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Boston Map: Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Hours Tues-Sun (and some Mon holidays) 11am-5pm
Address 280 The Fenway
Transportation T: Green Line E to Museum
Phone 617/566-1401
Web site www.gardnermuseum.org
Prices Admission adults $12, $10 seniors, $5 college students with ID, free for children under 18 and adults named Isabella with ID
Season Closed Thanksgiving, Dec 25, and Dec 31

Frommer's Review

Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) was an incorrigible individualist long before strong-willed behavior was acceptable for women in polite Boston society, and her iconoclasm paid off for art lovers. "Mrs. Jack" designed her exquisite home in the style of a 15th-century Venetian palace and filled it with European, American, and Asian painting and sculpture, much of it chosen with the help of her friend and protégé Bernard Berenson. You'll see works by Titian, Botticelli, Raphael, Rembrandt, Matisse, and Mrs. Gardner's friends James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent. Titian's magnificent Europa, which many scholars consider his finest work, is one of the most important Renaissance paintings in the United States. I took a casual poll of local travel experts in 2005, and the Gardner was the most popular museum.

The building, which opened to the public after Mrs. Gardner's death, holds a glorious hodgepodge of furniture and architectural details imported from European churches and palaces. The pièce de résistance is the magnificent skylit courtyard, filled year-round with fresh flowers from the museum greenhouse. Although the terms of Mrs. Gardner's will forbid changing the arrangement of the museum's content, there has been some evolution: A special exhibition gallery features two or three changing shows a year, often by contemporary artists in residence.

The museum hosts a regular concert series (tel. 617/278-5102 [info line] or 617/278-5156 [box office]). The cafe serves lunch and desserts, and there's an excellent gift shop.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.


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Frommer's Boston 2008 Frommer's Boston 2008

Author: Marie Morris
Pub Date: September 04, 2007
Price: $16.99

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Frommer's Boston 2009
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Home > Destinations > North America > USA > New England > Massachusetts > Boston > Attractions > Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum