Isabella Stewart Gardner
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Isabella Stewart Gardner (April 14, 1840 – July 17, 1924) was an influential art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts whose collection is now housed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which opened in 1903. The building was designed by Willard T. Sears, with much involvement from Mrs. Gardner. Three floors of galleries surround a glass-covered garden courtyard. The fourth floor of the building was used as living quarters by Isabella Gardner, and by directors of the museum. It is now used for offices.
In 1990 the Museum had a major theft. Art thieves dressed up as Boston policemen tied up the security guards at night, and proceeded to walk off with many works of art, including a Rembrandt seascape "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" (his only known work of the genre), a Vermeer, and four Degas sketches. The works have not been recovered, and the FBI is still investigating the matter. The Museum has made many private attempts to reclaim the stolen art by attempting negotiations with black market art thieves, so far to no avail.
Gardner was also known as "Mrs. Jack" in reference to her husband, John Lowell "Jack" Gardner, Jr., a rich Boston financier. She was a friend of noted artists including John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and Anders Zorn. She is buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery.
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