Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Visit this exquisite museum featuring European, Asian, and American artwork.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was an art collector and a philanthropist. She received a large inheritance from her father when he died in 1891, and began collecting art. Bernard Berenson was an American art historian that specialized in the Renaissance. Berenson helped Isabella increase her collection by 70 works of art including a Botticelli and a painting by the Renaissance master. Isabella's husband, John L. Gardner died in 1898 and it had been a shared dream of theirs to open a museum featuring their collections and treasures. She bought land in the Fenway area of Boston and worked with her architect, Willard T. Sears to bring her and her late husband's dreams to life.

Isabella was very involved with every detail of the building. It was designed and modeled to look like the Renaissance palaces of Venice. The museum was built between 1898 and 1901. Isabella Stewart spent the next year preparing the building by arranging the furniture, paintings, textiles, and all the objects from different cultures and periods. She also took care to place the European paintings and sculptures just the way she wanted. The museum opened to the public in 1903. There was a grand opening with performers from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Champagne and doughnuts were served. Countless performers and artists have visited the museum during Isabella's lifetime. Many artists' exhibitions and singers have been to or performed here as well.

The museum has a beautiful indoor courtyard garden that visitors love to walk through. Courtyard plants change throughout the year with 9 dramatic seasonal displays. All of the plants are grown and cared for in the museum's temperature controlled Hingham greenhouses. They are trucked to the museum and rotated to keep them in the best condition possible. When Isabella Stewart died in 1924, she made sure that the museum could continue. She had created a $1 million endowment to fund the museum "forever" for the education and enjoyment of the public. Explore this immaculate art museum the next time you're in Boston.