palace of paintings

“Mrs. Jack” as she was called startled Boston society by erecting a Venetian pleasure dome in the Back Bay and filling it with masterpieces for the public to enjoy. Isabela Stewart Gardner, a dashing individualist, pioneered the creation of a new kind of museum in America…

---The Gardner is a beautiful museum, founded, organized, designed and curated by Mrs Gardner herself, and maintained in much the state she left it, as stated in her will. Far from the sterile, stale galleries of most institutions, the Gardner is alive with architectural forms, natural light, and a beautiful courtyard garden, all arranged in such a way so as to aid in the appreciation of the beauty of the art.--- Read More:http://chaari.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/isabella-stewart-gardners-journeys-east/

Above: Fenway Court, completed in 1902,is a museum even in architectural detail. The balconies are original eighteenth-century work, brought to Boston from the famous Ca d’Oro of Venice, while the mosaic pavement is a treasure of the first century B.C., taken from the villa of the Empress Livia near Rome. Statuary, columns, and minor architectural embellishments were gathered throughout Europe. In all seasons of the year, the central court is richly decorated with flowers.