Visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
The courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. All photos by John O’Boyle / The Empty Nest Explorers
We loved visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston! This sometimes overlooked attraction is very unique, quite beautiful and it’s easy to visit. It makes for an enjoyable and peaceful interlude into another time, nestled sedately in the busy area near Fenway Park.
We’ve made multiple trips to Boston over the years, but somehow we had never seen the Gardner Museum until our most recent visit. We had watched the fascinating Netflix documentary about the famous art heist that had taken place there in the 1990s, so this piqued our interest in seeing the museum. Incredibly, the empty frames still hang hopefully on the walls to this day!
The museum collection is like a crash course in art history, very welcoming to explore.The house - built expressly to contain the collection - is a work of art in itself. Any level of art appreciator can find something to delight over at the Gardner.
Who was Isabella Stewart Gardner?
Isabella Stewart Gardner was an intriguing personality. After falling into depression over the loss of an infant son, she and her husband, Jack Lowell Gardner, began to travel widely for its healing effects. She documented her early travels in scrapbooks and became inspired by the art she experienced, igniting a lifelong passion for art collecting.
Isabella was a ‘deco girl’ of sorts; a liberated spirit with a love of sophisticated luxury, glamour, and modernity. A vivacious and somewhat eccentric society hostess, Isabella often drew gossipy attention due to her flamboyant behavior. Her tastes were an eclectic mix of styles - because she just seemed to be able to appreciate everything that was expressive and artistic. She became a cultural force in Boston, not to be ignored.
Building a space to exhibit her prodigious collection became another passion after the death of Jack, with Isabella throwing herself into the task and playing a very real role in the design of the museum itself.
Having strong ideas about how her art collection should be presented, the “Palace”, as she called the space, was built to her specifications, in the then basically undeveloped Fenway neighborhood. The result of her vision is a pleasure to visit, even one hundred years later.
I love the idea of the healing power of travel, an adage as old as time, but sometimes forgotten. Though I don’t particularly like the phrase “getting out of your comfort zone” for its rather pushy message, I do think changing one’s surroundings and seeing someplace new is always refreshing and often just what the body needs.
Isabella wasn’t “getting out of her comfort zone” exactly. She was finding comfort in something new. Refreshing her soul. And art proved to be her tonic.
How to Visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Our best advice for visiting the Gardner Museum is definitely purchase your tickets ahead of time on their website. Tickets can sell out fast and may not be available at the door.
We planned our visit for when they opened and there was already a line forming. We were able to just go in with our timed ticket, and it didn’t seem like those folks waited very long, but then again, this was just when the doors opened, so later might require a longer wait.
Adult tickets are about $22, and there are senior and student discounts available.
Children 17 years and under are always free, and the museum is free to all on the first Thursday of each month.
Plan to spend an hour or two walking through the house, depending on your pace.
The museum is easily accessible by bus or subway (Boston’s beloved “T”).
Take the Green Line E train to the Museum of Fine Arts stop, or the Orange Line train to the Ruggles stop.
The Gardner Museum is also accessible by the 8, 19, 39, 47, CT2, and CT3 bus routes.
More info on Boston’s public transportation can be found on the MBTA website.
The modern lobby area of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Definitely make use of the audio tour
When Isabella opened “the Palace”, she didn’t want anything labelled. She wanted the works just to present themselves as they would in any household. This tradition continues today, but don’t worry - there is lots of help to appreciate what you see.
As you go around the museum, all the rooms and galleries are numbered. Room overviews, audio guides, maps and object stories can be found on the museum's resource section of their website, that you can access using your cell phone during your visit.
Or you can simply scan the QR code printed on the room guides in each space as you go along, for easy access.
There are so many interesting stories in the audio guides that I would highly recommend listening!
Taking photos is allowed and encouraged during your visit, but the “no flash” rule is strictly enforced. I learned this the hard way when my iPhone decided to automatically turn on the flash when I was taking a picture of some tiny whimsical silver figurines in a dark display cabinet. So embarrassing!! And silver of all things!!! (it’s highly sensitive to light!)
So heed my warning and check and double check that your flash setting is not on “auto”, but definitely set to “off”.
The Courtyard Garden
Isabella believed in celebrating art in all forms. That included plants and flowers, and one of her deepest passions was gardening. She manifested this passion in the garden of the inner courtyard of her museum. I found this to be the most delightful area indeed and one you can’t miss when entering. It pulls you in with welcoming and serene beauty.
Located at the very heart of the Palace, the ever-blooming Courtyard showcases dramatic seasonal displays throughout the year. Varieties of plants from different climates bedeck the space, the blooms large and vibrant. It appears so natural a setting that it took me a moment to realize the courtyard is completely indoors - explaining how some of the more tropical plants could flourish in Boston!!!
Like everything else about the museum, the courtyard is Isabella’s brainchild. She went out of her way to make sure the courtyard can be viewed from every level of the building, through arched windows around a cloister. The effect is truly palatial!
Since we visited in July, we saw the “Summer Blues” display, with late flowering mop-head hydrangeas and tall, vigorous agapanthus (I have one of these in a pot at home but I have to basically keep it indoors in my New Jersey clime and it is quite modest and only throws one flower a season, so seeing these giant ones with multiple stems really impressed me!)
Eleven distinct seasonal displays rotate throughout the year, each with its own theme. Many plants are featured, including orchids, nasturtiums and Japanese-style chrysanthemums. Their “hanging nasturtiums” of spring are rather famous, and I was so inspired, I picked up some of those seeds that were available at the gift shop. (Lovely, quirky gift shop, btw!!!) I am happy to report that they are growing vigorously in a hanging pot in my front yard and starting to bud. Yay!
Interesting too, is the selection of art and sculpture displayed among the plants. Isabella wanted only female figures in this area, expressing feminine power.
The Rooms and Galleries
The “Palace” is laid out as a home - which makes me more inclined to call it “the House”. Individual rooms are dressed with furniture and decorative details and display the art as if it is part of the decor. It’s quite a different approach than the large gallery spaces one might see in a traditional museum.
Isabella placed all the works of art herself, often mixing periods, but keeping each room in the house artistically thematic.
Some rooms, such as the Raphael Room, are named for a specific work that is the main feature of the room. That piece may be the inspiration for how the room is decorated, but that does not mean that is the only genre featured there.
Other rooms, such as the Yellow Room - where the walls are a bright shade of marigold - display many personal items belonging to Isabelle and have a more contemporary theme.
Isabella always had a preference for Italian Renaissance art, and it certainly shows, but she also collected a hefty amount of Dutch, German, and English paintings, sculpture, furniture, and objets d’art. Asian and American art is also well represented.
Though she never lived in the house - it was always intended to be a museum - Isabella often entertained there. That’s why you will see a dining room set-up in the Dutch Room, and why there are more personal, domestic and devotional items in the Gothic Room, a room that served as a private refuge for Isabella and a few very close friends. It was never open to the public in her lifetime, but today we get to visit this personal space.
Perhaps my favorite thing of all about walking through this museum is how “house-y” it truly is - albeit a very grand, sophisticated house. I loved all the stairwells and passageways, arched windows and views around the courtyard from every level. You definitely can feel her journey - the joy of discovering art and what it all meant to her.
And, in keeping with her belief of celebrating art in all its forms, I almost felt as if I was getting a lesson in interior decorating - of a certain time and social class, that is. The idea of everything around you contributing to an aesthetic, whether it be a Rembrandt on the wall or the spoon you use to stir your tea, seems to be the abiding lesson throughout. And what a delightful lesson that is!
I do think some of my favorite works in her collection are portraits of Isabella herself. These portraits were created in her lifetime and capture her audacious style. Particularly the John Singer-Sargeant portrait - showing her daringly in a plunging neckline, short hairstyle and framed by a halo-like design of wallpaper behind her - sums up this intriguing woman.
The Art Heist
On March 18, 1990, two men disguised as police officers were mistakenly admitted by security guards into the museum at night. The perpetrators tied up the guards and looted 13 works of art, including extremely valuable paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt. Paintings and sketches by Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet and Govert Flinck were also stolen. All told, the value of stolen works was said to be in the 500 million dollar range.
Netflix did a very good documentary on the robbery and the investigation of the case - which twisted and sifted through many-a-shady-character in the black market art scene, but ultimately led to no arrests, and the case remains unsolved. It is the largest unsolved case of art theft. The FBI still believe in was an organized crime operation, but they haven’t been able to prove it.
Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee is perhaps the most profound loss. Painted in 1633, it is a large and highly dramatic Biblical narrative, and is the only known seascape he ever painted. This must have been quite a jewel in Isabella’s collection.
The Museum, the FBI, and the US Attorney's office are still seeking viable leads that could result in safe return of the art. And the museum keeps empty frames in the Dutch Room in symbolic hope of the paintings’ return.
It’s rather sad to see those empty frames in person, knowing how long now it has been since the paintings went missing. As mentioned above, we had seen the documentary previously, but as with most things, experiencing it in person is another level. I think Isabella would understand that sentiment.
But I don’t think Isabella would have been too happy to learn that this famous art heist would become her collection’s legacy and claim to fame. Nor to know these valued pieces have gone missing for decades.
The empty frame that once housed Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Also in the neighborhood - The Boston Public Library
Not too far away from the Gardner Museum (about a 25-minute walk) is the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street. This eye-catching building is truly a delight for art and design lovers, so if you have some time in the neighborhood, it’s worth a visit.
An added bonus is you can stop at Luke's Lobster Back Bay along the way for a truly delicious Lobster Roll. 😋 There’s a lot of competition in this area for lobster roll dominance, and we think Luke’s, on Exeter Street, is a heavy hitter. But I digress….
Here’s a few highlights of the library:
The very grand main staircase is amazing - an architectural masterpiece built of yellow Siena marble. Murals by the French painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes adorn the stairwell - the only examples of the artist’s work outside France. Two immense lion sculptures bookend the staircase, gifts from the veterans of two Massachusetts regiments that fought in the US Civil War, commissioned to honor their fallen comrades. The overall effect is quite majestic.
The original reading room, known as Bates Hall, is another impressive space that, while grand, is also very inviting. It is a favorite spot for reading and quiet study, and there were quite a number of students doing work on their laptops. But because it is so big, there was still plenty of seating available. The space spans the entire length of the building and features a magnificent 50-foot barrel vault ceiling. If I lived in Boston, I could definitely see myself grabbing a spot in this room to do a little writing for this blog! 😉
One of the John Singer-Sargent murals at the Boston Library.
Don’t miss the series of murals by John Singer-Sargent on the third floor of the library. This was an grand, immersive project for Singer-Sargent, and I was intrigued to see these paintings and to learn of his family connections to Boston, always having associated him with his high society portraits in Paris and London.
But that was the point I guess - he wanted to establish himself as a master and do something with more depth and meaning. The result was this multi-faceted work, entitled Triumph of Religion, which he worked on over the course of 30 years!
The skylit, gilded design of the hall is fitting for such an ambitious theme. There are numbered informational guides available in the space to read all about it, and I heartily suggest that you do. Because it’s fascinating!
Of course, the Boston Public Library also does “library things” and offers many services. You can learn more about everything they do on the Boston Public Library official website.
One final thought about the Fenway area - did you know you could take a tour of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox? We did this on another visit to Boston and it was great fun! Such an iconic stadium, even a dyed-in-the-wool Yankees fan like John had a great time.
You can read about it here: How to tour Fenway Park in 2025
This post was researched and written by Debbie of the Empty Nest Explorers. You can learn more about the Empty Nest Explorers here