A Date with Art and History in Boston’s Famed Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Renowned as the birthplace of liberty and its prolific architectural wonders, Boston is a pleasant culmination of the old and the new. The epicentre of democracy for four centuries, the town’s early settlers called this the ‘shining city on a hill’ which has transformed in to one of the country’s pioneering cities and a hub for the nation’s artistic, literary and architectural intelligentsia.
As one of the world’s most famous college towns, Boston is also home to some of America’s finest museums such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Founded in 1903 this sprawling 15th century Venetian castle with its lush garden and full bloom courtyard houses the country’s most illustrious art collections to date. Three storeys high, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers visitors a myriad of galleries with over 2500 sculptures, furniture, rare publications, tapestries, manuscripts and paintings as well as decorative arts of various origins that encompass thirty centuries.
Set in its idyllic backdrop the museum creates the perfect atmosphere for engaging the senses with the greatest artists the world has known and their work in attendance. With collections by Raphael, Rembrandt, Sargent, Michelangelo, Titian, Whistler Botticelli and Degas on offer it is easy to understand why the museum is a hotspot of education, historic art, music, horticulture and contemporary art.
The museum’s permanent collection includes Japanese blinds, ceramics, drawings and jewellery in addition to an impressive collection of paintings from the Italian Renaissance. The first Matisse ever to make its way in to an American museum can also be seen in the Yellow Room while correspondence letters by T.S. Eliot, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Adams and Sarah Bernhardt are also on display as are authentic Dante manuscripts. The contemporary arts collection on-site boast the work of such geniuses as Ruth St. Denis, John Singer Sargent, Charles Martin Loeffler and many more while budding artists are given the opportunity to live and fine tune their work within the hallowed grounds of the museum through the Artists-in-Residence program. The museum goes a step further in exhibiting the work of its ing?nues on the premises thus giving potential artists the platform to garner world attention.
Known as the fervarant host of events the likes of which Young Artists Showcase, Jazz at the Gardner concerts, the Sunday Concert Series and Avant Gardner, the museum is also a treat for music lovers young and old. Continuing its Sunday Concert Series to the present day guests can expect to be wooed by the musical styling of classic masters and contemporary musicians who display their talents during the weekend.
The horticultural exhibits at the museum are also worth the time as its’ scenic courtyard houses six horticultural displays of seasonal flora and vegetation each year. Some of the highlights include the 15 foot long Nasturtium vines that adorn the museum balconies during the month of April in memory of its founder’s birthday. An interactive experience all the way, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Education Department is responsible for the institution’s School and Teacher Partnership Program, community activities, internships, adult classes, and family –oriented tour packages. All of which enhance guests’ understanding and enjoyment of the museum, its’ history and collections.
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