Designed by Willard T. Sears, the building’s unassuming exterior betrays nothing of its interior oasis of exotic plants, ornate architecture, and world-class artwork. Mrs. Gardner traveled extensively in Europe during the late 1880s and designed her museum’s interior to resemble an Italian palazzo. At the museum’s heart is a glazed courtyard containing a lush garden filled with statues.
“The courtyard is a place of contemplation and a place to find solace,” says Pieranna Cavalchini, curator of contemporary art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. “It’s also a comfort to know that if you come back after 3 months, or even 20 years, it will still be there just as you left it. That’s so rare because everything is always changing today, especially in this country where we are incredibly mobile. It’s a comfort to know that, even in this crazy, crazy world, some things don’t change.”
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