Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Modeled after a Venetian palazzo, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston houses one of the world's most remarkable collections.
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Isabella was named after her beloved grandmother, Isabella Tod Stewart, a prize-winning horticulturist and successful fa...
10/08/2026

Isabella was named after her beloved grandmother, Isabella Tod Stewart, a prize-winning horticulturist and successful farmer.

Get to know this "original Isabella" on our blog:go.gardnermuseum.org/4nV66An

Image: Thomas Sully, Isabella Tod Stewart, 1837. Oil on canvas.

On this day in 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam.The city he knew was a place of extraordinary cultural exchange—home to...
10/04/2026

On this day in 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam.

The city he knew was a place of extraordinary cultural exchange—home to artists, merchants, immigrants, Protestants, and thriving Jewish communities. Living alongside each other, these groups found commonality in an unexpected place: the story of the ancient Jewish heroine, Queen Esther.

Protestant Dutch audiences saw in her courage a reflection of their own emerging national identity. And artists like Rembrandt found in her story a rich source of drama, character, and visual imagination.

Discover how her story inspired Rembrandt and a generation of artists in "The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt," now on view at the Gardner.

📌 Learn more and plan your visit at go.gardnermuseum.org/Esther

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🖼️: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1629. Oil on oak panel. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
🖼️: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), A Jewish Heroine [possibly Esther] from the Hebrew Bible, about 1632–1633. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Purchased 1953
🖼️: The exhibition "The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt" in Hostetter Gallery, 6 August 2026 — 18 January, 2027. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Fall finds the Courtyard adorned with 'Late Summer Jewels.' Dahlia, hibiscus, coleus, colocasia and heuchera seem to al...
09/30/2026

Fall finds the Courtyard adorned with 'Late Summer Jewels.'

Dahlia, hibiscus, coleus, colocasia and heuchera seem to almost glow our moody, jewel-tone garden. Golden chain orchids fill the cloiseters with their warm, clove scent, while Laelia orchids' towering, flowering spikes reach over 6' tall.

This display is a feast for the senses: come savor it with us.

Not everything reveals itself in daylight. Stay late on Free Thursday Nights—until 9 pm—and see the galleries transforme...
09/29/2026

Not everything reveals itself in daylight.

Stay late on Free Thursday Nights—until 9 pm—and see the galleries transformed by evening light.

Thank you to for sharing this beautiful oil painting of the Courtyard.Swipe through to see the inspiration._What has th...
09/28/2026

Thank you to for sharing this beautiful oil painting of the Courtyard.

Swipe through to see the inspiration.
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What has the inspired you to create? 💮 Share art and photos with us for a chance to be featured in our next spotlight.

09/28/2026

We're delighted to host Natalie Dykstra, author of "Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner," and Meg Winslow, Mount Auburn's Senior Curator of Historical Collections and Archives, for a conversation about the research and creative process behind this award-winning biography.

Register to join us on Tuesday, October 6: https://buff.ly/tv7s8EE

this painting in was commissioned by Isabella Stewart Gardner's mother-in-law? At the time, it was the largest and mos...
09/23/2026

this painting in was commissioned by Isabella Stewart Gardner's mother-in-law?

At the time, it was the largest and most complex painting that the artist, Francesca Alexander, had ever created. She was a family friend, and included details—like the flowers and a quote from Dante—that she knew would appeal to the Gardners.

Swipe through to get —and see if you can spot it high on the wall in the Short Gallery on your next visit.

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🖼️: Francesca Alexander (Boston, 1837 - 1917, Florence) Decorating a Shrine, 1865.

Three years before opening Fenway Court, Isabella hosted an art exhibition in her Beacon Street home to help fund one of...
09/22/2026

Three years before opening Fenway Court, Isabella hosted an art exhibition in her Beacon Street home to help fund one of Boston’s most groundbreaking educational institutions.

📌 Read the story: go.gardnermuseum.org/4dv8KZh

📷: Thomas E. Marr (Canadian-American, 1849–1910), Exterior of 152 Beacon Street, Boston, 1900. Gelatin silver print

Who doesn't love historical dress-up? This tiny portrait from the 17th or 18th century can transform into 23 different c...
09/20/2026

Who doesn't love historical dress-up?

This tiny portrait from the 17th or 18th century can transform into 23 different characters, thanks to a set of costumes painted on delicate, transparent mica.

Objects like this became popular in northern Europe around the 1630s, but Isabella's miniature stands out from all other known examples.

🔎 Find out why (and see the rest of the costumes!) → go.gardnermuseum.org/4tNiHIM
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Object: European, Portrait Miniature with Mica Overlays, 1650-1700. Oil on copper with painted mica overlays. On view in the Little Salon

at "Return from the Lido", painted by Ralph Curtis—co-founder of the , and Isabella's one-time gondola companion.They ...
09/18/2026

at "Return from the Lido", painted by Ralph Curtis—co-founder of the , and Isabella's one-time gondola companion.

They met in 1884 at the Palazzo Barbaro, where Isabella and Jack stayed during a long visit to Venice. Curtis and Isabella quickly bonded over art, gossip, and long gondola rides through the city's winding canals.

Their friendship continued long after that Venetian summer. Curtis helped Isabella acquire art, kept her informed about developments in the art world, and faithfully reported the latest “gondola gossip” from Venice.

Painted the year they met, "Return from the Lido" must have evoked warm memories for Isabella.

🖼️: Ralph Curtis, Return from the Lido, 1884. Oil on Canvas.
🔎: See it in the Blue Room

Address

25 Evans Way
Boston, MA
02115

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 9pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

(617) 566-1401

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