Ancient Nubia

This exhibition of magnificent jewelry, pottery, sculpture, metalwork, and more from the MFA’s collection of ancient Nubian art examines power, representation, and cultural biases in the ancient world, in the early 20th century and today. The majestic display of art and objects confronts past misinterpretations and offers new ways of understanding Nubia’s history and contemporary relevance. Undertaken between 1913 and 1932, the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition was among the first to conduct scientific excavations in Sudan, leading the way in recovering ancient Nubian material culture. As a result, the MFA houses the largest and finest Nubian collection outside Khartoum.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Ancient Nubia Now
Boston, Massachusetts
October 13, 2019–January 20, 2020

Saint Louis Art Museum

Nubia: Treasure of Ancient Africa
Saint Louis, Missouri
April 18–August 22, 2021

The Getty Villa

Nubia: Jewels of Ancient Sudan
Los Angeles, California
October 12, 2022–April 3, 2023

High Museum of Art

Ancient Nubia: Art of the 25th Dynasty from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Atlanta, Georgia
June 2–September 3, 2023

Check back soon for additional host museums.

French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Drawn from MFA Boston’s rich collection of Impressionist works, this exhibition charts the trajectory of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism in late nineteenth-century France, presenting more than 100 paintings by key figures including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Paul Signac, and Alfred Sisley. Through ten thematic sections, “French Impressionism” evokes the artistic energy and intellectual dynamism of the period by placing emphasis on the thoughts and observations of the artists themselves. Their words, as recorded in letters, journals, and articles, reveal the mutual admiration and personal connections that united the practitioners at the center of this avant-garde movement.

National Gallery of Victoria

Melbourne, Australia
June 6–October 25, 2025

Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

In the 17th century Dutch merchants sailed across seas and oceans, joining trade networks that stretched from Asia to the Americas and Africa. The unprecedented movement of goods, ideas, and people fueled the economy and sparked an artistic boom. “Dutch Art in a Global Age” presents highlights from the MFA’s collection with an innovative thesis: arranged thematically, the exhibition explores the intersections between art, commercial networks, and colonial expansion. See paintings by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Gerrit Dou, Jacob van Ruisdael, Rachel Ruysch, and other celebrated artists, complemented by exquisite silver and ceramic decorative arts and superb impressions from the Museum’s world-renowned print collection.

North Carolina Museum of Art

Raleigh, North Carolina
September 16, 2023–January 7, 2024

High Museum of Art

Atlanta, Georgia
April 19–July 24, 2024

Kimbell Art Museum

Fort Worth, Texas
November 10, 2024–February 9, 2025

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence—from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Thanks to the popularity of the instantly recognizable Great Wave—cited everywhere from book covers and Lego sets to anime and emoji— Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) has become one of the most famous and influential artists in the world. This major exhibition takes a new approach to the work of the versatile master, pairing more than 100 of his woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books from the MFA’s collection with more than 200 works by his teachers, students, rivals, and admirers. Explore Hokusai’s impact through the centuries and around the globe, on artists from Winslow Homer and Yoshitomo Nara to Loïs Mailou Jones and John Cederquist.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston, Massachusetts
March 26–July 16, 2023

Seattle Art Museum

Seattle, Washington
October 19, 2023–January 21, 2024

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art

Kansas City, Missouri
September 21, 2024–January 5, 2025

Tattoos in Japanese Prints from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Some of the world’s most popular tattoo motifs trace back to early 19th-century Edo (present-day Tokyo), where tattoo artists took inspiration from color woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e. Today, the global popularity of tattoos has brought renewed attention to the centuries-old Japanese tradition. Drawn from the MFA’s world-class collection of Japanese art, “Tattoos in Japanese Prints” looks closely at the social background, iconography, and visual splendor of tattoos through the printed media that helped carry them from the streets of Edo-period Japan to 21st-century tattoo shops all over the world.

Asian Art Museum

San Francisco, California
May 31–August 18, 2019

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston, Massachusetts
November 20, 2021–February 20, 2022

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Jacksonville, Florida
October 21, 2023–January 14, 2024

Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Quilts and coverlets have a unique capacity to tell stories: their tactile, intricate mode of creation and traditional use in the home impart the deeply personal narratives of their creators, and the many histories they express reveal a complex portrait America. Upending expectations about quilt displays, which are traditionally organized by region, form, or motif, “Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories” is a loosely chronological presentation that voices multiple perspectives. See and hear from a diverse group of artists, educators, academics, and activists, including both known and unidentified female and male urban and rural makers; immigrants; and Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ Americans. Celebrate the artistry and intricacy of quilts and coverlets and the lives they document while also considering the complicated legacies ingrained in the fabric of American life.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston, Massachusetts
October 10, 2021–January 17, 2022

Skirball Cultural Center and Museum

Los Angeles, California
November 17, 2022–March 12, 2023

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Jacksonville, Florida
July 5–September 29, 2024

Frist Art Museum

Nashville, Tennessee
June 27–October 12, 2025

Thinking Small: Dutch Art to Scale

“Thinking Small: Dutch Art to Scale” explores an intriguing selection of small-scale works in various media from the 17th-century Netherlands that were designed to elicit slow, intimate, and contemplative engagement on the part of their original audiences. In their size or intricacy, the objects compel viewers to reconsider their relationship with the world around them. This exhibition is part of a series of collaborations between the Center for Netherlandish Art (CNA) and its academic partners that draws on the MFA’s collection of Dutch and Flemish art in new ways, bringing diverse perspectives to the forefront while showcasing cross-disciplinary scholarship. Curated by graduate students at Yale University and organized by the Yale University Art Gallery in partnership with the Center for Netherlandish Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Yale University Art Gallery

New Haven, Connecticut
February 17–July 23, 2023

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston, Massachusetts
November 18, 2023–November 3, 2024

Three Great Landscape Artists: Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

This exhibition presents works by the two great 19th-century artists of the “floating world,” Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, alongside modern prints by Kawase Hasui, a key member of the shin hanga (“new prints”) movement. Hasui developed new subjects and themes in woodblock color print through the mid-1950s, when he was named a “living national treasure” in 1956. Through a selection of extraordinary woodblock color prints by these three creators, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the most evocative places in Japan, both real and imaginary. The floating world of Hokusai and Hiroshige is revealed along with its transformation into the tastes of a society that increasingly aspired to European canons, to which Hasui serves as a testament.

One Hundred Stitches, One Hundred Villages: The Beauty of Patchwork from Rural China, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The tradition of kaleidoscopic Chinese textile patchwork, created by women in rural China and rarely seen outside their villages, evolved from ancient Buddhist and Daoist customs of monks dressing in patched rags to project a sense of humility. Over time, lay people adopted the patchwork technique to express wishes for longevity and good fortune. Women fashioned patchwork textiles to create bedcovers, window covers, door covers for their homes, and clothing for their children. Viewers familiar with American quilt pattern will be fascinated to see many similar designs, despite the fact that these Chinese works represent an entirely separate textile tradition. Over the past century, rural women have created these vibrant abstract works, demonstrating the creativity and fine artistic sensibilities that flourish outside urban China and behold the borders of established Chinese art canons.