Harumi Nakashima, "Work - 0808," 2008
New Blue and White February 20, 2013 - July 14, 2013

"Blue and white" means, at its simplest, cobalt pigment applied to white clay. Over the course of a millennium, blue-and-white porcelain has become one of the most recognized types of ceramic production worldwide. With roots in the Islamic world and Asia, and strong presence in Europe and...

Probably Aleardo Villa, "Advertising card for the Mele department stores," about 1900
The Postcard Age: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection October 24, 2012 - April 14, 2013

In the decades around 1900, postcards were Twitter, e-mail, Flickr, and Facebook, all wrapped into one. A postcard craze swept the world, as billions of cards were bought and mailed, or just pasted into albums. Many famous artists turned to the new medium, but one of the great pleasures of...

Gerrit van Honthorst, "The Triumph of the Winter Queen: Allegory of the Just," 1636
Triumph of the Winter Queen February 14, 2013 - July 21, 2013

On Valentine’s Day, the wedding anniversary of the Winter King and Queen, Gerrit van Honthorst's Triumph of the Winter Queen will be unveiled in the Loring Gallery, accompanied by an immersive gallery experience that screens every half hour. As you watch the story unfold you...

Lois Mailou Jones, "La Baker," 1977
Loïs Mailou Jones January 19, 2013 - October 14, 2013

“Loïs Mailou Jones” presents 30 paintings and drawings by the distinguished, internationally acclaimed graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Born and raised in Boston, Jones attended the SMFA during high school and earned a scholarship that enabled her to receive her...

Bruce Davidson (exhibition)
Bruce Davidson: East 100th Street January 19, 2013 - September 8, 2013

This exhibition celebrates the MFA’s recent acquisition of the 43 prints by renowned New York photographer Bruce Davidson that were originally showcased in his groundbreaking show, “East 100th Street,” at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. These powerful images capture the...

Head of a bearded man known as “Brutus”
Visiting Masterpieces: The Capitoline Brutus January 18, 2013 - May 1, 2013

Don’t miss your chance to see one of the icons of Roman art on view in the MFA’s Roman Art Gallery only through May 1. The Capitoline “Brutus,” a world-famous bronze portrait of a Roman statesman is on loan from the Palazzo dei Conservatori/Capitoline Museum, Rome, for...

Johan Thorn Prikker, "Holländische Kunstausstellung in Krefeld (Dutch Art Exhibition in Krefeld)," 1903
Art in the Street: European Posters December 15, 2012 - July 21, 2013

The international poster mania of the 1890s made fine art accessible to the masses, bringing it out of the salon into the streets and shop windows. Great posters proliferated, however, long after this “golden age,” as revealed by the standout images in “Art in the Street”...

Lacquer Boat, Chinese, Qing dynasty, 18th–19th century
Chinese Lacquer 1200–1800 November 16, 2012 - September 8, 2013

Chinese lacquer, derived from the sap or resin of trees native to China, has been made for more than 2,000 years. Technically challenging and time-consuming to create, lacquer was considered a luxury material, on par with gold and silver, and was created for the Imperial court and wealthy elite,...

Kang Ik-Joong, "Happy Buddha," 2008
Divine Depictions: Korean Buddhist Paintings November 16, 2012 - June 23, 2013

The official philosophy of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) was Confucianism. Buddhism was suppressed during this period, but in practice, many, including the royal family, continued to believe in Buddhism and to support temples financially. Many temples moved out of the towns to...

Albrecht Dürer, "Triumphal Chariot of Maximilian I (detail)," dated 1522, begun 1518
Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper October 21, 2012 - June 16, 2013

“Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Royalty on Paper” features examples of the various ways in which European rulers and their aristocratic followers have been represented on paper from the sixteenth century to 1900. In several instances (as with Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, Henri II...

Mario Testino, "HRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, St James Palace," 2010
Mario Testino: British Royal Portraits October 21, 2012 - June 16, 2013

Shortly after photographer Mario Testino went to England from his native Peru in 1976, he took his first photograph of British royalty, an impromptu shot of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and her grandson, Prince Edward, as they passed by crowds gathered in London’s streets to...

Daniel Rich, "Milad Tower," Tehran, 2012
Daniel Rich: Platforms of Power September 29, 2012 - March 31, 2013

Remembered by SMFA faculty and staff as a particularly disciplined student, New York painter Daniel Rich has spent a decade investigating the link between architecture, nationalism, and political power. Rich works from Google images, newspapers, and his own photographs. His labor-intensive and...

Sanford Robinson Gifford, "An October Afternoon," 1871
Art of the White Mountains July 14, 2012 - July 7, 2013

Beginning in the first decades of the nineteenth century, artists and writers were drawn to the pristine beauty of north New Hampshire's natural wonders: majestic peaks in the Franconia and Presidential ranges crowned by Mount Washington, the highest summit in the northeast; Crawford, Pinkham...

El Anatsui, "Black River," 2009  photo by Tony Rinaldo
Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art September 18, 2011 - December 31, 2016

Contemporary art has a dynamic home at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, located in the MFA’s dramatic I. M. Pei-designed building. The wing features seven galleries introducing innovative approaches to contemporary art within the context of...

Charles Robert Ashbee, "Marsh-bird brooch," 1901-02
Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern July 19, 2011 - June 1, 2014

What is a gem? "Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern," the first exhibition in the Museum's new Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation Gallery, examines the various roles and meanings associated with a wide range of gem materials. Drawn from the MFA...

View of the Art of the Americas Wing galleries from the Shapiro Courtyard
Art of the Americas Wing November 20, 2010 - December 31, 2016

The centerpiece of the MFA’s historic expansion is a spectacular new wing for the Art of the Americas collection, which will double the number of objects from the collection on view, including several large-scale masterpieces not displayed for decades.  Learn more about the new wing.