Welcome to theMuseum of Fine Arts. Boston has long been recognized as a leading center for thearts. One of the city's most important cultural resources is the Museum of FineArts, which houses collections of art from antiquity to the present day, manyof them unsurpassed. Now let me introduce to you some of the collections here.
The Museum'scollections of American decorative arts and sculpture range from the colonial periodto the present time, with major emphasis on pre-Civil War New England. Furniture,silver, glass, ceramics, and sculpture are on exhibition, as well as animportant collection of ship models. Favorite among museum-goers are thecollection of 18th-century American furniture, the period rooms, and the superbcollection of silver.
The BostonMuseum's Asiatic collections are universally recognized as the most extensiveassemblage to be found anywhere under one roof. Artistic traditions of the FarEast, Islam, and India are represented by objects dating from the thirdmillennium B.C. to the contemporary era. The collections of Japanese andChinese art are especially noteworthy. The variety of strengths in thecollection are reflected in such areas as Japanese prints, Chinese and Japanesescroll painting, Chinese ceramics, and a renowned collection of Buddhistsculpture.
The Department ofEuropean Decorative Arts and Sculpture houses Western European works of artdating from the fifth century through 1900. Outstanding among these holdingsare the collection of medieval art and the collection of French 18th-centurydecorative arts. Also of exceptional importance are the English silvercollection, the 18th-century English and French porcelain, and the collectionof musical instruments.
The Museum has oneof the world's foremost collections of paintings ranging from the 11th centuryto the early 20th century. This department is noted for French paintings from1825 to 1900, especially works by the impressionists. The Museum's greatcollection of paintings by American artists includes more than 60 works by JohnSingleton Copley and 50 by Gilbert Stuart. There is also a strongrepresentation of paintings from Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.
The collection oftextiles and costumes is ranked among the greatest in the world because of the highquality and rarity of individual pieces and because it has a broad selection ofrepresentative examples of weavings, embroideries, laces, printed fabrics,costumes, and costume accessories. The textile arts of both eastern and westerncultures are included, dating from pre-Christian times to the present.
Apartfrom what I have mentioned, the Museum has got much more to offer, for example,the collections of classical art, Egyptian and ancient Near Eastern art, and20th-century art. I'll leave you to explore by yourselves and enjoy your timehere.
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