Dig deeper into our collections with our most recent stories.
Musician Roland Hayes’ 80th Birthday Celebration
Hayes’ 80th Birthday at the Gardner was a celebration of the incredible life & career of a trailblazer in the Boston music scene. Learn more about the lasting legacy of a Bostonian music icon.
Botticelli’s Virgin and Child: Infrared and Ultraviolet Light Imaging
Gardner Museum conservators recently restored Botticelli’s Virgin and Child with an Angel guided by infrared and ultraviolet imaging. Learn how this technology can teach us about the artist’s technique and previous conservation treatments.
Isabella and the Complexities of Mother’s Day
This Mother’s Day, we’re discussing Isabella’s complicated relationship with motherhood. Learn more about her journey and how it sparked her extensive travels abroad.
“Spain Says It All:” Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Travel Albums
Isabella traveled extensively throughout Spain and compiled detailed travel albums of the journey. Learn about how she was swept into 19th century ideas of ‘Spanishness’ and how it shaped her tastes and collection.
Treasure Chest: Isabella’s Gilt Vitrine
Isabella’s gilt vitrine, located in the Museum’s Little Salon, is full of trinkets and novelties she collected during her travels. Learn about the extensive restoration project done to clean and stabilize these objects for display.
Deceptive Intimacy: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s 1883 Japan Travel Albums
During her 1883 trip through Japan, Isabella purchased photographs from commercial studios and pasted them into albums. Learn what these images tell us about 19th century global tourism from Curator David Odo.
Leafing Through Isabella’s Travel Album: Spain and Portugal, Volume II, 1888
Learn about the prominent photographers and booksellers that produced the prints purchased by Isabella throughout her travels in Europe and read how the replica album was made; now on view in The Fellow Wanderer: Isabella’s travel albums exhibition at the Fenway Gallery.
Saint Christopher: World's Best Travel Companion
Saint Christopher is celebrated around the world as a symbol of safe travel. Learn how Isabella’s own travels led her to acquire three depictions of this saint for her collection.
Betye Saar & The Gardner Museum: A Long-Standing Relationship
Learn about how contemporary artist Betye Saar has long felt a connection to the Museum and its founder, Isabella Stewart Gardner.
