Nancy A. Smith

Mondays, February 6 - February 27 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 4 sessions
MFA Information Center (middle of building facing new wing)

We will explore many of the 53 galleries in the new American Wing , each of the four levels representing a period of history, configured with a central “spine” and related galleries on either side. This new spacing allows for 25 percent of the collection to be on view. Only four to five percent is the usual count for other museums – the Met and the Chicago Art Institute for instance. New and interesting interpretative techniques have been introduced, which will aid in new discovery and make for better understanding about objects we’ve known. Learning to look is the true pleasure! It is also interesting to meet again favorite known treasures juxtaposed in new settings and with new interpretation. The Oak Hill Rooms, for example, have a new look and much new information.

There will be handouts at each meeting and opportunities for sharing thoughts and asking questions. We will study the Period Rooms newly interpreted, as well as galleries highlighting a particular subject, such as the glorious Ship Model Gallery. We will also have fun in the Art Deco Treasure Gallery, this being a Retro fashion.

Nancy A. Smith

Nancy A. Smith, a historian of architecture and decorative arts, has been a gallery instructor in the Museum of Fine Arts for many years. Nancy carries on the legacy of Decorative Art Studies, a Beacon Hill teaching institution initiated by Mrs. J. Clifford Ross, who conducted class for over 40 years in her Pinckney Street dining room. She is the author of Old Furniture: Understanding the Craftsman’s Art (Dover Reprint) and has contributed articles on historic decorative arts to many publications, which include Old Time New England, Ellis Memorial Antique Show Program, Victorian/Furniture (The Victorian Society), Essex Institute Historical Collections, VALUATION, and The Boston Globe.