Founded in 1807 this stunningly beautiful library is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. “The mission of the Boston Athenæum is to serve its members, the broader community, and scholars throughout the world by preserving and augmenting its collections of books and art, by providing library services and cultural programs, and by preserving and enhancing the unique atmosphere of its landmark building.”
Here you can take a tour, enjoy their many events, become a member and explore their collections.
Thomas Crawford (1813-1857)
Adam and Eve, 1855
Marble
Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)
George Washington, ca 1786
Plaster
Emil Otto Grundmann (1844-1890)
Interior with Figure, Antwerp 1877
Oil on panel
Mather Brown (1761-1831)
John Adams &1735-1826) 1788
Oil on Canvas
Daniel Chester French (1850-1931)
James Elliott Cabot (1821-1903) 1880
Marble
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
John Adams (1735-1826) about 1815
Oil on panel
John Marshall, 1830
Chester Harding (1792-1866)
Oil on canvas
“Harding was Boston’s most important portraitist of the second quarter of the nineteenth century and the Boston Athenaeum was one of his most consistent patrons.”
Horatio Greenough (1805-1852)
John Quincy Adams 1828-1829
Marble
“After studying at Harvard, the American artist Horatio Greenough left for Italy in 1826. He quickly became America’s first internationally known professional sculptor.”
Jean-Antoine Houdon (French 1741-1828)
Lafayette, before 1789
Plaster
James Allen (1809-1837)
Narrative of the Life of James Allen, Alias George Walton, Alias Jonas Pierce, Alias James H York, Alias Burley Grove, the Highwayman. Being His Death-bed Confession to the Warden of the Massachusetts State Prision
Boston: Harrington & Co 1837
“While sick with the tuberculosis that would soon kill him, James Allen requested that a copy of his memoir be bound in his own skin and given to John Fenno Jr, the one man who had successfully resisted when Allen attempted to rob him at gun-point in 1834. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this copy of Allen’s book belonged to Fenno and was given to the Athenaeum by his daughter; it was in the collection by 1864. The label, in Latin, on the front board of the volume translates as “This book by Walton bound in (his) skin”
Polly Thayer Starr (1904-2006)
Self Portrait 1943
Oil on Canvas