News and Events

2021

MFA Boston to Lift Mask Requirements on May 29; Increase Gallery Capacities Throughout June

MFA Boston to Celebrate Juneteenth with Free Outdoor Activities, Summer of Soul Screening and Virtual Panel

Ekua Holmes and Elizabeth James-Perry's Garden for Boston to Transform Grounds Outside MFA Boston

Samantha Nye: My Heart's in a Whirl Explores Power, Beauty of Desire Across Generations

MFA Boston Partners with Boston Public Schools to Bring the Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and His Peers to Local Students

MFA Boston Celebrates Return of Spring with Virtual Edition of Annual Art in Bloom Festival of Art and Flowers 

MFA Boston Receives Gift of 48 Henryk Ross Photographs Depicting Life Inside a World War II Jewish Ghetto

MFA Boston to Reopen February 3

MFA Boston, Citizens and King Boston to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day through “Voices on King,” a Virtual Community Celebration

2020

MFA Boston Receives $2.5 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment to Establish Curatorial Position for Islamic Art

December 14, 2020: MFA Boston Announces Temporary Closure

MFA Boston Commissions Works by Lauren Halsey & Diedrick Brackens for The Banner Project

New Schedule for Philip Guston Now Announced

MFA Boston Announces New Leadership of Boards of Trustees and Advisors

MFA Boston Receives Gift of Works from the Richard Balzer Collection

September 22, 2020: Philip Guston Now

MFA Boston Will Reopen September 26 with Art of the Americas Galleries, Women Take the Floor and Black Histories, Black Futures

MFA Boston Announces Appointment of Rosa Rodriguez-Williams as Senior Director of Belonging and Inclusion

MFA Boston Hosts Free "September Nights" Series of Outdoor Films and Livestreamed Concerts

August 3, 2020: Statement from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

UNIQLO and MFA Boston Launch Third T-Shirt Collection, Inspired by Ukiyo-e Prints from Museum's Renowned Holdings of Japanese Art

MFA Boston's Artists-in-Residence Rob "Problak" Gibbs and Rob Stull Lead 150th Anniversary Community Mural Project

MFA Boston Affirms Commitment to Contemporary Artists Amid Ongoing Closure

AG's Office and Museum of Fine Arts Reach Historic Agreement to Support Diversity and Inclusivity

COVID-19 Press Updates

MFA Boston Celebrates Annual Art in Bloom Festival of Fine Art and Flowers

Boston City Council President Kim Janey to Join MLK Day Community Celebration at MFA Boston

MFA Boston Hosts Third-Annual Boston Festival of Films from Japan, Made Possible by 10-Year Partnership with UNIQLO

MFA Boston and Citizens Bank Celebrate Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With Free Community Celebration

2019

MFA Boston Announces Major Renovation of Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

MFA Boston Partners with the Jewish Arts Collaborative and Combined Jewish Philanthropies to Celebrate Hanukkah

SMFA at Tufts: Juried Student Exhibition Showcases Work from Promising Young Artists

MFA Boston Acquires Joel Wayne Collection of Hand-Drawn Postcards

MFA Boston Honors Indigenous Peoples’ Day with Launch Of Free Community Celebration That Places Native American Voices at the Forefront

MFA Boston's 150th Anniversary Honors the Past and Reimagines the Future

Back to School at MFA Boston

MFA Boston to Co-Host First Latinx Heritage Night with Amplify Latinx

MFA Boston Expands Free Community Celebrations to include Latinx Heritage Night and Indigenous Peoples' Day

MFA Boston and UNIQLO Launch T-Shirt Collection Inspired by Ukiyo-e Prints from Museum's Renowned Holdings of Japanese Art

Kingdom of the Netherlands Establishes Endowment Fund in Support of Center for Netherlandish Art at MFA Boston

MFA Boston Hosts Boston Teens as Paid Scholars through Partnership with Becoming a Man (BAM) and The BASE

Arts of Islamic Cultures on View in New Gallery

465 Bar and Restaurant Opens at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on July 10, with a Focus on Local, Seasonal Ingredients Served in a Modern Setting

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces New Appointments and Curatorial Promotions

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Co-Hosts Seventh-Annual Juneteenth Event with The Urban Labs

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces Steps to Address Results of Investigation into Davis Leadership Academy Group Visit on May 16, 2019

Riley the Museum Dog Stars in New Children's Book Released by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Boston Globe

    Green Initiatives at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    MFA Boston Announces Partnership with Alfilo Brands to Develop New Retail Licensing Opportunities in the Greater China Region

    MFA Boston and Citizens Bank Celebrate Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Free Open House

    2018

    MFA Boston Receives Transformative Gift of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from Collector Wan-go H.C. Weng

    MFA Boston Appoints Makeeba McCreary as Chief of Learning and Community Engagement

    MFA Boston and Boston Public Library Collaborate on Major Exhibition of Graphic Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

    MFA Boston Strengthens Collection of Native American Art with Gift from Estate of David Rockefeller

    MFA Boston Acquires Howard Greenberg Collection of Photographs through Major Gift from the Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Charitable Trust

    MFA Boston Welcomes College Community Back to School and Back to the MFA

    MFA Boston and UNIQLO Collaborate on T-Shirt Collection Inspired by Katagami Stencils from the Museum's Renowned Holdings of Japanese Art

    MFA Boston Announces New Curatorial Appointments

    $1 Million Grant from the Ishibashi Foundation to Fund New Curatorial Fellowship for Japanese Art at MFA Boston

    MFA Boston Receives Gift of Monumental Chinese Scroll from Eminent Collector Wan-go H.C. Weng

    MFA Boston Acquires Group of 37 Career-Spanning Photographs by Graciela Iturbide

    MFA Boston to Host Naturalization Ceremony for Approximately 200 New U.S. Citizens

    MFA Boston Appoints Reto Thüring as Chair of Contemporary Art

    MFA Boston Appoints Cameran Mason as Chief Development Officer

    MFA Boston Receives Grant of Nearly $2 Million from Terra Foundation for American Art as Part of New Collection-Sharing Initiative

    MFA Boston Appoints Christina Yu Yu as New Chair of Asian Art

    MFA Boston Celebrates Return of Spring with Annual Art in Bloom Festival of Art and Flowers

    MFA Boston Restores a Pair of Rembrandt Portraits for the First Time in a Generation

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces New Festival Showcasing Films from Japan

    2017

    "Daily Life in Ancient Greece" Connects Visitors with Ancient People Who Lived More Than 2,500 Years Ago

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Receive Landmark Gifts of Dutch and Flemish Art Including Rembrandt Portrait and Other Golden Age Masterpieces

    New Programs at the MFA Boston Offer Free Access for New England K-12 Teachers and Massachusetts Community Colleges

    UNIQLO and MFA Boston Announce 10-Year Partnership Supporting Japanese Art and Culture

    MFA Boston Launches MFA Citizens, a Program to Welcome New U.S. Citizens with Complimentary Family Memberships

    MFA Boston Receives Gift of Colonial Latin American Art from Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

    "Summer at the MFA" Calls Early Birds and Night Owls for Art, Music and Film al Fresco

    MFA Boston Announces MFA 2020, a Shared Voice and Vision for the Future

    MFA Boston Reaches Agreement with Estate of Art Collector, Emma Lazarus Budge, to Retain Seven Pieces of 18th-Century Porcelain

    2016

    MFA Boston to Receive $30,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

    MFA Boston and Museum Independent Security Union Announce New Four-Year Contract

    MFA Boston Announces $24 Million Conservation Center

    #mfaNOW, a Season Celebrating Contemporary Art and Artists at the MFA Boston, Will Feature Exhibitions, Overnight Parties and Programs

    Kahlo, O'Keeffe and Pollock Headline "Making Modern" Installation at MFA Boston

    MFA Boston and Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts to Conclude 20-Year Partnership in 2019

    MFA Boston Purchases Painting by Frida Kahlo

    MFA Boston Unveils "Guanyin, Bodhissattva of Compassion," After 18-Month Conservation in Gallery of Song Dynasty Masterpieces

    2015

    School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Become Part of Tufts University in 2016

    MFA Boston Announces Naming of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Paintings Conservation Studio

    MFA Boston Announces Gifts of Art Donated in Honor of Malcolm Rogers, Departing Ann and Graham Gund Director

    MFA Boston Acquires John Singer Sargent Archive, Making MFA Global Center for Sargent Scholarship

    New Publication: The Priest, the Prince, and the Pasha: The Life and Afterlife of an Ancient Egyptian Sculpture

    MFA Boston Names Brian Flagg as Executive Chef

    Matthew Teitelbaum Appointed Director of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces Major Gift from Rothschild Heirs

    New Publication: Common Wealth: Art by African Americans in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Massachusetts State House Time Capsule Opened at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    MFA Boston Acquires Gift of Japanese Art

    2014

    MFA Boston Awards 2015 Maud Morgan Prize to Performance Artist Marilyn Arsem

    New Arts of the Pacific Gallery Brings Art and Traditions of Island Cultures, including New Zealand, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Commissions First Major Study of Boston's Cultural Audiences

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Holds Annual Meeting of Board of Trustees

    Three New Galleries Highlighting Greek Wine, Theater and Poetry Open at MFA Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acquires Iconic Portrait of John F. Kennedy by Artist Jamie Wyeth

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Transfers Eight Antiquities to Nigeria

    Gallery of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism in France Unveiled

    New Kunstkammer Gallery Offers a “Curiosity Cabinet” of Precious Wonders

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Receives $1.5 Million Software Grant from Microsoft

    Collector James Stunt Lends Major British Paintings to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts Celebrates 15th Anniversary

    2013

    The Seven Last Words by F. Holland Day Acquired by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acquires the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Collection of Judaica

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Celebrates 50 Years of Gallery Instructor Program

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Opens Benin Kingdom Gallery

    Art of the English Regency Reigns at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Opens Transformed Dutch Gallery

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Opens the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries Featuring 18th-Century Period Rooms and Decorative Arts from Great Britain

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces Major Gift of Contemporary Craft from Daphne Farago Collection

    Education and Community Programs

    Diversity Initiatives at the MFA

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Awards 2013 Maud Morgan Prize to Artist Sarah Braman

    McLane Family New Hampshire Student Membership Program at MFA
    Provides Free Access for New Hampshire Students

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Debut New Gallery Showcasing Gems and Jewelry of the Ancient Mediterranean

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Debut Michael C. Ruettgers Gallery for Ancient Coins

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Unveil Redesigned European Gallery; Koch Gallery to Feature Old Master Paintings, German Silver, and Italian Tapestries

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Receives Robert Owen Lehman Collection of Bronzes and Ivories from the Kingdom of Benin

    2012

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Receives the Lane Collection, One of the Largest and Most Significant Gifts in MFA History

    Juno's Journey: MFA Acquires Largest Classical Statue in the US

    MFA to Launch First Online Catalogue

    2011

    MFA, Boston, Acquires Works by African American Artists from John Axelrod Collection

    Dale Chihuly's Lime Green Icicle Tower Finds a Home at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Turkish Republic Reach Agreement for Transfer of Top Half of Weary Herakles to Turkey

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acquires Man at His Bath by Gustave Caillebotte

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Names Druker Pavilion in Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art

    Provenance Outreach Conducted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Results in Agreement to Retain Ownership of Eglon Van der Neer painting

    2010

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Returns 14th-Century Embroidery to the Museo Diocesano Tridentino in Trent, Italy