James Whistler “Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Battersea Reach” – Whistler’s emphasis on sensation and atmosphere over detailed description has been compared by some to the philosophy underpinning Gardner’s whole museum. “I see the entire museum as a correlative to these shadowy tone poems,’’ wrote the poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum of Whistler’s nocturnes.**

Don’t miss the Special Issue “The Gardner Grows” in today’s Boston Globe.  Isabella Stewart Gardner  – the cultured, unconventional, collector, icon and “Queen of Fenway Court” – would undoubtedly have loved to rule over the expansive and revitalized Isabella Stewart Museum. Famed for its history, collection, its founder and of course the “robbery,” the Museum is about to enter a new and exciting phase – allowing more of its collection to be shown, inviting a broader commitment to its musical heritage and nodding to the real artistry of garden and landscape architecture. Longtime supporters and admirers of the Gardner must tip their hats to Museum Director Anne Hawley for her creativity, foresight, commitement and tenacity and excellent stewardship. Anne Hawley is known to local cultural activists for her years of oversight over the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities (now known as the Mass Cultural Council) where she with the support of Senate President William Bulger brought cultural funding to its height.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum reopens on Thurday January 19, 2012.

Read and view the full special edition here at boston.com.

**Note: This work of the Lowell-born artist is considered one of the ten best paintings in the Gardner collection. (see these 10 best on pages 42-43 of the special issue.)