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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass. |
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Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is a wonder, a vast collection of beautiful things in a beautiful building. |
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The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, a great Greek temple (with a modern wing) on Huntington Avenue (map) houses one of the world's finest collections of artworks, second in the country only to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many pictures you may have admired for years through prints and photos in art books are on view in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. The museum's collections include such iconic works as Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum Head portrait of George Washington; Renoir's Le Bal a Bougival; Burne-Jones's The Love Song; Whistler's Girl in a White Dress; works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, lots of Monets; Death of Maximilian by Manet; and works by Japanese, Chinese, European, medieval, Renaissance, and baroque masters are all well represented. A fine collection of Paul Revere silver, several rooms taken from French chateaux, full-size Japanese temple, a 9th-century Spanish chapel, Egyptian mummies, Assyrian seals—the list goes on to the treasures of almost 200 galleries. The way to find what you want is to pick up a floor plan guide as you enter. You can't possibly see even a fraction of it all, so pick out a few areas or rooms to concentrate on and enjoy. The museum's restaurant, in the west wing, is modern and attractive. The menu is often keyed to special exhibits—Chinese dishes predominated when some impressive Chinese bronzes were on display—and the prices are moderate. The wine list is short, good, and fairly priced. For snacks and pick-me-ups, head for the less formal, less expensive cafe below the restaurant. To get to the MFA, take a subway Green Line "E" train ("Heath Street ") along Huntington Avenue and get off at the second stop above ground. If you're driving, there's limited parking on the street in the streets around the museum, and in the museum's small garage across the street from the main entrance (follow the signs), but it's possible you won't find a place easily. Because the exquisite Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is so near the MFA, try to schedule your visit to both museums for the same day (and parking spot). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum |
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Above, the classical
facade of the Museum
of Fine Arts,
Boston MA.
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