Isabella Stewart Gardner (New York, 1840 - 1924, Boston)
Fenway Court During Construction: Courtyard, 1900
Gelatin silver print
Black and white square photograph of a constuction site. The bare dirt ground is strewn with open wooden crates, barrels, and wooden boards. Two brick walls that are under construction frame the photograph. There is scaffolding in front of the wall on the left and stone columns stand around the space. Three men work to move a stone block on the left side of the photograph.
Macknight Room
Commentary
Isabella contracted architect Willard T. Sears in 1896 to draw up plans for a museum with living apartments above it, to be built on the site of her double house at 150–152 Beacon Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. In late 1898, she bought land in the Fenway neighborhood and told Sears to redraw the plans to accomodate the museum's new site. She worked closely with him to perfect the design. When construction began, Isabella continued to closely monitor all aspects of the project and often documented the progress with her Brownie camera.