My spouse
and I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) on a
Saturday morning in late May 2017. The museum is open Wednesdays through
Mondays (closed on Tuesdays) from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm (with extended hours
until 9:00 pm on Thursdays). Admission costs $15 per adult; if you visit the
neighboring Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), you can save $2 on a combined admission.
Entry is free to anyone named Isabella or on your birthday, with discounts for
anyone wearing Red Sox gear (Gardner was an avid fan), teachers, military
personnel, students, and seniors.
The Isabella
Stewart Gardner Museum comprises two connected buildings in the city’s
Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood: the original space, and a new wing designed by renowned
architect Renzo Piano. The modern wing features a gift shop (which sells
interesting souvenirs and gift items but not bottled water), a dining option
(called Café G, which includes al fresco space), restrooms, coatroom (to check
oversize bags, backpacks, and coats), and spaces for lounging, learning, and
performing.
The original
space that opened in the early 1900s is stunning and memorable because it occupies
a building modeled on the 15th-century Venetian-style Palazzo Barbaro. (Venice
was one of Gardner’s favorite cities.) Although the museum resembles a
residence, it was never Gardner’s home, except for a short time while she
placed the contents. Its three stories of gallery space contain Gardner’s
impressive collection of over 2500 pieces of Italian art, including paintings,
sculptures, tapestries, furniture, photographs, books, decorative objects (such
as silver and ceramics), and architectural elements (like doors and mantle pieces).
The galleries surround a magnificent plant-filled courtyard/atrium surrounded
by a Spanish-style cloister and Chinese loggia (which leads to an outdoor
garden). Room names include Gothic, Raphael, Titian, and Tapestry that hold
works such as John Singer Sargent's “El
Jaleo” and Titian's “Europa”.
As Isabella
Stewart Gardner specified in her will (she lived from 1840 until 1924), the
galleries have remained as she arranged them. One unique feature of this museum
is that the objects and paintings displayed do not contain the typical plaques
indicating the name of the work and the artist. Gardner did not want guests to
be distracted by the plaques; if something interests you, you can either ask a
guide, or you can consult a printed laminated room/wall guide to learn more.
Another unusual feature are the 13 empty spaces that once contained artwork
stolen from the museum in 1990. Two thieves disguised as Boston police officers
entered the museum under the pretense of arresting one of the two on-duty
security guards. Stolen pieces include works by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and
Vermeer. Because Mrs. Gardner's will prohibited movement of the art that she
hung, empty wall spaces identify the spots where the paintings were once displayed.
A long-standing reward of $5 million for information leading to the robbery has
been doubled until the end of the year.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of our favorite
museums because of the setting and the contents.
