I first visited the Gardner during one of their Thursday After Hours events. Here is an explanation of After Hours from the Gardner website:
"After Hours is live music, art, conversation, cocktails and more in an inviting atmosphere. Linger around the courtyard bar and listen to live music or sample the tasty menu in the Gardner Café. Experience something different each month – from impromptu gallery talks to cutting-edge contemporary performance – and spend time in the galleries exploring what the Gardner is all about."
The atmosphere of the museum is really rich for an event like this. The hallways are sort of dark and dungeon-y once the sun is set, which makes for a mysterious atmosphere to wander around and drink wine while music from the courtyard echoes around the building. I don't really have a solid memory of the musician, because the music just sounded atmospheric and added to the mood.
I find Isabella to be a fascinating character. She collected all this art and had such a specific vision for how she wanted it displayed, and it is to remain that way forever according to her will! I think that is just wild. It is also a conservation nightmare/challenge, depending on how you look at it. But the fact that the museum is such a reflection of her personality makes it a really unique place. The building itself and the courtyard are works of art as well.
The Gardner offers up all kinds of interesting programming to counter the fact that the art on the walls always remains the same.
In addition to the fascinating character of Ms. Gardner, there is also a crazy/sad mystery to the museum: a 1990 art heist in which I believe was the largest art heist in the world. Here is some information on it http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/northamerica/us/isabella/isabella.htm.
To date, nothing has been returned and the empty frames remain on the walls.
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I've been to a Gardner After Hours event too and agree that the mysterious atmosphere complements the event. The exhibition was The Triumph of Marriage: Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance (http://www.gardnermuseum.org/2008_exhibitions/triumph.asp) and the musicians in the courtyard played period music, I think classical guitar. Upstairs there was a reading from Dante's Divine Comedy. In addition to wine, there was some sort of expensive themed drink. It was all very elegant. The crowd seemed like one that would be have disposable income and be "desirable" to the museum....and it was a big crowd that night.
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