When you enter the vast, sunlit Shapiro Family Courtyard (above) in the new Norman Foster-designed wing of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, you can walk straight back to the entrance of the new Art of the Americas wing…
…or turn to your right, to enter Art of the Ancient World:
…or turn left to the Art of Europe:
Under the radar in the excitement over the opening of the museum’s much anticipated Art of the Americas wing is the renovation and reinstallation that has just begun in the European galleries. George Shackelford, chair of the museum’s Art of Europe department and curator of modern art, diverted my attention briefly from the main attraction—the museum’s new home for (among much else) Copley, Sargent and “Rural Arts” (the BMFA’s name for what’s commonly known as “folk art”)—to show me around his “starter gallery,” devoted to 18th-century European decorative arts, sculpture and furniture (with some paintings). It’s the first step in what will be a sweeping overhaul of his fiefdom.
You’ll hear from me about the architecture and installations of the new Americas wing in subsequent posts. But first, let’s go with George to Europe and have a look at his splendid menorah for Hanukkah (which coincided with the time of my visit):