Last week I was invited to a VIP tour of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, guided by their Chief Curator. What I found was a woman who turned grief into one of the most unconventional art collections in American history — and who once glued tea-box tinfoil to her dining room walls because she liked the way it looked. I even got to stand two feet from a Rembrandt that survived the largest unsolved art heist in history! This is the story of Isabella Stewart Gardner, and why she knew the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe,.
In this episode:
- Who Isabella Stewart Gardner was, and why she remains one of the most unconventional art collectors in American history
- How personal loss — the death of her young son Jackie — led Isabella to start traveling and collecting art
- The artists and friends in Isabella's orbit, including John Singer Sargent, Henry James, and Johannes Brahms
- A close encounter with Rembrandt's 1629 self-portrait — the only surviving piece from Isabella's original five Rembrandts
- The story of the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, the largest unsolved art theft in history
- A recommendation for the podcast "Last Seen" by Kelly Horan and WBUR, which covers the heist in depth
- The surprising detail about silver tea-box tinfoil glued to Isabella's dining room walls — and why it made me love her even more
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