Uncovering the Portrait of a Prince Who Never Ruled
In the Dutch Room there is a small painting hiding in plain sight depicting a doomed prince of France by an understudied artist.
Inside the Collection Blog
The Gardner's home for stories about its collection (including the plants!), Isabella and her circle, and how the Museum inspires artists today.
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Before Fenway Court: Mary Jane Morgan and the Building—and Splitting—of a Collection
Years before Isabella opened her museum, another Gilded Age collector was building something strikingly similar.
Loaning Paintings: Paul César Helleu and the 1893 World’s Fair
Meet Paul César Helleu, the French Impressionist painter whose work captured Isabella's early attention—and took center stage at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Show Yourself to Be A Mother / Monstra Te Esse Matrem
What does it mean to “show yourself to be a mother”? Artist-in-Residence Jamie Diamond explores the maternal heart of the Gardner—and how Isabella and the Virgin Mary shaped her latest work.
Isabella Stewart Gardner and Boston Photographer T. E. Marr—Their Unique Arrangement
Photographically documenting the Museum would be a monumental undertaking. When Isabella Stewart Gardner recognized the necessity she chose Thomas Marr for the task.
Seeing in a New Light – Fragment of an Oil Lamp
A 700-year-old lamp fragment gets a high-tech makeover in our Conservation Lab. Read how 'Alien Clay' and a bit of history helped us restore its original glow.
Playing Dress Up with Isabella
Who doesn’t love historical dress-up? This tiny portrait can transform into 23 different characters.
The World’s Greatest Singer: Nellie Melba’s Performance at the Gardner Museum
In 1905, the world’s most celebrated soprano performed at the Gardner. Now, more than a century later, you can relive that concert on Spotify.
Persephone’s Impossible Garden
In the Courtyard, just as in the famous myth, Persephone stands amidst an impossible garden, perpetually in bloom.