Object details
Object number
ARC.Marr.9323.b
Creator(s)
Title
Teobaldo "Bolgi" Travi in the North Cloister, Fenway Court
Date
1904
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
25.4 x 20.3 cm (10 x 8 in.)
Provenance
Commissioned by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the photographer Thomas E. Marr (active Boston, 1910-1942) in 1904.
Commentary
A native of Italy, Teobaldo “Bolgi” Travi (1863-1944) immigrated to Boston and first came to the Museum to work on its construction. Isabella Stewart Gardner was impressed with the care that Bolgi handled the sculptures and architectural elements integrated into the building. Once construction was complete, she hired him to be her “majordomo,” chief supervisor of the museum’s staff. This photograph shows Bolgi in his majordomo’s uniform, custom designed by the artist Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950).
Bibliography
Diana Seave Greenwald, "Bolgi: The Caretaker and Protector of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 15 April 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/bolgi-first-caretaker
Nathaniel Silver and Diana Seave Greenwald. Isabella Stewart Gardner: A Life (Boston, 2022), pp. 98-99, fig. 49.
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