On the first Monday in May… florals for spring 😉
Christian Dior’s love of flowers started early—growing up in Normandy, surrounded by his mother Madeleine’s rose gardens 🌹 In 1950, Dior acquired his own home in the South of France, creating a garden complete with pergolas where he could sketch outdoors. This strapless evening gown from 1956 reflects his continued love of roses.
After Dior’s untimely death in 1957, Yves Saint Laurent, his successor, created a collection in Autumn/Winter 1958 that included pieces both in homage to Dior’s love of gardens and Saint Laurent’s own interest in nature.
These gowns, covered in growing, blooming designs make a garden and its vitality seem ever present.
👗 See them in “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination,” which is only on view through June 28!
Show me the Monet ✨✨
Our Monet Gallery got a little spring refresh last week with a newly installed rotation of paintings! If you haven’t visited in a while, consider this your sign 👀
The MFA has one of the largest collections of work outside France by the celebrated Impressionist painter—you can currently see 16 of his paintings on view in our gallery dedicated to Monet (and another one on view in the special exhibition “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination!”) 🖼️
When you think of a garden, what do you imagine?🍃🌳🌷
Opening today, “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination” explores how gardens have found a place in the visual arts across history and around the globe. Gardens are works of art in their own right, giving us ways to think about growth, renewal, and rebirth 🪴
The exhibition brings together more than 100 works from our collection—from iconic paintings and intricately detailed Chinese scrolls to enchanting tapestries and floral gowns.
🎟️ Everyone needs a timed-entry ticket! Don’t forget—exhibition tickets include general admission, so you can explore the whole Museum during your visit. Reserve yours now on mfa.org.
next Thursday May 21st at @mfaboston I will return to make drawings of YOU. $5 Admission after 5pm (Students enter FREE). I start drawing right at 6. I hope to see you there!!
What does it mean to be an American? Geographically, the Americas span what is now North, Central, and South America along with the Caribbean. However, Americanness can also be an identity or ambition—one that reflects histories of migration, war, trade, politics, aspirations, and cultural exchange.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, a new installation in the Lower Rotunda contends with these shifting notions of American identity. Alongside Paul Revere’s “Sons of Liberty Bowl,” the display brings together a selection of portraits across time periods and geographies that represent a broad, yet admittedly incomplete, portrait of people who comprise our collective hemisphere.
This display comes ahead of a major reinstallation of our 18th-century Art of the Americas galleries (@americasmfa ), which will be unveiled at the Museum’s annual Juneteenth event on June 19, followed by an America at 250 Open House on June 20. Both events will be FREE for Massachusetts residents!
This cap? Museum-worthy 🎓🖼️
@emmanuelcollege student and MFA Pathways intern Lilly Bittman brought her love of the Museum to graduation day with an incredible cap she decorated entirely by hand.
Lilly saved every single ticket from her visits to the MFA over her years at Emmanuel—just some of which make up the background of her cap. The two flipped tickets mark her very first visit to the Museum in 2023 and her last visit before beginning her internship earlier this year 🥹
Congratulations to all the grads celebrating across Boston this month! If you’re looking for a great photo spot, our doors are always open ✨
Mary Cassatt is best known for her images of mothers and children.
Although she never had children of her own, she was likely inspired by her many nieces and nephews, whom she adored, and images of the Madonna and Child from the Italian Renaissance.
This #MothersDay, treat the extraordinary women in your life to a memorable day at the Museum. We're open from 10 am to 5 pm!
🎨: Mary Stevenson Cassatt (American, 1844–1926), “Caresse Maternelle” (about 1902), oil on canvas
The red carpet’s most talked about look has been trending since antiquity🏺
Appearing as if soaked with water, this style of dress called “wet drapery” provided a way to reveal the body at a time when fully nude female statues were still unthinkable in Greek art.
It first appeared on figures in the Parthenon’s east pediment and became increasingly fashionable in the late 5th century BCE. The Romans adapted this manner for representations of Venus Genetrix, the ancestress of the Roman people and of the Julii, the family to which Julius Caesar and Augustus belonged.
See these works and more on view in our galleries for Greek and Roman art!
🎨: Body of Venus (Louvre-Naples type) for a female portrait (Roman, Imperial Period, late 1st to early 2nd century CE), marble (Carrara, Italy)
🎨: Female torso (probably Aphrodite) (Greek, Hellenistic period, 2nd to 1st centuries BCE), marble
🎨: Seated statue, probably a Muse (Roman, Imperial period, late 1st century BCE or 1st century CE), marble (Carrara, Italy)
For one weekend only, experience our galleries in full bloom 🌼💐🌻
We’re celebrating 50 years of Art in Bloom with 50 stunning arrangements! Through Sunday, May 3, join us for this beloved event that showcases the amazing talents of New England garden clubs, MFA floral volunteers, and professional designers.
🎟️ Art in Bloom is included with general admission and tickets can be purchased in advance online or at the door. Please note that Saturday tickets for our special exhibition “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination” are sold out.
📢 New this year, Boston students and their families enjoy free admission to our special Art in Bloom Family Day on Sunday as part of the City’s Boston Family Days program!
After a long winter, we’ve been waiting for this moment 🌸💐🌺🌷
Art in Bloom is officially here, and we’re celebrating 50 years! Through Sunday, explore dozens of magnificent floral arrangements inspired by works in our collection. This beloved event showcases the expertise of New England garden clubs, professional designers, and MFA floral volunteers. 🎟️ Art in Bloom is included with general admission and tickets can be purchased in advance on mfa.org or at the door. ❗ We expect our parking lots will fill up early, so we strongly suggest ride sharing or using public transportation.
Art in Bloom is sponsored by the MFA Associates and @pncbank .
We’re excited to announce @laurelnakadate as the 2026 recipient of the Maud Morgan Prize ✨
Established in 1993, the award honors a Massachusetts woman who has worked as an artist for at least 10 years, demonstrated creativity and vision, and made significant contributions to the contemporary arts landscape. The reestablished prize will be awarded biennially, offering a $15,000 grant to an artist whose work has been or is planned to be acquired by the Museum.
Nakadate (American, born 1975) is a photographer, filmmaker, video and performance artist. Her series “The Kingdom” (2018), comprising 34 works, was purchased by the MFA in 2024 and is currently on view—presented in four rotations—in the exhibition “Counter Histories: Contemporary Art from the Collection.”
The poignant series features vernacular images of Nakadate’s mother, who passed away in 2016, spanning her life in photographs. Each image has been altered by a stranger in order to place Nakadate’s infant son posthumously in the arms of his grandmother, who was never able to hold him. These constructed photographs imagine a history and a future that cannot exist, and merge this reimagining with longing.
