What Isabella Wanted: Isabella Stewart Gardner Builds a Museum

by Candace Fleming, Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)

Overview

From multiple award-winning author Candace Fleming and Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell comes the true story of a woman who always got what she wanted: Isabella Stewart Gardner.

A New England Book Award Finalist

For years, the indomitable Isabella Stewart Gardner searched the world for magnificent artwork and filled her home with a truly unique collection, with the aim of turning it into a museum, which she established in 1903.

Isabella always did things her own way. One day she'd wear baseball gear to the symphony, the next, she'd be seen strolling down the street with zoo lions. It was no surprised that she was very particular about how she arranged her exhibits. They were not organized historically, stylistically, or by artist. Instead, they were arranged based on the connections Isabella felt toward the art, a connection she hoped to encourage in her visitors.

For years, her museum delighted generations of Bostonians and visitors with the collections arranged exactly as she wanted. But in 1990, a spectacular burglary occurred when two thieves disguised as police officers stole thirteen paintings, valued at $500 million, including a Rembrandt and a Vermeer. They have yet to be recovered, though a $10 million reward is still being offered for their safe return.

Author Candace Fleming perfectly captures Isabella's inimitable personality and drive, accompanied by exuberant illustrations by Matthew Cordell.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A CCBC Choice

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823442638
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	927,023
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Candace Fleming is the author of more than thirty distinguished books for children including Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, winner of the Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book, and Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper. Her book The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh received the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. She lives in Chicago.

Matthew Cordell is the Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator of Wolf in the Snow and Hello Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers, and the illustrator of numerous highly acclaimed children's books including Philip C. Stead's books The Only Fish in the Sea and Special Delivery, which was a Washington Post Best Book. He wrote and illustrated Another Brother, Wish, and Hello! Hello!, a New York Times Notable Children's Book. Matthew lives near Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.

Editorial Reviews

07/12/2021

Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) assembled an idiosyncratic collection of artworks over her lifetime. In the palazzo she built to house it, priceless treasures still hang next to souvenirs and personal mementoes—in this picture book biography’s refrain, “exactly as Isabella wanted.” The story begins with a trip abroad, where an adult Gardner determined to possess the works she loved, to her building of the Boston “museum home,” and to the 1990 theft, well after her death, of 13 important works—a crime that remains a mystery today. Cordell’s loose, humorous line gives Gardner a flamboyant feel, while images of her home reflect what back matter calls its “glorious jumble.” Fleming is candid about Gardner’s faults: smuggling art out of its country of origin (“cultural raiding,” the afterword notes) and following around visitors to her home saying, “Don’t touch!” In a picture book that’s as much about a place as a figure, this story of treasure gained and lost offers a fascinating look at one person’s whims made reality. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "Author and illustrator have a field day here celebrating the audacious acquisitiveness of a rich lady whose 'great art [was] displayed next to bric-a-brac with no distinction between them.' Cordell winkingly decks Isabella out in the iconic black dress captured in John Singer Sargent’s portrait. . . ."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Starred Review

★ "In What Isabella Wanted, Sibert Medalist Candace Fleming . . . boldly succeeds in creating another winning nonfiction picture book, and Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell . . . handsomely illustrates this paean to one woman's idiosyncratic passions."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"Fleming and Cordell keep [Isabella Stewart Gardner’s] independent spirit front and center as they proceed to describe her passion for collecting art, arranging it just so in her Boston mansion, and opening the doors of her home turned museum to the public."—Booklist

"Throughout, author and illustrator find just those details about Gardner . . . and the famous theft . . . that will engage readers who might have otherwise found the subject stuffy. The text is clipped and clear; the line and water- color illustrations have a raffish edge that suits the boho Isabella."—The Horn Book

"[Isabella Stewart Gardner’s] unconventional nature and love of art are engagingly portrayed, and the unsolved theft of her art reads as a mystery worthy of her scandalous legacy. An inviting portrait of a privileged and unconventional woman who shared herself and her art collection with the masses."—Kirkus Reviews

"Sprightly text conveys both Isabella’s joie de vivre and whim of iron with kid-pleasing energy. Pen and ink and watercolor illustrations portray the exuberant flurry of activity around Isabella as well as the comically startled reactions of proper Bostonians to her behavior. . . .Between the flamboyant subject, the story of what she chose do with her bottomless wealth, and the unsolved theft, this book will leave young readers inspired to learn more."—School Library Connection

"Cordell’s characteristic sketch lines, filled with mostly subdued colors, work to bring a historic feel to the story."—School Library Journal

"In a picture book that’s as much about a place as a figure, this story of treasure gained and lost offers a fascinating look at one person’s whims made reality."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

09/01/2021

Gr 3–6—Isabella Stewart Gardner, who lived in Boston in the late 1800s, collected art and objects—lots and lots of art and objects. She was very spirited, loved adventure, and liked to stir things up a bit. On a trip to Europe in 1867, she was captivated by the art she saw and set about acquiring as much as she could, employing agents around the globe to procure the treasures she sought, often using devious or downright dishonest methods for obtaining them. It soon became clear she needed a much larger place to display everything, so she set about designing a four-story palazzo, devoting the first three floors to eclectic displays of art, objects, and everyday items that appealed to her, all of which she personally arranged, then shared with the public 20 days a year for $1 per person. Upon her death, she bequeathed her museum to the people of Boston on the condition that nothing be touched or rearranged. That held true until 1990, when thieves made off with over $500 million in art, none of which has ever been recovered. The text is written in free verse and gives a brief overview of Isabella's life and escapades. While the story itself does not call into question the ethics of her schemes for acquiring art, the more extensive back matter delves into it a bit while also filling in additional details about the palazzo and Isabella. Cordell's characteristic sketch lines, filled with mostly subdued colors, work to bring a historic feel to the story. Source notes, a bibliography, and the web address for the museum are provided. VERDICT This may have limited appeal outside the northeast, specifically the Boston area. It will no doubt be a fitting addition to the museum's gift shop.—Maggie Chase, Boise State Univ., ID

School Library Journal

2021-08-11
From the mixed-up files of Isabella Stewart Gardner.

In 1867, Isabella fell in love with art and started collecting paintings, sculpture, furniture, and other objects, sometimes having them smuggled into the United States in the way of many superrich art collectors. She eventually decided to build a home within a museum, and for over 20 years, she opened it annually for 20 days, also displaying her personal paraphernalia. She willed it all to the people of Boston, and after her death, the building became a full-time museum. Everything remained as she’d left it—until a mystifying robbery occurred in 1990. Playful, accessible text and engaging illustrations that feature an all-White cast until they reach the present day tell her story, which will be of particular interest to museum visitors. The entitlement she enjoyed (she began collecting during the U.S. Civil War while on a cruise to recover from her young son’s death, and her wealth seemingly enabled her to overcome barriers she may have faced as a woman) is not explicitly mentioned, nor are the many writers and artists—many of them gay—whom she regularly entertained. However, her unconventional nature and love of art are engagingly portrayed, and the unsolved theft of her art reads as a mystery worthy of her scandalous legacy. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An inviting portrait of a privileged and unconventional woman who shared herself and her art collection with the masses. (author's note, bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews