The Gardner Museum: Outstanding and Near

Ahoy, an article I wrote, published in an MIT student newspaper, while I was a freshman at Simmons College 1977-78. I haven't been to the museum in decades, but I trust it is much the same given Mrs. Gardner's preservationist prescience and ironclad will - all shrewdly externalized and immortalized in her ironclad will. Alas, however, the Vermeer is gone, stolen. In seeking an image of Isabella Stewart Gardner for this post, I learned of what sounds to be a fascinating film, Stolen, which I look forward to seeing.

One of the most beautiful museums in the world is right here in Boston: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Outside, it is a huge yet unpretentiously designed stone mansion, but inside the museum is a rare and wonderful escape from the hectic city life. It is filled with masterpieces of art, fresh flowers and fountains, and on certain afternoons, strains of chamber music wafting from the upper galleries. The museum was created as a gift to the people of Boston by a remarkable lady of turn-of-the-century Beacon Hill society, Mrs. Jack Gardner.

A captivating woman who surrounded herself with the best of everything in art, music, and talented friends, Mrs. Gardner became a collector of fine art. After the death of her husband, she planned every detail of the museum at Fenway Court. One of her most valuable friendships was with Bernard Berenson, the leading connoisseur of Italian art, who advised Mrs. Gardner in her acquisition of major works. Her brilliant coups of priceless Rembrandts, a Titian, a Vermeer, and many others, are amazing. Her philosophy, so evident in the atmosphere of the museum, is summed up in the seal which she designed for her museum: a shield with a phoenix, a symbol of immortality, and the motto "C'est mon plaisir," (It is my pleasure).

The museum is awe-inspiring and exhilirating in its beauty. There is an inner courtyard with flowers, greenery, and sculptures, surrounded by arched walls through which one can catch glimpses of upper galleries illuminated by candelabras. Different rooms are devoted to various periods of art and painters, from the Early Italian Renaissance and the Dutch Room, to 19th century American painters. The museum is intimate and peaceful, and filled with the personality of Mrs. Gardner. Everything in the museum is arranged meticulously. There is a story that Mrs. Gardner stipulated in her will that if one element of the museum was changed at all, one painting shifted or stick of furniture put out of place, the museum promptly would be donated to Harvard! Mrs. Gardner even arranged for free concerts to be given several times a week; Tuesday evenings at eight, and Thursday and Sunday afternoons at four. It is always relaxing and festive after a long day of classes to sit down in the dimly lit tapestry room and listen to area musicians perform works by Bach, Mozart, Haydn and others.

There are many reasons to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum frequently. The flower arrangements change by the season, from chrysanthemums during the fall to poinsettias at Christmas. There is a different performance of chamber music three times a week. Most importantly, one can grow to love certain works of art, as one would pieces of music or poetry, by studying the original at different moments and moods. Wandering through the Gardner Museum and stopping by for one of the concerts is an uplifting way to spend a cold and rainy winter afternoon.

The Gardner Museum is on the Fenway west of the MFA, two blocks south of Brookline Ave., near the Simmons academic buildings.