Student Channels Famed Art Collector and Philanthropist Isabella Stewart Gardner
Painting of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Wentworth student Luana Vala
A block away from Wentworth Institute of Technology sits one of the more storied and revered art collections in the country. Wentworth student Luana Vala decided to pay tribute to it and the building’s namesake, Isabella Stewart Gardner.
Vala and her “Boston History” classmates were asked by Associate Professor Ella Howard to propose a monument to a significant figure in Boston's history. Vala chose Gardner, the famed philanthropist and art collector, for her inspiration.
“I admire the woman she became and her craving of culture and art,” said Vala, noting that she did not know her personal subject well ahead of the project, but that she had always enjoyed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on Evans Way, home to art collections from Europe, Asia and the United States.
Howard’s midterm assignment called for proposing a monument to a significant figure in Boston's history. One student, said Howard, “submitted a sophisticated rendering of a proposed monument to Rita Hester, the transgender activist who was murdered in Allston in 1998.” Another student recommended honoring members of the 1961 Boston Celtics team who led a boycott in Kentucky during the civil rights movement.
Vala, an Architecture major, focused on Gardner’s life and contribution to Boston history, as well as the history of the museum. An emblem of feminism, Gardner often shunned societal expectations of women during the time. She traveled extensively and purchased an enviable collection of art for the Venetian-inspired home that she meticulously helped design, eventually making both available to the public.
“I love how she explored many countries across the seas and went after what she most wanted—her own collection and museum,” Vala said. “I also admire her spontaneity, and that she got what she wanted regardless of the situation. She also loved to help and contribute.”
Vala’s painting of Gardner drew much acclaim, with the museum’s official Instagram page featuring her work in its Fan Art Friday series. Her work is also being featured by bookstore Manchester-by-the-Book in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Vala counts herself fortunate to be attending a university so close to the Gardner Museum and Museum of Fine Arts.
“Students not only come to Wentworth for education, but also because of the location,” she said.
