Hundreds Of Museums Around the World Are Sending Each Other Bouquets Of Art Historical Flowers To Spread Love In A Dark Time

A Critic’s Bouquet by Hili Perlson for Berlinde de Bruyckere, 2015. Courtesy of Capitain Petzel, Berlin and Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf.

Though museums across the country and around the world are closed for the time being, they remain committed to showcasing beautiful works of art, especially those that inspire calm—a trend the Twitterverse recently dubbed #MuseumMomentofZen. But then, yesterday afternoon, a new art museum hashtag began racking up engagement—so much so that it made rank among the day’s most popular trends as a featured Twitter Moment.

h/t: artnet

Dear @americanart, we wanted to brighten your day with these apple blossoms by American painter Martin Johnson Heade.

🌷We hope this #MuseumBouquet makes you smile today! 😊 pic.twitter.com/d63vSZKWT5

— New-York Historical Society (@NYHistory) March 24, 2020

It all began when the New-York Historical Society and the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden started “sending” bouquets of flowers to other major art institutions. The first lucky recipient was the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery, which received an image of a sprig of apple blossoms by American painter Martin Johnson Heade.

Dear @AkronArtMuseum we hope this #MuseumBouquet brightens your day. 💐
H. Lyman Saÿen, "Anemones," ca. 1910-1912 https://t.co/DApdqOmvj8 pic.twitter.com/p7KEpk5wfi

— americanart (@americanart) March 24, 2020

“We hope this #MuseumBouquet brightens your day!” the historical society tweeted. The museum was quick to pay it forward, sending on a grouping of colorful blooms by H. Lyman Saÿen to the Akron Art Museum. Soon enough, hundreds of museums—365, to be exact—were filling their feeds with flora and messages of support for one another, with contributions from institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Cooper Hewitt, the Frick Collection, the MassArt Museum, the Smithsonian, the Field Museum, and the MCA Chicago.

Sending a #MuseumBouquet of roses to our friends @harvartmuseums and @ICAinBOSTON 🌹🌹🌹 We hope they brighten your day!

🎨: "Roses in a Glass Vase" (1890), Henri Fantin-Latour pic.twitter.com/sXVlTg99P2

— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) March 24, 2020

During these difficult times, we think everyone needs a dancing daisy to brighten their day. Today we're sending a virtual #MuseumBouquet to you, @mitlistarts and @theDavisMuseum 🌼💐🌷

Jennifer Steinkamp. "Dance Hall Girl, daisies," 2004. pic.twitter.com/BTAXyo1Up0

— MassArt Art Museum (@maamboston) March 24, 2020

Sending you a little cheer, @Tate 💐 #MuseumBouquet
🎨: Andy Warhol pic.twitter.com/btlWCSVPoG

— Hirshhorn (@hirshhorn) March 24, 2020

A Klimt for a Klimt! Mäda Primavesi and her flowers send their regards to you, neighbor.🌸💕#MuseumBouquet

Learn more: https://t.co/7aOptFKsNf https://t.co/34MQEMa7pu pic.twitter.com/eWjl6aCvA5

— The Metropolitan Museum of Art (@metmuseum) March 24, 2020

Dear @mcachicago,
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Your art is modern
We love visiting you!#MuseumBouquet

🌷: Robert Thornton, Temple of Flora (1807) https://t.co/krNZ8uX3UA pic.twitter.com/goal9tdRzz

— Field Museum (@FieldMuseum) March 24, 2020

This is just too sweet—like these sweet peas illustrated by Henrietta Maria Benson Homer and exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Association in April 1876. #MuseumBouquet pic.twitter.com/x0pI92Nn7f

— Cooper Hewitt (@cooperhewitt) March 24, 2020

Sending a #MuseumBouquet of @SIGardens cherry blossoms to our friends at @USNatArchives and @librarycongress. We hope you’ll love exploring these 🌸🌸🌸 up close digitally: https://t.co/4ug7SOFtbK pic.twitter.com/LSh0cCSHDd

— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) March 24, 2020

Sending a #MuseumBouquet to our neighbors and friends @cooperhewitt, @gardnermuseum, @metmuseum, @MuseumofCityNY, @NortonSimon, @OKCMOA, @Philbrook, @thejewishmuseum, @stlartmuseum, @studiomuseum. 💐
—
Stand (detail), ca. 1730. Hard-paste porcelain. Gift of Henry H. Arnhold, 2019 pic.twitter.com/Ic1qR7H28c

— The Frick Collection (@frickcollection) March 24, 2020

🌸🌸🌸 Cherry blossoms from our sculpture garden for all of our museum friends, thinking of you this week 💕
Thank you for sending a #MuseumBouquet 💐🤗 pic.twitter.com/AuetMkx6B2

— Hirshhorn (@hirshhorn) March 24, 2020

To: @NMAAHC

Roses are red
Violets are blue
We want to share
Duke Ellington's flowers with you🌸 #MuseumBouquet

📷: https://t.co/RyrG2imRhH pic.twitter.com/X9tQZJnJNU

— National Portrait Gallery (@smithsoniannpg) March 24, 2020

Hello to our friends at @LAMCA! We’re sending you this 1995 postage stamp version of Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Red Poppy” to brighten your day! #MuseumBouquet pic.twitter.com/vvkO691lNy

— Postal Museum (@PostalMuseum) March 24, 2020

So thoughtful of you, @FreerSackler! We hope you enjoy this photograph by Gohar Dashti, one of Bahman Jalali's students. #MuseumBouquet

📷: "Untitled" from the "Home" series, 2017, Collection of Azita Bina and Elmar Seibel⁣⁣⁣ https://t.co/9Q7bT80UTJ pic.twitter.com/Fl2caF4hVm

— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) March 24, 2020

Hi @Guggenheim and @smithsonian, these ikebana arrangements courtesy of Camille Henrot made us think of you! 🌱 #MuseumBouquet

📸: "Camille Henrot: The Restless Earth" pic.twitter.com/UaioP3LhU4

— New Museum (@newmuseum) March 24, 2020

Thank you, neighbor! We're sending you back a #MuseumBouquet of nasturtiums, in honor of Mrs. Gardner 💐

🎨: "Nasturtium" (1788), John Edwards, hand-colored etching https://t.co/2XO9LhUy14 pic.twitter.com/BOUEqmoJVs

— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) March 24, 2020

To @metmuseum, we thought instead of a #MuseumBouquet, we'd gift you a whole field of California poppies to send a little west coast cheer your way. 🌼https://t.co/UqUBbaGYcy pic.twitter.com/eGi2CHfOXX

— LACMA (@LACMA) March 24, 2020

Sending a #MuseumBouquet to our friends @TheShedNY and @NoguchiMuseum via today’s #WomensHistoryMonth highlight, Isa Genzken’s “Two Orchids”
(Follow the hashtag to see various institutions send each other 💐!) #5womenartists pic.twitter.com/bC2M52hurU

— Public Art Fund (@PublicArtFund) March 24, 2020

We hope we’re not too late to the #MuseumBouquet party!

We’re sending this vibrant bunch by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to @MuseumModernArt, @TheJewishMuseum, @Guggenheim, @NYHistory, @LACMA, @artinstitutechi, @MFABoston, and extending the love to all museums big and small! 🥰💐 pic.twitter.com/G3vDXfUlZP

— The Metropolitan Museum of Art (@metmuseum) March 24, 2020

Roses are red, violets are blue, sending this #MuseumBouquet just for you, @mbamtl ❤️️💐

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer. Still Life: Flowers, 17th century. Oil on canvas.
Bequest of Miss L. Aileen Larkin, 1967. © 2020 Art Gallery of Ontario pic.twitter.com/QB0UG6lf1Z

— Art Gallery of Ontario (@agotoronto) March 24, 2020

Sending a #MuseumBouquet of @MuseeLouvre, @MuseeOrsay and @CVersailles flowers to our friends in the neighborhood: @frickcollection, @metmuseum, @MuseumModernArt, @cooperhewitt, @MuseumofCityNY, @Guggenheim 🌸♥️🌸 Stay safe and be well! pic.twitter.com/r780tRxaYa

— French Culture in the US (@FrenchCultureUS) March 24, 2020

Dear @QAGOMA, please accept this #MuseumBouquet💐on behalf of everyone here. It's Nora Heysen's 'Spring flowers' 1938, and while it doesn't quite match the current season, it matches our hopes for new and bright connections blossoming through the dark.
🖼️: https://t.co/KpDPSxQ2b2 pic.twitter.com/GtymRkBTCb

— Art Gallery of NSW (@ArtGalleryofNSW) March 25, 2020

To our friends at @DallasMuseumArt: We hope this #MuseumBouquet of Morning Glories by Mattie Lou O'Kelley brings you joy! pic.twitter.com/pddmiJ9knW

— High Museum of Art (@HighMuseumofArt) March 24, 2020

We are thinking of you, @NoguchiMuseum. We hope this Ikebana arrangement from the Denver chapter of the International Ikebana Society brings some joy to you today. #museumbouquet pic.twitter.com/i0a7hByrb6

— Denver Botanic Gardens (@botanic) March 24, 2020

To: @LACMA, @MOCAlosangeles, @hammer_museum, @gettymuseum

We hope this bright splash of color, courtesy of @JeffKoons, brightens your day 💐 #MuseumBouquet

Love,
All the staff at The Broad pic.twitter.com/elFZ0gzY36

— The Broad (@TheBroad) March 24, 2020

Sending a garden of flowers and lots of love to our Portrait Gallery friends @NPGLondon and @PortraitAu! 🌻 #MuseumBouquet 📷: https://t.co/YZQk4neOPT pic.twitter.com/O7jjaHeFkb

— National Portrait Gallery (@smithsoniannpg) March 24, 2020