Short Gallery: Sampler (Madam I’m Adam), 2000, and Sampler (Dürer’s Diary), 2002

I hung Sampler (Madam I’m Adam) and Sampler (Dürer’s Diary) as if they were parts of the Museum’s collection of drawings and prints, which includes works by artists of the Renaissance, by later masters such as Ingres and David, and by Mrs. Gardner’s own Boston contemporaries. The Short Gallery also contains Anders Zorn’s portrait of Mrs. Gardner in Venice, where she stands in an archway against a dark background lit with fireworks. Her fingers press open the glass doors to a balcony, as if to open the room to the glories of Venice and the beauties of the world.

Photograph by Yoav Horesh