Throughout her life, Isabella Stewart Gardner was known for defying convention. As she abandoned her hooped skirts and walked in the park with a lion called Rex, people’s eyebrows raised further and further. So too at the New Year’s opening of her new extraordinary Palace of Art in 1903, when she served champagne and donuts to the glitterati of high society. As jaws dropped, none could deny her stupendous acquisition prowess, her exquisite taste, and her entirely unique and personal collection. Thankfully the Gardner Museum gives us a profound insight into the abilities and drive of this most astonishing Gilded Age American woman. 

Lectures are recorded and will be released at 12:30pm GMT on Wednesdays via Zoom Webinars. For Members, they are available to watch on catch-up via Tixoom (Silver & Student Membership = one week. Gold Membership = anytime throughout the series). All series include a 2-week mid-term break.