From it's beginnings in 1876 with 5,600 works of art, the MFA now holds a comprehensive collection encompassing 500,000 works of art, spanning the history of artistic endeavor from ancient Egyptian to contemporary.
Major collections include Art of the Americas, Art of Europe from the Middle Ages through the mid-20th century, Asian Art since 4000 BC, African and Pacific Art, an encyclopedic collection of Antiquities, and Contemporary Art.
Exhibitions & Dates
Landscape, Abstracted
Aug 16 2014 - Jun 30 2018
Ten works, including sculptures, paintings, installation, and video art, provide a contemporary take on landscape
Past is Present: Revival Jewelry
Feb 14 2017 - Aug 19 2018
60 pieces trace the 19th-21st century revival movement
Casanova’s Europe: Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century
Jul 8 2018 - Oct 8 2018
18th century Europe: paintings, sculpture, works on paper, furnishings, and clothes
Mark Rothko: Reflection
Sep 24 2017 - Sep 3 2018
11 works trace Rothko's exploration of the expressive potential of color
Seeking Stillness
Sep 24 2017 - Sep 3 2018
A series of installations creates a journey of introspection
Joan Jonas: Ice Drawing
Sep 24 2017 - Jul 1 2018
Video projections, live drawings, objects, and music create an icy, otherworldly atmosphere
(Un)expected Families
Dec 9 2017 - Jun 24 2018
80+ images explore the American family—from the ones we are born into to the ones we choose
Klimt and Schiele: Drawn
Feb 25 2017 - May 28 2018
60 drawings explore divergences and parallels between the two Austrians
Collecting Stories: Native American Art
Apr 14 2018 - Mar 10 2019
Museum holdings of Native American art explore the formation of a modern American identity
Japanese Prints: The Psychedelic Seventies
Feb 2 2018 - Aug 12 2018
Explores Japan's participation in the global art styles the 1970s
Masterpieces of Dutch and Flemish Painting
Oct 11 2017 - May 6 2018
A celebratory installation of a major gift of 17th-century works
M. C. Escher: Infinite Dimensions
Feb 3 2018 - May 28 2018
50 original prints to puzzle the eye and delight the mind
Boston Arts and Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork (working title)
Nov 17 2018 - Mar 29 2020
Nearly 100 works explore Arts and Crafts philosophy, artistry, makers and patrons
Phantasmagoria
Mar 3 2018 - May 28 2018
Experience the thrills of this early-19th-century mode of entertainment
Candice Breitz: Love Story
Mar 31 2018 - Jan 21 2019
Video installation of forced migration stories enacted by celebrities showcases media's impact on adversity
Maia Lynch: In Between
Mar 31 2018 - Sep 16 2018
Explores the fragmentary nature of contemporary identity through painting, ceramics, and videos
Community Arts Initiative: Endless Feast
May 12 2018 - Oct 14 2018
Kids collaborate to create a surreal, epic, feast and photomural