Free Admission To The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
February 25, 2015·by: Crystal
In the spirit of beating the winter blues, admission to the Gardner is free this Thursday 2/26/2015!
Free admission will be available at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum entrance on Thursday, February 26 starting at 11 am, on a first-come, first-served basis.Entry is timed every 30 minutes beginning at 11 am, with the last entry at 8 pm.Due to capacity regulations, the Museum may only admit a specific number of visitors at once. For your safety and the safety of the collection, visitors may be asked to wait in line to enter.Admission includes access to the entire Museum, including special exhibitions.
The museum hosts exhibitions of historic and contemporary art, as well as concerts, lectures, family and community programs, and changing courtyard displays. In accordance with the will of Isabella Stewart Gardner, admittance is free to anyone named Isabella .
Introductory Talk: Who Was Isabella Stewart Gardner
20 minutesMonday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday12:30 pm and 2:30 pm
This 20-minute slide talk provides an overview of the life and legacy of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Our friendly and knowledgeable Museum Volunteers lead these talks, which are included with Museum admission. These talks take place in the New Wing.
You can watch our Intro Talk in the video below.
Learn more about the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a radical and free-spirited woman who made it her life’s mission to collect art from around the worldand build this museum to share it with the public.
Tips For Visiting Like A Local:
- The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is located in the Fenway/Kenmore area of Boston, near the Back Bay Fens. Its less than a 5 minute walk from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. And its easy to view both museums in one day.
- If you bring your MFA ticket stub to the Gardner museum within two days of purchase, you can save $2 on adult/senior general admission at the Gardner.
- MFA members can also show their membership card at the Gardner for a $2 discount on admission.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum25 Evans Way
Read Also: Decordova Sculpture Park And Museum Wedding
Off Campus Arts Opportunities For Mit Staff
The Council for the Arts at MIT provides funding and benefits for MIT staff members in accordance with its mission to act as a catalyst for the development of a broadly based, highly participatory program in the arts, firmly founded on teaching, practice, and research at the Institute.
For more information, contact:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Interior Courtyard
The overall design of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum itself was heavily influenced by the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice, and was meant to resemble a 15th century palace. And nearly all of the original galleries in the Palace open up onto the museums interior Courtyard, which is kept in bloom year round.
While flowering plants can always be found in the Courtyard, a few seasons are especially spectacular. Each April, the museum installs 20 hanging nasturtiums from the 3rd floor windows, bringing a burst of bright orange to the Courtyard walls. In the summer, the garden is filled with flowering Hydrangea and hues of blue. In the fall, the garden features chrysanthemums of all different varieties and colors. The holiday garden in December features hues of red, green and silver with amaryllis, poinsettias, flowering jade and dusty miller. The majority of the plants are cultivated at the museums greenhouse in Hingham, MA. And are then painstakingly installed in the courtyard on a regular basis.
In addition to plants, the Courtyard contains many examples of medieval architecture and classical and Renaissance sculpture. Youll notice that only women are depicted in the works that inhabit the Courtyard, with no men to be found. .
While museum visitors are not permitted into the garden itself, there are ledges around the courtyard on which to sit and admire the beauty of Bostons secret garden.
Read Also: Boston Museum Of Science Tickets
Museum Access Request Form
The Council for the Arts at MIT provides free general admission to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , the Institute of Contemporary Art , and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for MIT students, faculty, and staff. Tickets for the MFA are available in person, day of a promo code is no longer required.
For more information or questions, please contact
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
The ICA is open and timed entry tickets are required for university members. Use the form below to receive information about reserving a free ticket through MITs ICA University Membership.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Gardner Museum is open and timed entry tickets are required. Use the form below to receive information about reserving a free ticket through MITs Gardner Museum Membership.
Tickets & Timed Entry
To ensure a safe and enjoyable visitor experience, tickets are available for timed entry in time slots every half hour during open hours. Same-day reservations and specific time slots may not be available on popular days of the week or times of day.
Recommended Reading: Contemporary Art Museum St Louis
Monthly Summer Events Offer Free Admission Live Performances
Neighborhood Nights at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are free to residents of nearby neighborhoods and the general public. The first of this summers Neighborhood Nights is tonight. Photo by Matt Teuten
Tonight, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is offering free admission, live music and dance performances, gallery games, and a chance to create some art of your own as part of its popular Neighborhood Nights series. Starting tonight and running through August 9, on three Thursday nights from 5 to 9 pm the Gardner invites guests to experience its world-class galleries free. The evenings are designed especially for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods of the Fenway, Mission Hill, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Dorchester.
The theme of this summers Neighborhood Nights takes its cue from a special exhibition at the museum, Life, Death & Revelry, which traces the journey of one of its most important works, the Farnese Sarcophagus, over two millennia, from ancient Rome through the modern era. Tonights event is titled Life Cycles.
The evening also features a cash bar and food trucks as well as gallery games.
The Gardners other Neighborhood Nights are Thursday, July 12, and Thursday, August 9, when the themes will be Creative Cycles and Cosmic Cycles.
Sarah Wells can be reached at .
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: The Heist
The museum operated as usual for many years after Isabellas death, until the fateful morning of March 18, 1990, when the largest art theft in US history took place in Boston at the Gardner Museum.
In the early morning hours, two men disguised as police officers broke into the museum. They made off with 13 works, valued at more than $500 million. The stolen masterpieces included works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet, among others. The thieves spend exactly 81 minutes in the museum that night, cutting paintings from their frames and removing the works from the building. The crime has never been solved, and the art has never been recovered. To this day, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the return of the stolen masterpieces in good condition.
Empty frames remain hanging in the galleries where the works were stolen, including two Rembrandts that were cut from their frames in the Dutch Room. The empty frames pay homage to the missing art. And remain as Isabella first hung them, per the instructions in her will. But are also a sign of hope that someday the paintings will be returned. I stop by the Dutch room whenever I visit the museum to pay my respects to the stolen works.
Note:If you want to learn more about the heist, WBUR and The Boston Globe collaborated on a podcast called Last Seen, which digs into what happened and reasons why not a single work has been recovered. Its well worth a listen!
Recommended Reading: Where Can I Watch Mysteries At The Museum
Savvy Ways To Do The Isgm
And a good tip from the museums website: Check the Information Desk on the first floor for times and info on free talks and tours.
Information On Parking Public Transportation Hours Admission And More
Ribbon-cutting: Jan. 19, 9 a.m.
Entrance to the museum free Jan. 19-22.
MEMBER PREVIEW DAYS
Tickets $25. Basic annual membership $70. Information: www.gardnermuseum.org/about/membership
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Green Line E train or No. 39 bus to the
Museum of Fine Arts stop on Huntington Avenue. For MBTA maps and schedules, visit www.mbta.com.
PARKING
Limited on-street free and metered parking is available. Two parking lots and a garage are located on Museum Road, accessible from Huntington Avenue or The Fenway.
Wed-Mon, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Closed: Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
For special events, see www.isgm.org.
ADMISSION
Adults $15 seniors $12 college students $5 with current ID members, anyone named Isabella, and children under 18 free.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Recommended Reading: Must See Museums In California
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: First Free Thursdays
Image Credit:Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
TheIsabella Stewart Gardner Museumis open!
Monday | 11 am5 pmTuesday | ClosedWednesday | 11 am5 pmThursday | 11am5pm, except for the first Thursday of the month, which will be 11am9pmFriday | 11 am5 pmSaturday | 10 am5 pmSunday | 10 am5 pm
Link for tickets:
Exhibitions & Daily events at the Gardener:
Continue to connect with us through our virtual and digital offerings, including the Inside the Collection blog, at-home programs like our Luminary Lens and In the Studio series, and our dynamic , , and feeds.
Hydrangeas Courtyard Display
On view: May-June
With the coming of warmer weather, the Courtyard features a variety of Hydrangea specimens including Hydrangea macrophylla, Hydrangea quercifolia, and Hydrangea paniculata. Both the mophead and lacecap hydrangea varieties are often grown from cuttings taken the previous year. The violets, deep blues, and whites of the hydrangeas complement the delicate yellow oncidium orchids.
First Free Thursdays!
Thursday, June 2, 2022, 3 9 PM, throughout the museum.
Join us on the first Thursday of every month for a restorative evening of discovery and community. Explore art, architecture, and seasonal horticulture displays in the Palace. The Café is open late for dinner and drinks.
Admission is free, but reservations are required.
Take a virtual tour:
From Our Trusted Partners
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Welcomes Public To Free Thursday Afternoons And Evenings
Presented by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston MA
Beginning October 1, 2020, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to announce that admission will be free Thursday afternoon and evening hours on the first Thursday of every month from October through June from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Beginning October 1, 2020, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to announce that admission will be free Thursday afternoon and evening hours on the first Thursday of every month from October through June from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Museum is significantly increasing the number of free hours, from 37 per year to 95. In addition to this new free Thursday programming, the Gardner will continue its beloved, free Neighborhood Nights.
Starting in November, the Gardners free first Thursdays
Beginning October 1, 2020, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pleased to announce that admission will be free Thursday afternoon and evening hours on the first Thursday of every month from October through June from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Museum is significantly increasing the number of free hours, from 37 per year to 95. In addition to this new free Thursday programming, the Gardner will continue its beloved, free Neighborhood Nights.
Upcoming digital programs include:
Free First Thursdays are supported in part by the Wallace Minot Leonard Foundation. The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115
You May Like: 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City Reviews
Health And Safety Guidelines For All Visitors
The Gardner Museum follows guidelines and mandates issued by the Centers for Disease Control , the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston. In partnership with our colleagues at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Institute for Contemporary Art, we are committed to providing a consistent experience to our visitors with aligned COVID-19 policies.
Effective Saturday, March 5, 2022, the City of Bostons vaccine requirement and its mask mandate for indoor venues have been lifted. Please visit the City of Boston website to learn more about the public health metrics informing this change. In line with state and local guidance, we advise anyone who is unvaccinated, and encourage anyone who feels more comfortable, to continue wearing a mask. All visitors and staff have the right to a safe, respectful experience and we appreciate your adherence to these policies.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: The New Wing
In 2012, a new contemporary wing was added to the museum, designed by Renzo Piano. With floor to ceiling glass windows, the new wing overlooks the outdoor gardens. Its connected to the original Palace through a glass-enclosed walkway. It contains a living room area where guests can read, sit and relax or charge their phones. As well as a restaurant, a music hall and gallery space for temporary exhibitions. Right now, the museums Botticelli: Heroines + Heroes exhibition is on view in the new wing through May 19, 2019.
Read Also: Perez Art Museum Miami Price
Thank You Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum For Welcoming Dcf Foster Children And Their Families
Access Card Offer Details: As a Wonderfund Access Card Partner, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum invites DCF foster families with a Wonderfund Access Card to enjoy free admissions for 2 adults and up to 6 children under eighteen. This offer applies to up to eight people, 2 adults/6 children, per card, per visit.
Tickets must be reserved online HERE.
Please review the following instructions before reserving your tickets:
- Enter the promo code WONDERFUND into the Promo Code box and click submit.
- Scroll down to the calendar and select “Museum Admission” for the date you want to reserve.
- Select from the calendar the date and time you wish to reserve.
- Next to the time slots will appear a list of prices. Select up to 2 adults and up to 6 children under 18. Click add to cart.
- Your cart will show a price for the adult tickets. You will not be charged upon check-out.
- Now register for an account.
- After the account is created, scroll down and click “Buy Now”.
- Tickets will be emailed directly to you. This may take up to twenty minutes.
Families will be required to present their Wonderfund Access Card and a valid photo ID when entering the Museum.
This discount is for general admission and does not apply to special events or programs that include an additional fee.
Be sure to review the Isabella Stewart Gardner website before you visit. HERE.
Enjoy a fantastic day exploring the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!
Free Admission At Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Garden Party Aug 15
MIT students will be admitted for free by showing ID at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for Third Thursdays and for the August 15 Garden Party. Third Thursdays will be from 5:30pm 9 pm. Soak up the enchanting atmosphere of the Museum after hours and enjoy a sparkling night of music, conversation, art-making, and more. Get creative, make connections, linger over drinks. Enjoy moonlit gardens, enchanting landscapes, and colorful conversations, as of August, Jazz at the Garnder, concerts are included in the price of admission to Third Thursdays. For non-members, tickets are for sale at a price range of five to fifteen dollars. Museum members are also granted free admission. For information on how to become a member visit the membership page of the museum website. Photo by KevinDerrick.
Recommended Reading: Museum Of Ice Cream In New York
