10 Must-Visit Museums in Massachusetts
Massachusetts boasts a variety of museums, such as the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, which was founded in 1870 and showcases nearly 500,000 pieces, including important Japanese and Egyptian artifacts. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which opened its doors in 1903, is home to over 7,500 artworks and was famously the scene of an art heist in 1990. The Harvard Museum of Natural History features the Glass Flowers Collection and the first Triceratops skull. Established in 1979, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum contains Kennedy's papers along with those of Hemingway. The Peabody Essex Museum, originating in 1799, holds 1.3 million items, while the Norman Rockwell Museum, founded in 1969, has the largest collection of Rockwell's work. In 2024, the Clark Art Institute received a significant donation.
Key facts
- MFA Boston holds nearly 500,000 artworks, including the largest Japanese art collection outside Japan.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was the site of an unsolved 1990 art heist of 13 pieces.
- Harvard Museum of Natural History features the Glass Flowers Collection and first Triceratops skull.
- JFK Library houses the world's largest collection of Ernest Hemingway's personal papers.
- Peabody Essex Museum holds 1.3 million pieces, including a relocated Chinese house and Salem Witch Trials documents.
- Norman Rockwell Museum contains nearly 1,000 original Rockwell paintings and drawings.
- Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum has the only surviving tea chest from the 1773 event.
- Clark Art Institute received a 2024 donation of over 330 works and $45 million from the Aso O. Tavitian Foundation.
- Salem Witch Museum opened in 1972 and displays a 1600 edition of 'Malleus Maleficarum'.
- Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was inspired by Japanese museums honoring illustrators as fine artists.
Entities
Artists
- Claude Monet
- Edgar Degas
- John Singer Sargent
- Ogata Kōrin
- Titian
- Rembrandt
- Sandro Botticelli
- Leopold Blaschka
- Rudolf Blaschka
- Norman Rockwell
- Eric Carle
- Barbara Carle
- Ernest Hemingway
- George Lucas
- Steven Spielberg
- Sterling Clark
- Francine Clark
- Isabella Stewart Gardner
- John F. Kennedy
- I. M. Pei
- Robert A. M. Stern
- Bridget Bishop
- King Menkaure
- Queen Khamerernebty II
Institutions
- Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Harvard University
- Museum of Comparative Zoology
- Harvard University Herbaria
- Mineralogical Museum
- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
- Peabody Essex Museum
- East India Marine Society
- Phillips Library
- Norman Rockwell Museum
- Norman Rockwell Archives
- Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
- Clark Art Institute
- Aso O. Tavitian Foundation
- Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection
- Salem Witch Museum
- Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
- Singer Sewing Machine
Locations
- Massachusetts
- Boston
- Copley Square
- Huntington Avenue
- Cambridge
- Columbia Point
- Salem
- Stockbridge
- Main Street
- Old Corner House
- Housatonic River Valley
- Congress Street Bridge
- Williamstown
- Amherst
- Anhui Province
- China
- Japan
- Wyoming
- Cuba
- United States