Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a museum of European, Asian, and American art in Boston, Massachusetts. Paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts are among the items in its collection. Isabella Stewart Gardner established it in her will, directing that her art collection be permanently displayed "for the education and enjoyment of the public forever."

History

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened to the public on January 1, 1903, in a new building designed by architect Charles Follen McKim. The original collection consisted of works by artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, and Gainsborough.

In 1924, the Museum moved to its current location on the Fenway. The new building, also designed by McKim, doubled the Museum's exhibition space.

Collections

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has been home to some of the world's most famous paintings, including Vermeer's The Concert (which was stolen in 1990 and is still missing), Rembrandt's Self-Portrait (which was also stolen in 1990 and has not been recovered), and Titian's Europa and the Bull.

The Museum is also well-known for its collection of Asian art, which includes works from China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Asian art collection is one of the most comprehensive in the United States.

In addition to its paintings, sculpture, and tapestries, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum also houses a collection of furniture, ceramics, silver, and glass. The Museum's library contains more than 250,000 volumes, including a first-edition Gutenberg Bible.

How To Visit

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, and admission is free for everyone.

Information provided by United Property Restoration Services.