Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Art museum in Boston
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| April 2024 | Museum donated 14th-century Buddhist Śarīra relics to the Jogye Order, agreeing to repatriate artifacts originally taken from Korea during the Japanese Occupation. The relics, which have been in the museum's collection since 1939, will be transferred to the Heoam Temple in Yangju, South Korea. |
| 2023 | The museum held the exhibition 'Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence', celebrating the origins, works, and cultural impact of Japanese artist Hokusai. |
| September 2022 | Museum announces a new logo and branding campaign, along with renewed community outreach efforts, coinciding with the exhibition of Barack and Michelle Obama's portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. |
| May 1 2022 | Philip Guston Now exhibition officially opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, after being delayed from its original 2020 date. The exhibition, considered America's most controversial art exhibition, addressed themes of white supremacy, racism, anti-Semitism, and violence. |
| 2021 | The main library of the Museum of Fine Arts relocated after 18 years at Horticultural Hall, moving to a new entrance on the first floor of the museum near the Sharf Information Center. |
| November 17 2021 | MFA staff go on strike after over 96% of the union votes to do so, citing workplace conditions, compensation inequities, and stagnant wages. |
| 2020 | The MFA planned 11 annual Community Celebrations with free admission, including events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lunar New Year, Memorial Day, and Indigenous Peoples' Day. Additional evening celebrations were planned for various cultural events like Nowruz, Juneteenth, Latinx Heritage Night, ASL Night, Diwali, and Hanukkah. |
| 2020 | To commemorate its 150th anniversary, the MFA offered a 'First Year Free Membership' to first-time visitors attending Community Celebrations or MFA Late Nite programs. The anniversary year featured exhibitions highlighting art by women and minority artists. |
| November 2020 | A significant number of MFA employees vote to unionize with the United Auto Workers local chapter. |
| June 2020 | Original planned opening date for the Philip Guston Now exhibition, which was subsequently postponed due to nationwide protests for racial equality. |
| March 12 2020 | Museum closes due to COVID-19 pandemic, remaining closed until September 25, 2020. |
| 2019 | The museum renamed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day, featuring special displays and celebrations focused on Native American art and culture. |
| 2019 | The MFA installed new restroom signage to promote accessibility for people of all genders and abilities. |
| May 2019 | The MFA publicly apologized after an incident involving African-American and mixed-race 12- and 13-year-old visitors who were allegedly targeted by employees with a racially charged comment. The museum permanently banned two members found to be deliberately racist and committed to retraining staff who interact with school groups. |
| March 2019 | The MFA held a public symposium to discuss the historical background and present-day significance of Cyrus Dallin's 1908 'Appeal to the Great Spirit' sculpture. |
| 2017 | Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, along with Susan and Matthew Weatherbie, donated 113 Dutch Golden Age paintings from 76 artists, including the Haverkamp-Begemann Library of over 20,000 books. The donors also began establishing a dedicated Netherlandish art center and scholarly institute at the museum. |
| 2015 | Museum renovated its outdoor Japanese garden, Tenshin-en, with a new kabukimon-style entrance gate built by Chris Hall using traditional Japanese carpentry techniques. |
| 2015 | Matthew Teitelbaum becomes the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, succeeding Malcolm Rogers. |
| 2015 | Museum renovates its outdoor Japanese garden, Tenshin-en, originally designed by Japanese professor Kinsaku Nakane in 1988. |
| 2014 | Art of the Americas Wing receives the Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects for architectural achievement. |
| 2012 | The traveling exhibition 'Japanese Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston' visited Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka in Japan. |
| 2011 | The museum acquired Zetsu no. 8 (絶), the largest work in ceramicist Jun Nishida's Zetsu (絶) series. |
| 2011 | Museum sells eight paintings at Sotheby's for $21.6 million to purchase 'Man at His Bath' by Gustave Caillebotte for over $15 million. |
| November 20 2010 | Art of the Americas Wing opens with free admission, with Mayor Thomas Menino declaring it 'Museum of Fine Arts Day' and over 13,500 visitors attending the opening. |
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