Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Comprehensive Guide and History

About This Item

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is the home of one of the preeminent collections of art in the United States, with more than 2,500 treasures ranging from ancient Chinese bronzes to Titian's Europa to the first Matisse acquired by an American museum. The works, amassed by Gardner at the turn of the century, are housed in a Venetian palace-like setting that she designed herself.

This beautiful book is the first comprehensive guide to the collection written in a generation. It is also the first historical analysis with stories about how this remarkably diverse collection was acquired. The book begins with a biographical essay on Gardner, her travels, and her circle of friends and advisers. Also described is the actual construction of the museum, illustrated with rarely seen archival photographs. The core of the book is a guided tour of the museum organized by room and accompanied by commentary on the organization of the galleries, their special character, and the works of art in each room. Newly commissioned photographs of the rooms and the objects in them convey the richness and magnificence of the museum's galleries and collection.

Soft cover.
152 pages.
6" x 9 1/2".