(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Letter from Venice

correspondent Richard Wagner (Leipzig, 1813 - 1883, Venice)

Date27 September 1858

Place MadeVenice, Veneto, Italy, Europe

MediumInk on paper

ClassificationsManuscripts

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession numberARC.001920

eMuseum ID722936

Other NumberU1w78

EmbARK ObjectID28634

TMS Source ID12225

Last Updated9/17/24

Status

Not on view

Web CommentaryDuring Isabella’s lifetime, German composer Richard Wagner was at the epicenter of the classical music world. Isabella admired Wagner’s work and went to great lengths to see his performances. She traveled many times to Bayreuth, where Wagner hosted an annual music festival, and attended his operas in the United States and Europe. She collected many mementoes related to the musician including this prized autograph letter in Wagner’s own hand. Isabella displayed it in the Musicians Case in the Yellow Room.

BibliographyNotesAna Barrett, "Belle of the Opera: Gardner and Wagner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 20 July 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/belle-opera-gardner-and-wagner

MarksNotesMarked in pencil (upper right): 7

ProvenanceNotesEntered Isabella Stewart Gardner’s collection at an unknown date.