MFA，Museum of Fine Arts，Boston
The original MFA opened its doors to the public on July 4, 1876, the nation's centennial. Built in Copley Square, the MFA was then home to 5,600 works of art. Over the next several years, the collection and number of visitors grew exponentially, and in 1909 the Museum moved to its current home on Huntington Avenue.
Today the MFA is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world;the collectionencompasses nearly 450,000 works of art. We welcome more than one million visitors each year to experience art from ancient Egyptian to contemporary, special exhibitions, and innovative educational programs.
The MFA is embarked on an ambitiousCampaignand Building Project,Building the New MFA. Designed by the world-renowned Foster and Partners architects, the New MFA comprises a new wing for American art; renovated art of Europe galleries; improved conservation and education facilities; a West Wing devoted entirely to contemporary art; and a new, larger public space—the Glass Courtyard.
Huntington Entrance on the Avenue of the Arts
Reopens April 2009
The Huntington Entrance on the Avenue of the Arts reopened April 23, the final step in re-establishing the building's north-south axis originally conceived by architect Guy Lowell.
Designed by Foster + Partners (London), as part of the MFA's visionary Building Project, the new entrance features a beautiful plaza, enhanced lighting and landscaping, and access for all visitors, offering easy entry to the new Sharf Visitor Center and the heart of the Museum.
Here are some of the improvements you will see:
1.New benches, lighting, and landscaping enhance an expanded plaza, which is paved with Deer Isle granite from the same quarry as the Museum's original construction.
2.Granite ramps flank the widened landing, along with automated doors on the right side of the entrance, graded floors, and wide entryways leading to the foyer.
3.The building's original three bronze doors and the carved oak paneling surrounding them have been refurbished, as has the limestone facade of the Museum's entryway.
4.The lobby is bright and welcoming, with four large windows by the ticket desk, Tennessee marble floors, new seating, and radiant heat in the foyer. Dynamic digital screens display ticketing and exhibition information.
5.Handsomeneo-classicalsculpture fills the entry foyer, including Thomas Crawford's six-foot-tall sculpture Orpheus and Cerberus, and twentieth-century American paintings are in the ticketing area and nearby corridor.
