ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM
The Harmonious WholeThe story begins after years of collecting on a small personal scale and in 1891 Isabella Stewart inherited $1.75 million upon her father’s death, David Stewart, who made a fortune importing Irish linens during the 40s, and was able to begin collecting on a greatly expanded level. Upon purchasing Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait in 1896, Isabella and her husband Jack decided their ambitions as collectors required more space than their residence permitted and first began to consider the idea of a museum.
Isabella and Jack reached out to the architect Willard Sears, who had remodeled their house in Brookline. At first the couple considered expanding their current home, combining two houses on Beacon Street. However, as Isabella’s collection and ambitions continued to grow, Jack felt it would be more sensible to buy land and build a new building for the museum with apartments for themselves within it.
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(@catchfirecreative) In the summer of 1897, Isabella and Jack traveled through Venice, Florence, and Rome to gather architectural fragments for their eventual gallery. They purchased columns, windows, and doorways to adorn every floor, as well as relief, balustrades, capitals, and statuary from the Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance periods.
The collection was mostly completed by late 1901. Gardner moved into the private fourth-floor living quarters and devoted herself to personally arranging works of art in the historic galleries on the first three floors. In 1902, Isabella installed her collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, rare books, and decorative arts. She continued to acquire works and change the installations for the rest of her life.
(@boston.bucketlist) In 1990, the museum’s security guards admitted two men posing as Boston police officers who went on to steal $500 million worth of art and collectibles. With no leads decades later, the event is the largest unsolved art theft in history. Some of the paintings were simply cut out of their frames. Those empty frames still hang on the wall, awaiting the return of their contents. The museum continues to offer a reward of $10 million until this day for information leading to the recovery of the stolen items.
As much as any single work of art within the Museum, most visitors take away the experience of the courtyard where the stonework arches, columns, and walls create an unforgettable impression. By integrating Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements and stone columns, she could have created a discordant mess. Instead it is a beautiful and harmonious whole.
25 Evans Way
Boston, MA 02115
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