Past Exhibitions
Recent Acquisitions
African Printed Textiles
The markets of West Africa are brilliant with color, and nowhere is this more true than in the stalls devoted to printed cloth. New patterns are...
Designing the Modern Utopia
Soviet Textiles from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection
“Designing the Modern Utopia” paints a fascinating picture of a uniquely Soviet experiment in social and sartorial engineering. The exhibition...
Marbling and Music
Performing Sufism at a Turkish Tekke
Within the world of Islam there are many different attitudes toward the arts. For sufis, those Muslims who follow a mystical path, creating art is...
Understanding the Master
Dong Qichang and His Circle
The controversial painter Dong Qichang (1555–1626) is alternately regarded as the greatest artist in Chinese history or simply clumsy with the brush....
Sargent, Chase, Cassatt
Master Paintings from a Private Collection
Comprising 23 paintings and works on paper, “Sargent, Chase, and Cassatt: Master Paintings from a Private Collection” makes an excellent complement to...
Americans in Paris, 1860–1900
"When today we look for 'American art' we find it mainly in Paris. When we find it out of Paris, we at least find a good deal of Paris in it." —Henry...
Laura McPhee
River of No Return
Laura McPhee’s stunning large-scale color photographs juxtapose idealized images of the land against the disarming reality of life in the twenty-first...
On Stage in Osaka
Actor Prints from the MFA Collection
“On Stage in Osaka: Actor Prints from the MFA Collection” includes distinctive prints made during the nineteenth century in Osaka that have never...
David Hockney Portraits
The best-known British artist of his generation, David Hockney portrays friends, family, and lovers—and himself—in works that have become icons of our...
SMFA Traveling Scholars
"SMFA Traveling Scholars" in the Foster Gallery presents recent work by seven graduates of the School. All seven share a passion and dedication to...