Museum of Fine Arts

Boston, one of the oldest cities in the United States, is home to many interesting museums.

One of them is the Museum of Fine Arts, which was created thanks to the residents of the city. They lived with the dream of making Boston a world cultural center. It takes a few days to explore the city; you can stay in one of the hotels in Boston.

History of the Museum of Fine Arts

The museum was founded in 1870 on the basis of the Ateneum. At first, the city library was located here, later the territory began to host art exhibitions. Since the activities of the Ateneum were restricted, a group of city residents proposed to establish an art center and in 1870 the foundation “Museum of Fine Arts” was founded, and so began the creation of this center.

A plot of land in the southern part of the Copley Square site was allocated for the construction of the museum, and in 1876 the western wing of the institution was completed and opened to the public. In 1809, work on the main building was completed and its grounds also welcomed their first guests. By that time, the collection of the institution already had a lot of exhibits, and over the years their number was constantly increasing, delighting visitors with new creations of famous masters.

At the beginning of the 20th century, work began on the erection of a new building, located not far from the old structure and representing a huge building in the style of neoclassicism. Its author was the architect Lowell. The old structure was demolished and the Copley Plaza Hotel was built in its place.

The doors of the new museum opened in 1909, attracting many tourists, but the construction and decoration work continued for another six years and was completed by 1925. Over the years, several additions were made to the museum, and in 1981, the west wing was added, the work was led by architect Ray. This structure is characterized by a modern design, it combines the main building and granite from the same quarry.

Today, more than 1 million works of masters of fine and applied arts are exhibited within the walls of the museum. The institution owes its huge collection to the entrepreneurs and scientists of the city, it was they who bought and brought here interesting works. There is a unique collection of paintings by Millet, paintings by Claude Monet and other, no less famous artists are presented in the walls of the museum.

When visiting museums in Boston, do not forget to take time to visit the Museum of Science, which presents a huge number of exhibits, 500 of which are interactive, as well as a planetarium and the largest in the U.S. IMAX theater.