Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Friday, May 2 – Sunday, May 4 – Art in Bloom 2025

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Celebrate spring’s arrival with Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston! This beloved event showcases the expertise of New England garden clubs, professional designers, and MFA floral volunteers, who create interpretive arrangements inspired by artworks from the collection. Enjoy dozens of bold arrangements throughout the building, along with special events, guided tours, dining, and shopping. This year’s event takes place May 2 – May 4 during Museum hours. Specific lectures and workshops may be found at https://www.mfa.org/event/special-event/art-in-bloom. Highlights include Sandra Sigman Master Classes on Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm (members $300, nonmembers $325), a Member Night on Saturday May 3 from 6 – 10, and a community installation with Jimmy Guzman all weekend, which allows visitors to assist him as he builds botanical pieces in Gallery 168.

Friday, April 26 – Sunday, April 28 – Art in Bloom

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We are thrilled to announce that Art in Bloom returns to the MFA’s galleries on Friday, April 26, 2024! You won’t want to miss these beautiful interpretive floral arrangements of 45 artworks. Enjoy the creativity of many talented volunteer and professional floral designers. Preview Day is Thursday, April 25. Tickets and group tour reservations are available now at https://www.mfa.org/event/special-event/art-in-bloom

Saturday, September 16, 11:00 am – Floral Design: Essentials for Arranging

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Join Lorraine Walsh and Mary Lou Ashur from Artistry Floral at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gardens at Elm Bank on September 16 at 11 am to create your own floral display to take home or give away.

Do you want to see your rooms featured in Elle Décor or House Beautiful magazines? The “essentials for arranging” is for you. Together we will look at some of the characteristics of American Tradition Design and explore how the Elements of Design dictate patterns and shapes.  This class is good for beginners with no flower experience necessary but will also allow the experienced arranger a deeper exploration into naturalistic forms and patterns.

In 2016, Lorraine Walsh and Mary Lou Ashur met as floral associates at the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston. There, studying fundamentals of floristry and working in teams, they designed and executed a variety of art-inspired floral arrangements for certain museum locations as well as restaurants, special events, and holiday installations. Now in the marketplace, they are committed to producing artistic floral creations, using only the highest quality flowers and plants, from local growers and flower producers around the world.

They are also focused on sustainable floral design and eco-friendly floral purchases from wearables to table arrangements, bouquets, and large installations They are inspired to produce arrangements that are unique and designed to honor their clients’ significant events respecting their individual styles while sourcing seasonal flowers and respecting the environment. 

Please bring floral scissors and a bucket or box to carry home your arrangement. $75. Register at www.masshort.org

Wednesday, April 29 and Wednesday, May 6, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – The Garden in Art and Art in the Garden

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Gardens have been important to us since ancient times, so it isn’t surprising that artists have represented gardens in many symbolic ways. Exploring representations in both western and eastern art, this two-session Museum of Fine Arts Looking Together on April 29 and May 6 from 1 – 2:30 pm considers the symbiosis of art and gardens over time. Led by adjunct instructor Deborah Stein, tickets are $64 for MFA members and $80 for nonmembers, and must be purchased in advance at www.mfa.org, or by phone at 1-800-440-6975 (additional $6 processing fee), or at the ticket desk at the Museum. We are posting this announcement early because spaces are limited and tend to sell out quickly.

Sunday, November 17, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Laura Dowling: Inspiring Holiday Decor

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As chief floral designer at the White House for six years under President Barack Obama, Laura Dowling was a creative mastermind behind the lavish White House holiday season, working with First Lady Michelle Obama and an extraordinary group of volunteers to create holiday magic. In this November 17 Museum of Fine Arts Boston lecture and floral demonstration, Dowling shares her tips, techniques, and inspiration for creating her favorite White House holiday designs—from Thanksgiving table settings to festive wreaths, trees, and garlands.

The lecture, in the Remis Auditorium, begins at 1 pm. Book signing to follow in the MFA Bookstore.  $48 MFA members, $60 nonmembers. To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk. To order on line, visit www.mfa.org.

This event is presented in partnership with the MFA Associates. 

Friday, April 26, 3:00 pm – 10:00 pm, and Saturday, April 27 – Monday, April 29, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Art in Bloom

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Celebrate the return of spring with Art in Bloom, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s annual festival of fine art and flowers.

Enjoy art from across the MFA’s collection paired with magnificent floral interpretations. Daily events include tours of arrangements throughout the galleries; flower-arranging demonstrations; informal dining among European paintings at the Art in Bloom Café; and outdoor walking tours.

Art in Bloom launches with a Preview of freshly installed arrangements on Friday, April 26 from 3 to 10 pm. The popular Member Night is Saturday, April 27, and Community Day with children’s activities is Sunday, April 28.

Browse the MFA Art in Bloom Market and Garden Cart for unique gifts and treasures.

Special guest speaker Remco van Vliet demonstrates creative techniques for designing spectacular arrangements from classic to contemporary. Tickets and reservations for lecture, classes, and group tours go on sale February 28, 2019.

Art in Bloom is sponsored by Wilmington Trust. Supporting Sponsor is Fitch Law Partners. Art in Bloom Community Day is sponsored by Arbella Insurance Foundation.

Through February 24 – Ansel Adams in Our Time

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Ansel Adams in Our Time traces the iconic visual legacy of Ansel Adams (1902–1984), presenting some of his most celebrated prints, from a symphonic view of snow-dusted peaks in The Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (1942) to an aerial shot of a knotted roadway in Freeway Interchange, Los Angeles (1967). The Museum of Fine Arts exhibition looks both backward and forward in time: his black-and-white photographs are displayed alongside prints by several of the 19th-century government survey photographers who greatly influenced Adams, as well as work by contemporary artists whose modern-day concerns centered on the environment, land rights, and the use and misuse of natural resources point directly to Adams’ legacy. For complete information visit https://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/ansel-adams-in-our-time

Wednesday, May 1, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – An Evening with Hamish Bowles

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Join the Museum of Fine Arts Boston on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 pm for an exciting evening of fashion stories with Vogue’s international editor-at-large Hamish Bowles in conversation with Michelle Finamore, Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts. Bowles’s deep knowledge of fashion, art, and history has informed his writing, collecting, and acclaimed curatorial projects, which have included “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,” “Balenciaga and Spain”, “House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth,” and most recently, the fashion exhibition on royal dress featured in the film Ocean’s 8. Tickets are required, (MFA member price $35, nonmembers $44) and we are featuring this rather early since the Remis Auditorium is sure to sell out. To order tickets by phone or to put your name on a wait list, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.

Tuesday, August 28, 6:00 pm – William Waldorf Astor: American Tycoon to English Lord

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William Waldorf Astor was one of those rare beings who passed into legend during his own lifetime. The richest man in the world by the early 20th century, he created some of the finest houses, gardens, and collections in the world, and founded the legendary Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. The Preservation Society of Newport County will host a lecture on Tuesday, August 28 at 6 pm at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue in Newport. This richly illustrated lecture will feature Astor’s most magnificent houses, from his English country estates to his idyllic villa on the Amalfi Coast (pictured below).

Curt DiCamillo, an internationally recognized authority on English country houses and the decorative arts is the Curator of Special Collections for the New England Historic Genealogical Society. He has led highly successful heritage tours to England and Scotland, lectured extensively in the United States and abroad, and taught classes on British culture and art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Curt was previously Executive Director of The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA.

Reception immediately following the lecture. Advance ticket purchase is required. Visit http://www.newportmansions.org/learn/adult-programs or call 401-847-1000, ext 178.
Preservation Society Members $15 / General Public $20

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