May 2013
This is the summer of “Samurai!” Extraordinary suits of armor bring Japanese warrior culture to life in the Gund Gallery. Take advantage of weekly Samurai Saturdays in May to see sword demonstrations, taiko drumming, and classic samurai films. Bring young visitors with you, rent an MFA Guide, and enjoy the exhibition together. On the Guide, hear from artist Stan Sakai as he talks about his comic-book character Usagi Yojimbo, a rabbit samurai. This formidable bunny’s new video game is available to download for free at www.mfa.org/play. Gamers will find a secret passcode in the exhibition that unlocks a surprise.
Every day is a new MFA—the Art of the Americas Wing was just the start. Several new galleries open May 8. Explore the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries comprising period rooms and a captivating display of British art from Elizabethan to Regency. Our thanks go to the Hartmans, whose generosity facilitated the renewal of these rooms down to the last detail (Don’t miss the ceiling in the Newland House Drawing Room!), allowing you to encounter British decorative arts and painting in authentic and beautiful settings. Visit the newly updated gallery for 17th-century art of the Netherlands next door in Gallery 242, as we continue improving galleries in every wing of the Museum.
Beginning May 11, explore SMFA alumni Ridley Howard’s delicately composed portraits, landscapes, and abstractions in “Ridley Howard: Fields and Stripes,” on view on the Kay/Tarlow Art Wall, Level 2, in the Cohen Family Galleria.
And kick off your summer at our free Memorial Day Community Weekend May 25–27. Enjoy three days of free general admission, drop-in family art-making activities, spotlight talks, and tours.
Malcolm Rogers
Ann and Graham Gund Director Museum of Fine Arts, Boston