Over its 140-year-plus history, the MFA has collected some 450,000 pieces from an array of cultures and civilizations, ranging from ancient Egyptian tomb treasures to stylish modern artworks. In 2010, the museum opened its long-anticipated Art of the Americas wing, designed by Norman Foster, which displays works created in North, Central, and South America.
NEED TO KNOW
465 Huntington Ave (Ave of the Arts) • 617 267 9300 • www.mfa.org • “T” station: Museum (green line/E train) • Open 10am–4:45pm Mon & Tue, 10am–9:45pm Wed–Fri, 10am–4:45pm Sat & Sun • Adm: $23–$25- The MFA has four restaurants and cafés, escalating in quality and price as you move from the courtyard level upward.
- The MFA’s Family Art Cart in the Shapiro Family Courtyard provides activities and materials to use in the galleries. Consult the museum’s website for a full schedule of events.
- Admission to the museum on Wednesdays 4–9:45pm is by voluntary donation.
1.Postman Joseph Roulin
The MFA houses some of Vincent van Gogh’s most important works, including this 1888 portrait, which was painted during his stay in Arles, France.
2.John Singleton Copley Portraits
Self-taught, Boston-born Copley made a name for himself by painting the most affluent and influential Bostonians of his day, from pre-revolutionary figures like John Hancock to early American presidents such as John Quincy Adams.
John Singleton Copley Portraits
3.Egyptian Royal Pectoral
This extremely rare chest ornament is nearly 4,000 years old. A vulture is depicted with a cobra on its left wing, poised to strike.
Egyptian Royal Pectoral
4.Sargent Murals
Having secured some of John Singer Sargent’s most important portraiture in the early 20th century, the MFA went one step further and commissioned the artist to paint murals and bas-reliefs on its central rotunda and colonnade. They feature gods and heroes from classical mythology.
5.Dance at Bougival
This endearing image (1883) of a young couple dancing is one of the most beloved of Renoir’s works. It exemplifies the artist’s knack for taking a timeless situation and making it contemporary by dressing his subjects in the latest fashions.
6.Silverwork by Paul Revere
Famed for his midnight ride, Revere was also known for his masterful silverwork. The breadth of his ability is apparent in the museum’s magnificent 200-piece collection.
Silverwork by Paul Revere
7.Christ in Majesty with Symbols
Acquired in 1919 from a small Spanish church, this medieval fresco had an amazingly complex journey to Boston, which involved waterproofing it with lime and Parmesan for safe transportation.
8.La Japonaise
Claude Monet’s 1876 portrait reflects a time when Japanese culture fascinated Europe’s most style-conscious circles. The model, interestingly, is Monet’s wife, Camille.
La Japonaise
9.Japanese Temple Room
With its wood paneling and subdued lighting, the Temple Room evokes ancient Japanese shrines atop mist-enshrouded mountains. The statues, which date from as early as the 7th century, depict prominent figures from Buddhist texts.
10.Statue of King Aspelta
This statue of the 6th-century BC Nubian king, Aspelta, was recovered in 1920 at Nuri in present-day Sudan during a Museum of Fine Arts/Harvard joint expedition.
Statue of King Aspelta
GALLERY GUIDE
European, Classical, Far Eastern, and Egyptian art and artifacts occupy the original MFA building. The informative Visitor Center is located on Level 1. The Linde Wing for Contemporary Art, on the west side of the museum, also houses the museum shop, cafés, and a restaurant. Arts from the Americas are spread across four levels in the Art of the Americas wing, on the east side of the museum. The wing has 53 galleries, plus a state-of-the-art auditorium, and displays over 5,000 works of art.
Museum of Fine Arts Collections
1.Art of Asia
For Asian art connoisseurs, the museum offers a dizzying overview of Japan’s multiple artistic forms. In fact, the MFA holds the largest collection of ancient Japanese art outside of Japan. In addition to the tranquil Temple Room, with its centuries-old Buddhist statues, visitors should look out for the beautiful hanging scrolls and woodblock prints, with their magical, dramatic landscapes and spirited renderings of everyday life. Kurasawa fans, meanwhile, will be enthralled by the menacing samurai weaponry. Additionally, the Art of Asia collection contains exquisite objects from 2,000 years of Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian history, including sensuous ivory figurines, pictorial carpets, and vibrant watercolors.
Japan “Golden Age” (1781–1801) print
2.Textile and Fashion Arts
Rotating displays highlight pictorial quilts, period fashions, fine Persian rugs, and pre-colonial Andean weavings. Particularly interesting are the textiles and costumes from the Elizabethan and Stuart periods – an unprecedented 1943 donation from the private collection of Elizabeth Day McCormick.
Stuart woman’s doublet, dating from 1610–15
3.Classical Art
The remarkable Classical Art Collection has a hoard of gold bracelets, glass, mosaic bowls, and stately marble busts. One of the earliest pieces is a c.1500 BC gold axe, inscribed with symbols from a still-undeciphered Cretan language
4.Art of the Americas
The MFA’s Art of the Americas wing, designed by Norman Foster, opened in 2010. The wing features pieces dating from pre-Columbian times, through to the third quarter of the 20th century, and showcases about 5,000 works produced in North, Central, and South America. The museum has profited from generous benefactors over the years and the collection holds the world’s finest ensemble of colonial New England furniture, rare 17th-century American portraiture, a superb display of American silver, and paintings by the country’s own “Old” Masters, including Copley, Stuart, Cole, Sargent, Cassat, Homer, and many others.
5.Art of Egypt, Nubia, and the Ancient Near East
This collection is a treasure trove of millennia-old Egyptian sarcophagi, tomb finds, and Nubian jewelry and objects from everyday life. The assemblage of Egyptian funerary pieces, including beautifully crafted jewelry and ceramic urns, is quite awe-inspiring. Ancient Near Eastern objects, with their bold iconography and rich materials, illustrate why the region is known as one of the Cradles of Civilization.
Egyptian mummy mask (AD 1–50)
6.European Art to 1900
From 12th-century tempera baptism scenes to Claude Monet’s Haystacks, the MFA’s European collection is staggeringly diverse. Painstakingly transferred medieval stained-glass windows, beautifully illuminated bibles, and delicate French tapestries are displayed alongside works by Old Masters: Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, and Rubens. A superlative Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection boasts masterpieces from the likes of Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, and Van Gogh, plus the finest group of Monet’s works outside of Paris.
La Berceuse (1889) by Van Gogh
7.Contemporary Art
Given Boston’s affinity for the traditional, you might be surprised by this world-class collection of contemporary and late 20th-century art. It includes works by the painter and photographer Chuck Close and the abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock, which are on display in the Art of the Americas wing. New Media is also well represented here.
Tibetan conch shell trumpet
8.Musical Instruments
Priceless 17th-century guitars, ornately inlaid pianos, and even a mouth organ are on view to visitors of the MFA. Among the more distinctive pieces is a c.1796 English grand piano – the earliest extant example of a piano with a six-octave range – and a 1680 French guitar by the Voboam workshop.
9.Art of Africa and Oceania
Pre-colonial artifacts from these collections include Melanese canoe ornaments, dramatic Congolese bird sculptures and African funerary art. The most popular African display is the powerful-looking 19th- and 20th-century wooden masks.
10.“Please be Seated!” Installations
View (and sit on) one of the country’s most comprehensive collections of American contemporary furniture. The museum encourages visitors to admire and sit on these furniture pieces. Take a break and have a seat on fine American handiwork by designers such as Maloof, Castle, and Eames.