PJ's Studio: Boston 5

Sunday, September 1, 2024

Boston 5

Edward and I took a short trip to Boston to have lunch with a friend and visit the Isabella Gardner Museum.

It’s been 16 years since we last visited, and 43 years since I wrapped up my MBA at Northeastern. Unbelievable!

When we visited the Isabella Gardner Museum in 2008, I enjoyed it so much that I bought a book on the way out.

When I looked at it, I realized that I had managed to miss several of the museum highlights – most notably this Michelangelo. (It was even hung low enough that I could look at it squarely!!! )

Needless to say, I was eager to try again.

Isabella was a passionate and knowledgeable collector. She was particularly fond of John Singer Sargent and bought about 60 of his paintings. He also painted her portrait twice. Here’s the watercolor he did in 1922.

It’s no surprise that she wanted this piece which she acquired at auction in 1919, since anyone who visits The Met in NYC will recognize the profile of the subject as none other than the infamous “Madame X.”

But I think my favorite story is about “El Jaleo.” Her cousin by marriage owned it. But he had it hung in his home with lighting from the top. Oh no! What a Philistine.

So, she created a special room specifically for it in Fenway Court – with exquisite framing and appropriate lighting. When he saw what she had done, her cousin-in-law, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge - decided to give the painting to her. How could he not? And when Sargent saw it in situ, he was so pleased that he gifted her with a sketchbook of his studies for the painting. 😊