Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The museum was founded in 1870, opened its first building in 1876 and moved to its present Huntington Avenue building in 1909. Its Egyptian holdings came largely from George A. Reisner's excavations in Egypt and Sudan between 1905 and 1942, which is why the ancient material here is exceptional - including statues of the pharaoh Menkaure from Giza. The Japanese collection is one of the largest outside Japan, built largely in the nineteenth century through Ernest Fenollosa, Okakura Kakuzō, William Sturgis Bigelow and Edward Sylvester Morse. American painting is strong, and Sargent painted the murals of the rotunda between 1916 and 1925. The Art of the Americas wing opened in 2010.

What's there

• Egyptian material - from Reisner's excavations of 1905-1942.
• A very large Japanese collection - among the biggest outside Japan.
• American painting - in the Art of the Americas wing of 2010.
• A 1909 Huntington Avenue building - with modern additions.

When to go

Year round; late opening on some evenings. Half a day.

Practical notes

It is far too large to see in one visit - the ticket covers a return within ten days for that reason. Special exhibitions cost extra. Some galleries rotate closed. Parking is expensive; the green line is better.

Nearby

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is next door; the Fenway is beside it.

Key facts