Updating Gardner Museum Without Changing A Thing

09:04

January 31, 2011

Holly Salmon uses a scalpel to flake off caked-on soot from the 15th century fireplace. (Andrea Shea/WBUR)

In a city rich with museums and cultural institutions, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of Boston's jewels. The Gardner is a 15th-century Venetian-style Palace that houses works by Titian, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Rembrandt and other artists.

The renovation of any historic space can be a tricky endeavor, but the expansion of this particular museum is especially complicated. Before her death, Gardner requested nothing be changed inside the 107-year-old-building.

WBUR's Andrea Shea went to see how the renovation is going, and she tells Radio Boston what she found.

Guest:

Andrea Shea, arts reporter, WBUR

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Gardner Undergoes Both Preservation, Expansion

This segment aired on January 31, 2011.