Isabella Stewart Gardner was an American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. The  favorite destination on her world travels was Venice, Italy.  To house her collection in Boston, she had  a building designed as a 15 C  Venetian palazzo complete with an indoor courtyard.

She traveled the world to amass her collection displaying it in an intimate natural  way for people to experience mixing  paintings, furniture, textiles, and objects.

The history of this museum changed dramatically in 1990 when there was the heist of 1/2 billion dollars worth of  irreplaceable treasures.  See the  video below.

This museum  is for those of you who don’t care for the  cold mausoleum atmosphere of most museums.  A leisurely day at this museum will  relax, educate , and charm you  tucked  in the heart of Boston.  And it is not far from Fenway Park ! Mrs. Garner  also loved baseball and the home team, the Red Socks!