears her name as an act of civic leadership. She believed that everyone deserves access to beauty and the power of art, and the new perspectives it can offer on the world we live in. To celebrate all of you who demonstrated your own civic leadership by voting, and to provide a place of joy, respite, and connection during a stressful election season, we are offering free general admission to the community on Wednesday, November 6, the day after Election 2024. Come enjoy magnificent works of art, the ever-flowering Courtyard, and a welcome sense of community! 🔗 Reserve your tickets now: https://lnkd.in/gfPZNHZj

💫 "The moment I started photographing my mother was the moment my work completely changed." — Mickalene Thomas On the Anne H. Fitzpatrick Façade this fall, the photo collage of a mother, crafted by her daughter, welcomes visitors to the Gardner Museum. Clothed in regal red, Sandra Bush, mother of multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas, both recalls and rejects the dominant canon of Western portraiture with a radiant smile. 🔗 Learn more about this free public art exhibit—and plan your visit—at the link in our bio! _____ 🖼️: Mickalene Thomas, Sandra, She's a Beauty, 2009. Courtesy of the artist