MUSEUMS / GALLERIES / GARDENS / PUBLIC ART

MUSEUMS
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum / Mapparium, Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
280 The Fenway, Boston 02115
tel: 617-566-1401
web site: www.gardnermuseum.org
T ACCESS:Green Line, E Train to Museum of Fine Arts T stop, or #39 bus
HOURS: Tue-Sun 11:00am- 5:00pm (Closed Mondays and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years' Day.)
FEATURES: Wheelchair accessible, Museum Shop, Gardner Café, Audio Guide available.
GUIDED TOURS: Free; Fri at 2.30pm; 20 people max

John Singer Sargent's portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner was judged so scandalous when it was first shown in 1888 that it was withdrawn from public view until after her death.
Start your tour by studying the portrait to get a hint of the sense, sensuality and force of character that led Mrs. Gardner to assemble this striking collection, build this palace to house it and make sure in her will that no one could ever second-guess her. The art, collected in large part with the assistance of art historian Bernard Berenson, represents an impressive collection of Italian Renaissance paintings as well as French, German and Dutch masters. One of Mrs. Gardner's well-represented favorites was Degas, and the museum owns the first Matisse to enter an American collection. Bostonians visit as often for the music series, the flower-filled courtyard and the excellent café. Director Anne Hawley has also added a series of fascinating programs with visiting artists.


Mapparium, Mary Baker Eddy Library
1 Norway St., Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity, Boston 02115
tel: 617-450-3790
web site: www.marybakereddy.org
T ACCESS: Green Line to Symphony or Prudential T stop
HOURS: closed for renovations until 2002
FEATURES: Kid-friendly and Wheelchair accessible
It's not every day you get to walk into the center of a glass globe. In the dim room, the continents glow all around you in dusky colors. So what if the country boundaries all date to the 1930s. It was constructed to show the range of the Christian Science Church at that time. And, my, how times have changed. While you're there, be sure to explore the rotating and permanent exhibitions of the newly constructed Mary Baker Eddy Library.


Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue / Avenue of the Arts, Boston 02115
tel: 617-267-9300
web site: www.mfa.org
T ACCESS: Green Line, E Train, to MFA T stop, or #39 bus
HOURS: Mon-Tue 10:00am- 4:45pm; Wed 10:00am- 9:45pm; Thu-Fri 10:00am- 4:45pm; Sat-Sun 10:00am- 5:45pm
FEATURES: Wheelchair accessible, Museum Shop, Restaurant, Fraser Garden Cafe, and Audio Guide available.
GUIDED TOURS:Free introductory tours of the Museum, led by Ladies Committee guides

With more than a million objects in its permanent collection, the MFA is one of the great museums of the world. Its core collections reflect the broad tastes and interests of the monied 19th-century Boston collectors who founded it. Setting John Singer Sargent murals in the original 1909 building promote the idea of the MFA as a secular cathedral. The West Wing, designed by I.M. Pei, houses the blockbuster temporary exhibitions. Moreover The Museum boasts an outstanding gift shop, the Fraser Garden Cafe, and restaurant in the West Wing.The classical department is famed for its comprehensive collection of red and black-figured vases, and the Asiatic art collection is among the largest in the world under one roof. Because the MFA joined Harvard in key excavations along the Nile between 1905 and World War II, the collection of Old Kingdom and Nubian art is second only to the Cairo Museum. And thanks to the founders' enthusiasm for new directions in French painting, the MFA has a Monet collection surpassed only in Paris and impressive holdings of other impressionists and post-impressionists. Equally excellent are the American fine and decorative arts, including more than 60 portraits by John Singleton Copley and more than 40 by his near-contemporary Gilbert Stuart. Remis Auditorium, also located in the West Wing, is a proscenium theater that hosts concerts, film series and performance art. Visitors are invited to take free, introductory tours of the Museum, led by Ladies Committee guides. Tours last approximately one hour. All tours meet at the Sharf Information Center in the West Wing.

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