From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Isabella Stewart Gardner
Ever since I read From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler as a youngster I have had a longing to live in a museum, haven't you? If I had my druthers, I would camp out in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, one of my happy places in Boston. It's just a block or so from the MFA but goes undiscovered by many. If you're in the area, go!
Maddy and I went there yesterday for Maddy Day 2 (and were delighted to find we both qualify to get in free!). We dressed in skirts and pretended we were fancy Boston ladies. Back in the turn of the 20th century Mrs. Gardner built a gorgeous Italian palazzo, with a courtyard at the center, to house her growing art collection.
This courtyard lifts many a Boston wintry heart, let me tell you.
Some of our favorite pieces:
^Mrs. Gardner herself. Bursting with enthusiasm, isn't she?
Here I am!
^Young Lady of Fashion
Maddy's counterpart of Renaissance Italy.
^El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent. Again with the verve and enthusiasm.
She looks like she could give me a lesson in not-caring-what-others-think.
I adore Vermeer.
Unfortunately, this one was stolen in
a very famous art heist
(at least around here)
so we didn't see it at the Gardner.
But we did see the blank spot where it used to be.
Very mysterious.
I imagine the museum security is pretty heightened,
making my plans to inhabit the place a little far-fetched.
So I am forced to fall back on my other Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum dream:
wedding reception for a daughter/son/grandchild someday.
A gal can dream...