Isabella Stewart Gardner's will called for her art collection to be permanently exhibited "for the education and enjoyment of the public forever." The museum that bears her name opened in 1903 and holds significant examples of European, Asian and American art, ranging across paintings, sculpture, tapestries and decorative arts.
The original building stands near the Back Bay Fens. Wikidata credits Willard Thomas Sears as the museum's architect, and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Boston Landmark. Beside it is an auxiliary wing designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2012.
The museum is also the site of an unsolved crime. In 1990 thirteen of its works were stolen, and the pieces, valued at an estimated 500 million dollars, have never been recovered.
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