American Decorative Arts

A selection of masterpieces from MFA Boston’s preeminent decorative arts collection

American Decorative Arts features over 100 carefully selected masterpieces of furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, base metals, coins and medals, basketry and sculpture from one of the world’s preeminent collections. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is renowned for its high-style works from New England, but in fact its collection is encyclopedic, featuring significant pieces from a wide geographic area and all time periods. This survey includes monuments such as Paul Revere’s Sons of Liberty bowl, Tiffany and Gorham silver, sculpture from William Rimmer and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, furniture by Gustav Stickley and Charles Eames, and craft objects from contemporary creators including Sam Maloof and Judy McKie, plus selected examples from Central and South America. Through these objects, handsomely illustrated and intelligently discussed, American Decorative Arts offers a unique window into the beauty and meaning of the decorative arts as they have flourished in the American context.