Sarah Orne Jewett House

Isabella Stewart Gardner with John Singer Sargent

Nicknamed “the Lady of Fenway Court,” Isabella Stewart Gardner was the life of the party, with a taste for expensive jewelry and exquisite clothing, and an eye for talent. A wealthy New Yorker, Gardner married into but was not accepted by Boston aristocracy. After the loss of her young son, Gardner devoted herself to the arts and to artists, mentoring the likes of John Singer Sargent and founding the renowned Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Gardner’s motto was “C’est mon Plaisir (It is my pleasure)”.