Celebrating Black History
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum remains committed to collaborating with artists, performers, and leaders whose perspectives are not always heard and seen in established historical institutions like ours.
To honor Black history, Gift at the Gardner presents this selection highlighting the many histories of Black people. We’ve gathered books for all ages that celebrate the life and work of Black activists, artists, athletes, authors, and more, as well as texts that examine the Civil War and the civil rights movement. Our collection of St. Nicolas ornaments includes black historical figures, while our line of Chocolate and Steele quote necklaces include words from some of history's most influential black activists and authors.
Black history matters.
Frederick Douglass Ornament
$16.95
American social reformer, abolitionist, public speaker, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, escaping in 1838. After gaining his freedom, he became the national leader of the abolitionist movement.This ornament of Frederick Douglass shows the man himself, holding his 1835 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He stands stoically, dressed in period-appropriate attire.
Ornaments of other subjects and historical figures associated with the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Frederick Douglass!
Harriet Tubman Ornament
$16.95
Harriet Tubman was an 19th century abolitionist and political activist. She was born into slavery circa 1822. Tubman escaped slavery and assisted in some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, family and friends via the Underground Railroad.
This ornament of the heroic Harriet Tubman emphasizes the danger associated in her missions. She carries a lamp to help guide her way, a shotgun over her shoulder, and a messenger bag.
Ornaments of other subjects and historical figures associated with the Gardner Museum also available.
St. Nicolas specializes in bespoke handmade hanging decorations. For over 25 years, they worked with a small charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than having to leave home. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home hand sewing the decorations and many have been doing so for more than ten years!
As their business grew, more innovative designs were needed, so they began working with a partner in India. The Indian-made ornaments use the traditional method of zardozi embroidery, an intricate sewing technique that was developed to embellish courtly robes with gold wires and jewels. Zardozi work is rare, but because of the skill that is needed to create the ornaments, it continues to be handed down from generation to generation.
Rosa Parks Ornament
$16.95
American Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks showed great courage while protesting segregation and racial injustice. We celebrate her as one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and for starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the largest social movements in history.
St. Nicolas specializes in bespoke handmade hanging decorations. For over 25 years, they worked with a small charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than having to leave home. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home hand sewing the decorations and many have been doing so for more than ten years!
As their business grew, more innovative designs were needed, so they began working with a partner in India. The Indian-made ornaments use the traditional method of zardozi embroidery, an intricate sewing technique that was developed to embellish courtly robes with gold wires and jewels. Zardozi work is rare, but because of the skill that is needed to create the ornaments, it continues to be handed down from generation to generation.
Ballerina in Blue Tutu Ornament
$16.95
As evidenced by the dancing figures in Mrs. Gardner's collection (seen in works by Edgar Degas, Louis Kronberg, and John Singer Sargent to name but a few), Mrs. Gardner was very taken with dancing of all kinds.
Beautiful in blue en pointe, this ornament is sure to remind you of some of the dancers you may have enjoyed in the Palace!
Ornaments of other subjects and dancers featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with this ballerina!
Red Suffragist Ornament
$16.95
Isabella Stewart Gardner was an ardent supporter of women’s educational and social advancement during her lifetime. Throughout her life, she kept in close company with many female trailblazers, including Julia Ward Howe.This ornament of an American Suffragist wearing a 'Votes for Women' banner is a perfect addition to your Christmas tree this holiday season.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Nelson Mandela Quote Necklace: "Impossible until it's done"
$72.00
"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
Former South African president and civil rights advocate Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting for equality—and ultimately helped topple South Africa's racist system of apartheid. During his long life, Mandela inspired countless individuals. This quote is perfect for motivating you to do something bold.
This handcrafted gold vermeil necklace features a Nelson Mandela quote stamped on two vermeil bars.
18 inch chain
14 karat gold vermeil chain and pendants
Pendants measure approximately .625 x 1.5 inches
Handmade in the USA
Maya Angelou Bath Bomb
$9.95
Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, world-renowned poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, and her numerous poetry and essay collections. At age eight, Maya experienced a traumatic event and she stopped speaking for five years. During her silence, Maya rediscovered her voice through reading books, and went on to become one of the world’s most influential writers and speakers of all time.
The Maya Angelou Bath Bomb from Musee is the ideal gift for the feminist artist in your life! The bath bombs are handmade in the USA with ethically sourced, natural ingredients. A secret treasure is included in every bath bomb.
The bath bombs' maker–Musee– makes handcrafted, natural bath products in Madison County, Mississippi with the mission of restoring lives by providing dignified work for vulnerable people in our community. Musee primarily hires women in recovery, people with disabilities, and people who have lived in chronic poverty.
8 ounces
Single use
Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Natural Jojoba Oil, Jasmine Essential Oil, Fragrance oil, and Coloreze.
Handmade in the US
Cruelty-free
Rosa Parks Bath Bomb
$9.95
Rosa Parks was nationally recognized as the "mother of the modern day civil rights movement" in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus triggered waves of protests on December 5, 1955 that echoed throughout the United States. Her quiet, courageous act changed America, its view of black people and redirected the course in history.
The Rosa Parks Bath Bomb from Musee is the ideal gift for the feminist artist in your life! The bath bombs are handmade in the USA with ethically sourced, natural ingredients. A secret treasure is included in every bath bomb.
The bath bombs' maker–Musee– makes handcrafted, natural bath products in Madison County, Mississippi with the mission of restoring lives by providing dignified work for vulnerable people in our community. Musee primarily hires women in recovery, people with disabilities, and people who have lived in chronic poverty.
8 ounces
Single use
Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Natural Jojoba Oil, Jasmine Essential Oil, Fragrance oil, and Coloreze.
Handmade in the US
Cruelty-free
"Poets, Prophets, And Reformers" Frederick Douglass Journal
$26.00
Celebrate the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's special exhibition Big Plans: Picturing Social Reform (June 20--September 15, 2019) with this hardcover journal featuring an image of 19th century social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass (c. February 1818–February 20, 1895) on the front cover and an excerpt from a well-known essay of Douglass's on the back cover. The journal is printed with a velvet laminate finish that lends a high quality suede-like feel.
The lecture, known to the public as "Pictures and Progress," was delivered on December 3, 1861 at Boston's Tremont Temple. He wrote:
Poets, prophets, and reformers are all picture-makers — and this ability is the secret of their power and of their achievements. They see what ought to be by the reflection of what is, and endeavor to remove the contradiction.
The Museum's exhibition examines the impact of images on social reform advocacy in the development of Boston, New York, and Chicago in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Frederick Douglass, "Pictures and Progress" (1864-65)
Cover Image courtesy of National Archives, Photo No. 558770
Measures 8.25 x 6 inches
100 unlined pages
ISGM Pencil Set
$13.95
This set of four solid graphite pencils offers a variety of color options: chose from dark gray, light gray, silver, or gold to craft your masterpiece.
Each pencil features Museum's logo. The pencil case features a sketch from the Museum's archives of Thomas McKeller by John Singer Sargent. McKeller posed for most of the figures—both male and female—in Sargent’s murals in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Perfect for sketching in the Museum's Courtyard!
Set of 4 pencils
The Self Portrait: Art Essentials
$16.95
After six centuries, self-portraiture shows no sign of losing its ability to capture the public imagination. Self-portraits have the power to illuminate a range of universal concerns, from identity, purpose, and authenticity, to frailty, futility, and mortality.
In this new volume in the Art Essentials series, author Natalie Rudd expertly casts fresh light on the self-portrait and its international appeal, exploring the historical contexts within which self-portraits developed and considering the meanings they hold today. With commentaries on works by artists ranging from Jan van Eyck, Francisco Goya, and Vincent van Gogh, to Frida Kahlo, Faith Ringgold, and Cindy Sherman, this book explores the emotive and expressive potential of self-portraiture. The Self-Portrait also considers a wide range of materials available for self-expression, from painting and photography to installation and performance. In the process, the book explores the central question of why artists return to the self-portrait again and again. In her vibrant and timely text, Rudd dissects this and other important questions, revealing the shifting faces of individuality and selfhood in an age where we are interrogating notions of personal identity more than ever before.
By Natalie Rudd
176 pages
Published by Thames & Hudson, 2021
6.5 x 0.7 x 8.6 inches
Hardcover
Martin Luther King, Jr.
$14.99
Little Martin grew up in a family of preachers: his dad was a preacher, his uncle was a preacher, his grandfather was a preacher… so maybe he’d become a great preacher too. One day, a friend invited him to play at his house. Martin was shocked when his mother wouldn’t let him in because he was black. That day he realized there was something terribly unfair going on. Martin believed that no one should remain silent and accept something if it's wrong. And he promised himself that – when he grew up – he’d fight injustice with the most powerful weapon of all: words.
Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Illustrated by Mai Ly DegnanFrom the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2020
Hardcover
8 x 9.8 inches
Maya Angelou
$15.99
Maya Angelou spent much of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas. After a traumatic even at age eight, she stopped speaking for five years. However, Maya rediscovered her voice through wonderful books, and went on to become one of the world's most beloved writers and speakers. This inspiring story of her life features a facts and photos section at the back.
Little People, Big Dreams - Discover the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.
Written by Lisbeth Kaiser, Illustrated by Leire Salaberria
From the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2016
Hardcover
8 x 9.8 inches
The Little Book of Feminist Saints
$18.00
In this luminous volume, New York Times bestselling writer Julia Pierpont and artist Manjit Thapp match short, vibrant, and surprising biographies with stunning full-color portraits of secular female “saints”: champions of strength and progress. These women broke ground, broke ceilings, and broke molds—including
Maya Angelou • Jane Austen • Ruby Bridges • Rachel Carson • Shirley Chisholm • Marie Curie & Irène Joliot Curie • Isadora Duncan • Amelia Earhart • Artemisia Gentileschi • Grace Hopper • Dolores Huerta • Frida Kahlo • Billie Jean King • Audre Lorde • Wilma Mankiller • Toni Morrison • Michelle Obama • Sandra Day O’Connor • Sally Ride • Eleanor Roosevelt • Margaret Sanger • Sappho • Nina Simone • Gloria Steinem • Kanno Sugako • Harriet Tubman • Mae West • Virginia Woolf • Malala Yousafzai
Open to any page and find daily inspiration and lasting delight.
208 pages
Published by Penguin Random House, 2018
Hardcover
5 x 7 inches
Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
$17.99
By Vashti Harrison
96 pages
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019
Hardcover
7.5 x 0.6 x 9 inches
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
$16.99
Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them.
The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come.
By Vashti Harrison
96 pages
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017
Hardcover
7.5 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present!
$22.99
From Freddie Mercury’s contribution to music and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to James Baldwin’s best-selling essays and more, discover tales of courage, triumph, and determination. Published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, this extraordinary book shows children that anything is possible.
Discover the inspiring stories of these LGBT artists, writers, innovators, athletes, and activists who have made great contributions to culture, from ancient times to present day. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to learn more about a collection of inspiring figures in LGBTQ+ history:
Freddie Mercury, Sappho, Audre Lorde, Manvendra Singh Gohil, Frida Kahlo, Emma Gonzalez, James Baldwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Wang, Subhi Nahas, Tove Jansson, Alan Turing, Michelangelo, Martina Navratilova, Sia, Tim Cook, Pedro Almodovar, Virginia Woolf, Tchaikovsky, Vikram Seth, Yotam Ottolenghi, Johanna Sigurðardóttir, Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, David Bowie, Kasha Nabagsera, Lili Elbe, Matthew Bourne, Alvin Ailey, Harvey Milk, Willem Arondeus, Nergis Mavalvala, Rufus Wainwright, Marlene Dietrich, Larry Kramer, Didier Lestrade, Nabuko Yoshiya, Bayard Rustin, Claire Harvey, Barbara Jordan, Josephine Baker, k.d. lang, Kristen Stewart, Jazz Jennings, Elio di Rupo, Oscar Wilde, Harish Iyer, Khalid Abdel-Hadi, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Ellen DeGeneres, and Portia de Rossi.
By Arabelle Sircadi, illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones
64 pages
Published by Wide Eyed Editions, 2019
Hardcover
9.5 x 0.6 x 11.15 inches
Why She Wrote
$19.95
In Why She Wrote, dive into the fascinating, unexpected, and inspiring stories behind the greatest women writers in the English language.
This compelling graphic collection features 18 women—including Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Lister, and more—and asks a simple question: in a time when being a woman writer often meant being undervalued, overlooked, or pigeonholed, why did she write?
Why did Jane Austen struggle to write for five years before her first novel was ever published? How did Edith Maude Eaton's writing change the narrative around Chinese immigrant workers in North America? Why did the Brontë sisters choose to write under male pennames, and Anne Lister write her personal diaries in code?
Learn about women writers from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, from familiar favorites to those who have undeservedly fallen into obscurity, and their often untold histories, including:
• The forgotten mother of the gothic genre
• The unexpected success of Little Women
• The diaries of the "first modern lesbian"
• The lawsuit to protect Little Lord Fauntleroy
• The personal account of a mastectomy in 1811
• Austen's struggles with writer's block
• And much, much more!
Why She Wrote highlights a significant moment from each writer's life and retells it through engaging and accessible comics, along with biographical text, bibliographies, and fun facts. For aspiring writers, literary enthusiasts, and the Janeite who has everything, this new collection highlights these incredible women's hardships, their influence, and the spark that called them to write.
256 pages
Published by Chronicle Books, 2021
Hardcover
6.1 x 9.1 inches
Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired The World
$16.99
Illustrated profiles of 50 pioneering female artists–from the 11th century to today
A charmingly illustrated and inspiring book, Women in Art highlights the achievements and stories of 50 notable women in the arts–from well-known figures like painters Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe, to lesser-known names like 19th-century African American quilter Harriet Powers and Hopi-Tewa ceramic artist Nampeyo. Covering a wide array of artistic mediums, this fascinating collection also contains infographics about artistic movements throughout history, statistics about women’s representation in museums, and notable works by women. Women in Art celebrates the success of the bold female creators who inspired the world and paved the way for the next generation of artists.
128 pages
Published by Ten Speed Press, 2019
Hardcover
7.5 x 9 inches
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
$16.99
It’s a scientific fact: Women rock!
A charmingly illustrated and educational book, New York Times best seller Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. Full of striking, singular art, this fascinating collection also contains infographics about relevant topics such as lab equipment, rates of women currently working in STEM fields, and an illustrated scientific glossary. The trailblazing women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
Women in Science celebrates the achievements of the intrepid women who have paved the way for the next generation of female engineers, biologists, mathematicians, doctors, astronauts, physicists, and more!
128 Pages
Published by Ten Speed Press, 2016
Hardcover
7.5 x 9 inches
Boston in the Golden Age of Spiritualism: Seances, Mediums & Immortality
$19.99
Spiritualism flourished in Boston from the first rumblings of the Civil War until the early twentieth century. Numerous clairvoyants claimed to bring messages from beyond the grave at seances and public meetings. Motives for belief were varied. Wealthy John Wetherbee sought business advice through supernatural means. Psychic Fannie Conant attributed her restored health to spirit intervention. Grieving theater manager Isaac B. Rich wanted to contact his deceased wife. While many earnestly believed in the movement, there were those who took advantage of naïve Bostonians. Determined to expose charlatans, world-renowned magician Harry Houdini declared the famous medium and Bostonian Mina "Margery" Crandon a fake. Join author Dee Morris as she navigates the complex history of Boston's spiritualist movement.
By Dee Morris128 pages
Published by Arcadia Press, 2014
Paperback
6 x 9 inches
Frederick Law Olmsted: Cotton Kingdom
$23.95
A Traveller's Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the American Slave States
Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is best known for designing parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, and the grounds of the Capitol in Washington. But before he embarked upon his career as the nation's foremost landscape architect, he was a correspondent for the New York Times, and it was under its auspices that he journeyed through the slave states in the 1850's. His day-by-day observations—including intimate accounts of the daily lives of masters and slaves, the operation of the plantation system, and the pernicious effects of slavery on all classes of society, black and white—were largely collected in The Cotton Kingdom. Published in 1861, just as the Southern states were storming out of the Union, it has been hailed ever since as singularly fair and authentic, an unparalleled account of America's "peculiar institution."
By Frederick Law Olmsted388 pages
Published by Applewood Books (original publishing date: 1861)
Paperback
6 x 9 inches
Images of America: Boston Common
$21.99
The nation's oldest and most venerated public park, Boston Common has belonged to the people of Boston since 1634. Throughout its history, it has been a centerpiece of civic life; the scene of executions, sermons, protests, and celebrations; and in each century, host to famous visitors from Generals Washington and Lafayette to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John Paul II. In Colonial times, it served as a meeting place, pasture, and military training field. Bostonians in the 19th century added treelined malls and paths and, following the Civil War, monuments and fountains. However, for all its adaptation to modern life, Boston Common remains a green retreat remindful of its storied past.
Written by Friends of the Public Garden128 Pages
Published by Arcadia Publishing, 2005
Paperback
6.5 x 9.2 inches
The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe
$28.00
This “lively biography” (The New Yorker) is the first to tell the story of Julia Ward Howe as a powerful feminist pioneer.Julia Ward (1819-1910) was an heiress who married a handsome accomplished doctor who worked with the blind and deaf. But Samuel Howe wasted her inheritance, mistreated and belittled her, and tried to stifle her intellect and freedom. Nevertheless Julia persisted and wrote poetry and a mildly shocking sexual novel that was published to good reviews. She also wrote the words to probably the most famous anthem in the country’s history—the Civil War anthem, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
After Samuel died when she was fifty-one, Julia lived another forty years as a dynamic, tireless, and successful activist for women’s rights, pacifism, and social reform. She became a groundbreaking figure in the abolitionist and suffrage movements, and a successful author and lecturer who fought her own battle for creative freedom and independence. In the “riveting” (The New York Times Book Review), “unfailingly vivid” (The Atlantic) and “invigorating” (O, The Oprah Magazine) The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe, esteemed author Elaine Showalter tells the story of Howe’s determined self-creation and brings to life the society she inhabited and the obstacles she overcame. The Civil War challenged nineteenth-century ideas of separate spheres for men and women. In Howe’s case, this transformation led to a rebellion against her marriage. She fought a second Civil War at home and discovered ways to combine domestic chores with creativity and politics, and she helped establish Mother’s Day to honor women and to recruit them to her causes. “A biography with the verve and pace of a delicious novel…Showalter reveals the entwining of Howe’s public and private lives, as she righteously battled her husband and society, and finally saw the glory she always believed she deserved” (The Boston Globe).
By Elaine Showalter
328 pages
Published by Simon & Schuester, 2017
Hardcover
5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History
$9.99
The companion to Chelsea Clinton & Alexandra Boiger's #1 New York Times bestseller, She Persisted. Perfect for tiny activists, mini feminists and little kids who are ready to take on the world.Women around the world have long dreamed big, even when they've been told their dreams didn't matter. They've spoken out, risen up and fought for what's right, even when they've been told to be quiet. Whether in science, the arts, sports or activism, women and girls throughout history have been determined to break barriers and change the status quo. They haven't let anyone get in their way and have helped us better understand our world and what's possible. In this companion book to She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, Chelsea Clinton introduces readers to a group of thirteen incredible women who have shaped history all across the globe.
She Persisted Around the World is a book for everyone who has ever aimed high and been told to step down, for everyone who has ever raised their voice and been told to quiet down, and for everyone who has ever felt small, unimportant or unworthy.
Alexandra Boiger's vibrant artwork accompanies this inspiring text that shows readers of all ages that, no matter what obstacles come their way, they have the power to persist and succeed.
This book features: Marie Curie, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Viola Desmond, Sissi Lima do Amor, Leymah Gbowee, Caroline Herschel, Wangari Maathai, Aisha Rateb, J.K. Rowling, Kate Sheppard, Yuan Yuan Tan, Mary Verghese and Malala Yousafzai.
By Chelsea Clinton; illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
32 pages
Published by Philomel Books, 2018
Hardcover
9.31 x 0.37 x 11.31 inches
100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World
$35.00
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a children's book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the lives of extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world.
This must-have volume brings readers on an empowering journey, introducing them to the real-life adventures of trailblazing women from Elizabeth I to Malala Yousafzai. The unique narrative style of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls transforms each biography into a fairytale, filling readers with wonder and a burning curiosity to know more about each hero. Each woman's story is also accompanied by a full-page, full-color portrait that captures her rebel spirit.
By Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
224 pages
Published by Rebel Girls, 2016
Hardcover
7.5 x 0.9 x 10 inches
Large Busisi Sisal Basket
$285.00
Eve and Nico Gifts and Home Décor encourages the ongoing empowerment of African indigenous women by creating diverse markets for their goods.
Using ancient Swazi weaving techniques along with contemporary indigenous designs, women artisans of South Africa create brilliantly hued, meticulously woven baskets out of sisal. Sisal, a plant in the agave family, is a weed that grows throughout Swaziland. Because it is invasive, sisal is ideal for craft production as the harvesting does not threaten the country’s natural biodiversity.
Over 700 women supplement their income by performing different aspects of the creative process including preparing raw sisal and dying it. Each step in production is performed by hand.
In addition to making a beautiful table display or fruit holder, the Busisi Sisal Basket can also be hung as art. The Busisi Sisal Basket comes with a string attached to the back so that the basket can be displayed on walls.
Basket measures approximately 12 inches
Kamala Harris
$15.99
Discover the incredible life of Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian American to be elected vice president of the USA.Little Kamala used to accompany her parents to civil rights marches in California, strapped into her stroller so she wouldn’t get lost. From an early age, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer to help people in need. In school, Kamala felt like she could do anything and everything. She earned a law degree to make sure the most vulnerable were protected by justice.
Kamala’s life was full of firsts, including becoming the first woman, Black woman, and South Asian American to be elected vice president. As Kamala stated to little girls everywhere in her speech—she may be the first but she won't be the last.
Written by Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Illustrated by Lauren Semmer
From the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2018
Hardcover
7.9 x 0.55 x 10.7 inches
The Year We Learned to Fly
$18.99
On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice: “Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now.” And before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom. Then, on a day full of quarrels, it’s time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.
Written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López
32 pages
Published by Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022
Hardcover
9.44 x 0.39 x 10.81 inches
Votes for Women Flash Cards
$15.99
Marcus Rashford
$15.99
When Marcus was a child, he had a family that loved him and a talent for soccer. His mum, Melanie, worked long hours to provide for her family, but sometimes she would go without food herself to make sure that her children had enough to eat.
With his mum's support, Marcus pursued his dreams and progressed through the youth academy at Manchester United Football Club. He worked hard and trained for years to reach the top of the game, making his debut in the Premier League in 2016.
But no matter how successful he became, he never forgot where he came from and his experience as a hungry child. When schools were closed during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, the situation left schoolchildren without free meals that they would have had. And so Marcus took it upon himself to lead a nation-wide campaign to ensure that no child would go without food.
This powerful book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the soccer player’s life.
By Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Guilherme Karsten
From the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2022
Hardcover
7.95 x 0.55 x 9.75 inches
Amanda Gorman
$15.99
Discover the incredible life of Amanda Gorman, America's astounding young poet and activist.
From an early age, Little Amanda read everything she could get her hands on, from books to cereal boxes. Growing up with an auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment, Amanda had to work hard, but ultimately she took great strength from her experiences.
After hearing her teacher read aloud to the class, she knew that she wanted to become a poet, and nothing would stand in her way. At the age of 19, she became America's first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. And, after performing her inspiring poem 'The Hill We Climb' at the Presidential Inauguration in January 2021, she became an icon across the world.
By Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Queenbe Monyei
From the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2022
Hardcover
8 x 0.38 x 9.75 inches
Boston's Apollo: Thomas McKeller & John Singer Sargent
$45.00
Winner of the 2020 George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award from
The Art Libraries Society of North America
In 1916, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) met Thomas Eugene McKeller (1890-1962) a young African American elevator attendant at Boston’s Hotel Vendome. McKeller became the principal model for Sargent’s murals in the new wing of the Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, among the painter’s most ambitious works. Sargent’s nude studies and sketches from this project attest to a close collaboration between the two men that unfolded over nearly ten years. Featuring drawings given by Sargent to Isabella Stewart Gardner and published in full for the first time, a portrait of McKeller, and archival materials reconstructing his life and relationship with Sargent, this book opens new avenues into artist-model relationships and transforms our understanding of Sargent’s iconic American paintings. Essays offer the first biography of Thomas McKeller and a window into African American life in early 20th century Roxbury. They address the artist’s sexuality, his models, and consider questions of race and gender.
224 pages
Published by Yale Press, 2020
Hardcover
9 x 12 inches
Curatorial Activism
$34.95
Current art world statistics demonstrate that the fight for gender and race equality in the art world is far from over: only sixteen percent of this year’s Venice Biennale artists were female; only fourteen percent of the work displayed at MoMA in 2016 was by non white artists; only a third of artists represented by U.S. galleries are female, but over two-thirds of students enrolled in art and art-history programs are young women.
Arranged in thematic sections focusing on feminism, race, and sexuality, Curatorial Activism examines and illustrates pioneering examples of exhibitions that have broken down boundaries and demonstrated that new approaches are possible, from Linda Nochlin’s “Women Artists” at LACMA in the mid-1970s to Jean-Hubert Martin’s “Carambolages” in 2016 at the Grand Palais in Paris. Profiles key exhibitions by pioneering curators including Okwui Enwezor, Linda Nochlin, Jean-Hubert Martin and Nan Goldin, with a foreword by Lucy Lippard, internationally known art critic, activist and curator, and early champion of feminist art, this volume is both an invaluable source of practical information for those who understand that institutions must be a driving force in this area and a vital source of inspiration for today’s expanding new generation of curators.
By Maura Reilly with forward by Lucy Lippard
240 pages
Published by Thames & Hudson, 2018
Hardcover
7.2 x 1 x 9.4 inches
Rosa Parks
$15.99
Rosa Parks grew up in Alabama, where she learned to stand up for herself at an early age. Rosa went on to become a civil rights activist whose courage and dignity sparked the movement that ended segregation. She never stopped working for equal rights. This inspiring story of her life features a facts and photos page section at the back.
Written by Lisbeth Kaiser, Illustrated by Marta AnteloFrom the Little People, Big Dreams Series
32 pages
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2017
Hardcover
8 x 9.8 inches
Josephine Candle
$60.00
From Harlem’s hottest jazz clubs to Broadway to the Follies-Bergère in Paris, Josephine Baker“--The Bronze Goddess”--made a sensational impact, captured perfectly in this opulent luxurious scent. A bright citrus opening of vibrant bergamot blends magnificently with an emotional heart of lush Moroccan Rose and Indian Jasmine, while a velvet background of warm liquid amber, sweet Tonka bean and precious sandalwood provides a beautiful finish as exquisite as Josephine herself.Notes
Top: Citrus, Bergamot
Middle: Jasmine, Rose
Bottom: Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Amber, Vanilla
12oz candle with 2 wicks
Measures 4.25"H x 3.25"D
Burn time: 80 hours
Speakeasy Candle
$60.00
Speakeasy transports you to Harlem’s clandestine nightclubs and secret lounges during the 1920s. The intoxicating smell of bourbon and the glamour and bustle of New York City immediately seduces you. It opens with notes of cardamom, smoked incense, bourbon and pimento berry.A dramatic heart of golden saffron, licorice, plum blossom and tobacco leaves evolves beautifully to a warm, sensual base of aromatic palo santo and patchouli. Creamy vanilla and dark chocolate add a gourmand nuance to this highly addictive blend.
Notes
Top: Cardamom, Smoked Incense, Pimento berry
Middle: Saffron, Licorice, Plum blossom, Tobacco leaves
Base: Palo santo, Patchouli, Vanilla, Dark chocolate
12oz candle with 2 wicks
Measures 4.25"H x 3.25"D
Burn time: 80 hours
Vintage Garden Candle
$60.00
Dare to search for the secret garden of your most vivid imagination… lush, with an untamed bouquet of perfumed blossoms and botanicals so intoxicating that you cannot resist their potent allure. Inhale and you are helplessly seduced by this forbidden oasis.Vintage Garden recreates this magical dream, evoking the tantalizing aroma of a wild Renaissance garden lined with rare fruits, spices, woods, and flowers.
Peaceful and serene, the spiritual essence transports you along delicately curved paths and porticoes with an exuberant opening of marjoram, Italian mandarin, and wild berries. May rose, absinthe and angelica form an emotional heart, as strawberry musk, resinous birchwood, and smoky vetiver bring a warm, sensual finish to this beautiful blend that conjures up visions of infinite tranquility.
Notes
Top: Marjoram, Italian mandarin, Wild berries
Middle: May Rose, Absinthe, Angelica
Base: Strawberry-Musk, Birch wood, Haitian Vetiver
12oz candle with 2 wicks
Measures 4.25"H x 3.25"D
Burn time: 80 hours
© 2023 Gift at the Gardner.
