Past Exhibitions

Great Company
Portraits by European Masters

June 20, 2008–January 4, 2009

At the heart of the second floor of the Evans Wing, at the top of the great staircase that opens from the new State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance...

El Greco to Velázquez
Art during the Reign of Philip III

April 20–July 27, 2008

"A vivid, often passionate picture of Spain at the dawn of the 17th century...Putting these two geniuses in context with their contemporaries charts a fascinating progression." —Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe

Antonio López García

April 13–July 27, 2008

It is impossible to describe Antonio López García simply as a painter in the “realist” school. His masterful paintings of the prosaic, familiar places...

Rockwell and the Shinjin
Celebrating Baseball and the Red Sox

April 8–September 16, 2008

In honor of the second Red Sox World Series Championship in four seasons and opening day in Japan and Boston, the MFA proudly presents "Rockwell and...

Twentieth-Century Modernism Part One

February 4–April 20, 2008

This select installation in the Lower Rotunda features masterpieces of twentieth-century modernism from the Lane Collection, including the iconic That...

Kufic Korans
Calligraphy in the World of Islam

February 2–November 1, 2008

"Kufic Korans," on display in the Islamic Corridor, features a broad range of visual cultures, from Egypt to Iran, united by an appreciation for...

SMFA Traveling Scholars

February 2–March 2, 2008

The annual exhibition of work by recipients of the prestigious Traveling Scholarship Awards—three Museum School alumni and three Fifth Year students...

Rhythms of Modern Life
British Prints 1914-1939

January 30–June 1, 2008

Featuring approximately one hundred lithographs, etchings, woodcuts and color linocuts by fourteen artists, “Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints...

The Brilliance of Bird-and-Flower Painting

January 26–August 13, 2008

Throughout Asia birds and flowers have been cherished for their beauty, but they have carried rich symbolic messages as well. For example, the lotus—a...

Zhang Daqian
Painter, Collector, Forger

December 15, 2007–September 14, 2008

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) casts a long shadow over the modern history of Chinese painting. As a painter, he was known for his singular ability to mix...