Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1840-1924: She Created Art Museum in Her Home
She gathered one of the great collections of art treasures in America and gave them to the public to enjoy. Transcript of radio broadcast: 10 January 2009
VOICE ONE:
I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the art collector and
cultural supporter, Isabella Stewart Gardner.
During
the late nineteenth century, she traveled around the world to learn about
foreign cultures and improve her knowledge of art. Missus Gardner was a
celebrated arts and community supporter in her hometown of Boston,
Massachusetts. She spent her later years turning her home and art collection
into a beautiful museum for the public to enjoy.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum does not seem like
a museum. It looks like what it is: a large, beautiful home built in the style
of fifteenth century Italy. But this home contains over two thousand pieces of
art organized from room to room by period and by geography.
VOICE TWO:
The Raphael Room
The
collection includes paintings, sculpture, rare books, jewelry, and pieces of
ancient buildings. For example, the Blue Room contains paintings by nineteenth
century artists including Edouard Manet and Eugene Delacroix. It also contains
finely made furniture and displays of letters from many famous American writers
who were friends of Missus Gardner during her lifetime.
From this
room, you can explore the nearby Chinese Loggia, or go upstairs to see the
Italian art hung on the deep red walls of the Raphael Room.
VOICE ONE:
The four levels of rooms center on a beautiful
courtyard with a glass ceiling to let light shine in. The art collection is
organized in a way that is warm and personal. So you feel like you are a guest
in a home instead of a visitor in a huge, impersonal museum.
This museum is one of a kind. It is the only private art collection in the
United States that had one person design the building, the collection and the
way in which the art is hung. Let us learn more about this interesting woman
who devoted her life to art.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Isabella Stewart was born in New York City in eighteen
forty. Her father, David Stewart, made a great deal of money in the trade of
linen cloth and iron. Isabella went to private schools in New York and in
Paris, France, where her family lived for two years. During this time, her
parents took her to Italy to explore the country's many cultural treasures.
VOICE ONE:
The courtyard
One of the private art
collections Isabella visited in Milan had a deep influence on her. She wrote to
one of her friends about her dream of one day owning a house with an art
collection like the one she had seen in Italy. Isabella said in the letter that
she would fill the house with art and beautiful old furniture called antiques
so that other people could enjoy them.
VOICE TWO:
In
Paris, Isabella became close friends with one of her classmates, Julia Gardner,
whose family was from Boston, Massachusetts. Julia would later introduce Isabella
to her brother, Jack. In eighteen sixty, Isabella Stewart married Jack Gardner.
The couple moved to Boston.
VOICE ONE:
In eighteen sixty-three, Isabella gave birth to a son,
Jackie, who died two years later. To help his wife overcome a severe
depression, Jack Gardner planned for them to travel to Europe. The couple
traveled through Norway, Russia, Austria and France. This change of environment
helped Isabella Gardner greatly. She soon regained the sense of humor and
spirit for which she was known.
VOICE TWO:
The couple traveled together often. One trip was to
Egypt, Palestine, and Greece. Isabella kept detailed written descriptions of
their travels. Her travel writing showed a sense of adventure and love of the
art and traditions of other cultures. On another trip, she and her husband
visited the art and monuments of Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, and India.
In
eighteen seventy-five, the Gardners adopted the three sons of Jack's brother,
who had recently died.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
A portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner by John Singer Sargent
Isabella Stewart Gardner did not behave like most women
of her time. She was very independent and not afraid to express her thoughts
and opinions. She smoked cigarettes and hosted parties that were famous around
town. She learned all she could about subjects that were important to her, such
as art and literature. She also developed relationships with interesting
people. She became good friends with the American painters John Singer Sargent
and James McNeill Whistler and the writer Henry James. She collected the work
of the great ancient painters, but also worked hard to support modern artists
beginning their careers.
VOICE TWO:
Missus Gardner took a great
interest in the community activities of Boston. She loved to attend Red Sox
baseball games as well as other sports at nearby Harvard College. And, she gave
financial support to organizations that supported animal rights and the
planting of city gardens. Her independence and spirit caught the attention of
the media. Reporters often wrote stories about her, some of which were more
true than others. Missus Gardner did not seem to mind. She was known to have
said: "Don't spoil a good story by telling the truth!"
VOICE ONE:
During her many travels, Isabella Gardner visited art
galleries and consulted with art experts. She wanted to be fully educated about
the art collection she was starting to build. When Isabella's father died in
eighteen ninety-one, she used the money he left her to buy more art. A few
years later, Isabella and Jack Gardner bought three major paintings by great
artists. One was by the Dutch artist Rembrandt,
another by the Spanish artist Velazquez, and another was by the Italian artist,
Titian.
VOICE TWO:
The
couple knew they now had too much art to fit inside their home. So they decided
to start planning a museum. Missus Gardner decided that she did not like the
cold and empty spaces of many museums during her time. She wanted to create a
museum that was warm and filled with light. The building design of ancient
homes in Venice, Italy, became the influence for their museum.
VOICE ONE:
Missus
Gardner once said that she decided years ago that the greatest need in her
country was art. She said America was a young country developing quickly in
other areas. But the country needed more chances for people to see beautiful examples
of art.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
In eighteen ninety-eight, Jack Gardner died
unexpectedly of a stroke. Isabella knew she had no time to lose in building her
museum. She bought land, hired a building designer, and supervised every detail
of her museum's construction. Around nineteen oh one, Missus Gardner moved into the fourth floor of the museum, where
she would live for the rest of her life. For over a year, she worked on putting
her art collection into place.
VOICE ONE:
Missus
Gardner opened her museum on January first, nineteen oh three. The museum at
this time was called Fenway Court. She invited her friends that night for a
special musical performance by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. One
person attending that evening described how the perfection of all things in the
museum seemed to have an unusual effect on the guests. He said its effect was
very extraordinary and wonderful, like a miracle.
The
next month, she opened the museum to the public. At first, visits were limited
to twenty days out of the year. Visitors paid one dollar to enter.
VOICE TWO:
Isabella
Stewart Gardner died in nineteen twenty-four in Boston. In her will, she left
the museum a million dollars and a series of requirements about how it should
be managed. One requirement is that the permanent collection cannot be changed.
VOICE ONE:
But one major change was beyond the
museum's control. In March of nineteen ninety, robbers dressed as police
entered the museum and stole thirteen works of art. They stole some of the most
valuable works in the collection. They included three paintings by Rembrandt
and another by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. The paintings were never
recovered. Empty frames hang on the walls were the paintings once were
displayed as a reminder of this tragic crime.
VOICE TWO:
The Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum is as interesting today as it was one hundred years ago. But it
also keeps up with today's community. The museum holds many events so that the
public can enjoy musical evenings, educational programs and other activities.
Modern artists can take part in the museum's artist-in-residence program. And,
the museum invites public school students to view the collection while also
providing teachers with art education projects.
The
memory and spirit of Isabella Stewart Gardner lives on in the museum she
created to share her love of art with the people.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
This
program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara
Klein. You can learn about other famous Americans at our Web site,
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA
Special English.