Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: history, what to see, how to get there, hours and tickets

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (the MFA) is at 465 Huntington Avenue in the Fenway area. The museum says its collection holds more than 500,000 works: Egyptian statues from excavations in Egypt and Sudan, 35 paintings by Claude Monet, Japanese prints and American painting from Copley to Sargent. Below are its history, the galleries worth planning around, how to get there by subway and bus, hours and ways to get in free. For the rest of the city, see our Boston page.

History: from Copley Square to Huntington Avenue

The MFA was founded on February 4, 1870, with the signing of its Act of Incorporation, and opened to the public on July 4, 1876, in a building by Sturgis and Brigham on Copley Square. That building closed in May 1909, and in November 1909 the museum opened its Beaux Arts home on Huntington Avenue, designed by Boston architect Guy Lowell. Following his 1907 master plan, the Evans Wing for Paintings opened in February 1915 and the Decorative Arts Wing in 1928. John Singer Sargent finished murals for the Rotunda in 1921 and the Colonnade in 1925; they were restored in 1999.

The West Wing by I. M. Pei opened in July 1981 and was later renamed the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art. Foster + Partners was commissioned for a master site plan in 1999, and on November 20, 2010, the Wing for the Art of the Americas and the glass-roofed Shapiro Family Courtyard opened. In 2021 came the Center for Netherlandish Art with six new galleries of Dutch and Netherlandish art and the renovated Behrakis Wing for Greek, Roman and Byzantine art. A Conservation Center opened in the Linde Wing in 2022.

What to see at the MFA

Ancient Egypt and Nubia. More than 65,000 objects, most from excavations in Egypt and Sudan led by George A. Reisner between 1905 and 1942 for the Harvard University and Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. Look for the pair statue of King Menkaura and his queen, the bust of Prince Ankhhaf, the painted cedar coffins of Djehutynakht and his wife, the Mummies gallery, and Assyrian reliefs from Nimrud and Nineveh.

Europe. More than 21,000 works. The 35 Monets, one of the largest groups of his paintings outside France, hang in Gallery 252. Other highlights: Renoir's Dance at Bougival, Gauguin's Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Degas's Little Dancer, Van Gogh's Postman Joseph Roulin and Rembrandt's Artist in his Studio.

Art of the Americas. More than 16,000 objects on four levels. Level One has Copley's 1768 portrait of Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty Bowl that Revere made the same year. Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882) is on Level Two.

Asia. More than 115,000 objects. The museum calls its Japanese holdings the finest and largest collection of Japanese art outside Japan, with Kano and Kyoto school painting, ukiyo-e prints, swords and No masks. Hokusai's Red Fuji is among them.

How to get there by subway and bus

Take the Green Line E branch to Museum of Fine Arts station, at Huntington Avenue and Ruggles Street. According to mbta.com, the station has no elevators or escalators; it has a mini high-level platform for some cars and a portable boarding lift. You can also take the Orange Line or the Commuter Rail (Zone 1A) to Ruggles. Bus 39, which runs between Forest Hills and Back Bay stations, stops on Huntington Avenue at Ruggles Street and at Louis Prang Street; routes 8, 19, 47 and CT2 stop at Ruggles Street and Huntington Avenue. Check service alerts on mbta.com before you go.

Drivers follow Huntington Avenue to the museum and turn right onto Museum Road for parking; the museum lists the options on its parking page. The main entrance is on Huntington Avenue, with ramps and power-assist doors. The Linde Family Wing entrance on Museum Road is for visitors with disabilities who need a level entrance.

Hours and tickets

Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on New Year's Day, Patriots' Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes closes early, so look at the hours page before you go.

Everyone needs a ticket, including children who get in free. Buy them on the museum's ticket page.

Hours and prices checked November 5, 2026 on mfa.org.

All bags are inspected. Bags smaller than 11 x 15 inches are allowed; backpacks must be carried by hand or worn on the front. Coat check at the Huntington Avenue entrance is free, and wheelchairs and gallery stools can be borrowed first come, first served.

Free and discounted admission

The museum's free and discounted admission page lists these standing programs:

• Third Thursdays: pay what you wish, $5 minimum, after 5 pm, tickets sold in person that day.
• Open Houses: free for all Massachusetts residents with a Massachusetts zip code on set days listed on that page, first come, first served.
• Card to Culture: Massachusetts residents with an EBT or ConnectorCare card get up to four $3 adult tickets and four free youth tickets.
• Institutional Pass Program: $15 adult and $10 youth tickets through a participating public library, school or nonprofit.
• Military and veterans: free for the cardholder and up to five guests, in person.
• Students and faculty at participating colleges get in free; K-12 teachers in New England pay $15.
• Bank of America cardholders: one free ticket on the first full weekend of each month.
• Boston Family Days: students who live in Boston and their families get in free on the first and second Sundays of each month.
• A caregiver with a visitor with a disability gets in free.

More Boston sights are on our Boston places page.

Questions people ask

What day is the Museum of Fine Arts Boston closed?

The MFA is closed every Tuesday and on New Year's Day, Patriots' Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Other days it opens at 10 am and closes at 5 pm, or at 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.

How much is a ticket to the MFA Boston?

Adult admission is $30 and youths aged 7 to 17 pay $14. Children 6 and under and museum members get in free, but everyone needs a ticket. On the third Thursday of each month after 5 pm, admission is pay what you wish with a $5 minimum.

Is the MFA free for Massachusetts residents?

On its Open House days the MFA is free for all Massachusetts residents with a state zip code, with no advance tickets. Residents with an EBT or ConnectorCare card can also use Card to Culture for $3 adult tickets and free youth tickets.

What subway stop is closest to the Museum of Fine Arts?

The Museum of Fine Arts station on the Green Line E branch, at Huntington Avenue and Ruggles Street, is next to the museum. Ruggles station on the Orange Line and bus route 39 on Huntington Avenue also serve it.