Making the “Athens of America:” the Gardner Museum’s
Influence on the Fenway/Kenmore Art Scene
A common nickname for Boston is the Athens of America (Warren, 2017, p. 1). Why? How did Boston emerge as America’s center of cultural, intellectual, and artistic thought and expression? While Boston has myriad landmarks, schools, museums, parks, and historical figures that may offer an explanation, one stands out. Isabella Stewart Gardner and the museum named after her shaped and continue to guide the artistic culture of Boston as a whole, but especially that of the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood where it resides. The museum’s atmosphere of artistic curiosity, patronage of the arts, reflection of the global arts culture, and enrichment of the surrounding …show more content…
As “one of the foremost female patrons of the arts,” she sponsored leading local artists like John Singer Sargent (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Singer Sargent was a “brilliant painter of society portraits,” as well as a painter in an originally American style (Promey, 2001, p. 4). By supporting Singer Sargent, Gardner helped him craft a style of art the neighborhood and the United States can claim. An interview with the Museum’s Studio Projects Coordinator, Brian, disclosed that Gardner “frequently supported artists and even invited artists, like John Singer Sargent, to come and live in the museum.” Brian further reveals how Gardner’s patronage continues today as “the museum still has a residency program where we partner with local artists.” The Gardner Museum also hosts educators desiring to do research in the museum. In addition, Gardner encouraged the arts beyond painting, such as “music, literature, dance, and creative thinking” (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Consequently, by granting artists and educators space to reflect on their work and study, the museum enables thinkers and creators the ability to increase the area’s production of talent (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., …show more content…
While in Venice, Isabella Stewart Gardner bought art and antiques and attended the opera; her “love of the city and of Italian culture inspired the design of her museum” (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Her museum includes a plant-filled courtyard “reminiscent of the Doges’ Palace in Venice” (Boston Landmarks Commission, 1996, p. 5). Furthermore, Gardner purchased “eight balustrades from Venice” as well as Roman statues. She intended to set up the museum to have “the sound of water falling into a Roman sarcophagus” to remind herself of Italian gardens (Tharp, 1965, p. 217). Gardner designed her museum to represent the “façade of a Venetian palace turned inward upon itself” (Tharp, 1965, p. 217). By using a European culture as a foundation, Gardner certainly helped to “form a basis for a national culture rivalling those of Europe” (Boston Landmarks Commission, 1996, p.
Influence on the Fenway/Kenmore Art Scene
A common nickname for Boston is the Athens of America (Warren, 2017, p. 1). Why? How did Boston emerge as America’s center of cultural, intellectual, and artistic thought and expression? While Boston has myriad landmarks, schools, museums, parks, and historical figures that may offer an explanation, one stands out. Isabella Stewart Gardner and the museum named after her shaped and continue to guide the artistic culture of Boston as a whole, but especially that of the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood where it resides. The museum’s atmosphere of artistic curiosity, patronage of the arts, reflection of the global arts culture, and enrichment of the surrounding …show more content…
As “one of the foremost female patrons of the arts,” she sponsored leading local artists like John Singer Sargent (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Singer Sargent was a “brilliant painter of society portraits,” as well as a painter in an originally American style (Promey, 2001, p. 4). By supporting Singer Sargent, Gardner helped him craft a style of art the neighborhood and the United States can claim. An interview with the Museum’s Studio Projects Coordinator, Brian, disclosed that Gardner “frequently supported artists and even invited artists, like John Singer Sargent, to come and live in the museum.” Brian further reveals how Gardner’s patronage continues today as “the museum still has a residency program where we partner with local artists.” The Gardner Museum also hosts educators desiring to do research in the museum. In addition, Gardner encouraged the arts beyond painting, such as “music, literature, dance, and creative thinking” (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Consequently, by granting artists and educators space to reflect on their work and study, the museum enables thinkers and creators the ability to increase the area’s production of talent (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., …show more content…
While in Venice, Isabella Stewart Gardner bought art and antiques and attended the opera; her “love of the city and of Italian culture inspired the design of her museum” (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, n.d., “About”). Her museum includes a plant-filled courtyard “reminiscent of the Doges’ Palace in Venice” (Boston Landmarks Commission, 1996, p. 5). Furthermore, Gardner purchased “eight balustrades from Venice” as well as Roman statues. She intended to set up the museum to have “the sound of water falling into a Roman sarcophagus” to remind herself of Italian gardens (Tharp, 1965, p. 217). Gardner designed her museum to represent the “façade of a Venetian palace turned inward upon itself” (Tharp, 1965, p. 217). By using a European culture as a foundation, Gardner certainly helped to “form a basis for a national culture rivalling those of Europe” (Boston Landmarks Commission, 1996, p.