Museum of Bad Art

11/08/2024

The Landing Strip
Anonymous
Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 18”
Rescued from curbside trash in Quebec City
and donated by Vincent Roy
July 2024

The model assumed a pose reminiscent of a selfie sext to an intimate friend. While he demurely covered himself, the slit in in the canvas simultaneously mirrors his landing strip goatee and directs the viewer’s gaze directly to the true subject of the painting.

11/07/2024

Presidential Coiffures
Emma Donaldson
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16”
Donated by the artist
July 2018

While President Donald Trump and Dear Leader Kim Jong Un are both known for their distinctive hairstyles, the artist portrayed them with similar hairdos in this double portrait.

10/21/2024

MOBA has opened a new gallery in Quebec City in conjunction with Exmuro Public Art: Le Salon du Bad Art in Place Royal, in the heart of the old city.

10/02/2024

Blue Ballerina
Shot (2015)
Acrylic on canvas, 40" x 18"
Found in an alley in Santa Monica, CA
and donated by Nancy Cook Smith and Peter Tigler
September 2024

The inscription "Shot 1/30/2015" on the reverse side of this canvas is disturbing. Lacking any information in support or contrary, the MOBA curator chooses to believe it refers to the artist's name rather than the fate of the lovely ballerina depicted in the painting.

09/24/2024

Five Legs
Anonymous
Acrylic on canvas, 40" x 30"
Purchased at a thrift shop in Boston, MA
January 2015

The model may have been reluctant to pose without a shirt, leaving the artist no choice but to concentrate on the chair in this unusual life study.

09/20/2024

The 2025 MOBA Calendar:
Look Ma, No Hands

https://www.massbaytrading.com/the-museum-of-bad-art-2025-16-month-calendar.html

09/05/2024

Today's NY Times Crossword Puzzle!

07/21/2024

Owen Wilson and the Three Graces
Tovah Stevenson
Acrylic on canvas, 20” x 20”
Donated by the artist
June 2024

The Three Graces were the beautiful daughters of Zeus, each of whom was being able to bestow a particular gift on humanity: Euphrosyne (mirth), Aglaia (elegance), and Thalia (youth and beauty).
Surprised to find himself standing before them, the articulate actor was moved to exclaim, “Wow!”

07/13/2024

Self-Portrait as a Bird
Rebecca Harris
Pastel crayon on paper, 25” x 22”
Donated by the artist
1994

Glee sparkles from Ms Harris’ eyes in this joyful self-portrait/evolutionary essay.

"I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail"

"El Cóndor Pasa"
by Daniel Alomía Robles,
English lyrics by Paul Simon

07/04/2024

Fast Food and Dessert Barbies
Mari Newman
multimedia (photomontage)
Donated by the artist
September 2006

One of the most prolific artists represented in the MOBA collection combined iconic American images that should remind us to make good gastronomic decisions as we gather with friends and relatives for the holiday.

07/01/2024

President Obama and Unicorn
Dan Lacey
Oil on canvas board, 17” x 14”
Purchased on an online auction
and donated by Ollie Hallowell
June 2024

Will there be enough oil in the small bottle to allow the unicorn’s hard hoof to glide smoothly down the former president’s spine to give him the release of tension he so clearly needs?

The erupting volcano in the background is telling us, yes!

Guest Interpretator: Ollie Hallowell, MOBA Conservateur d’honneur

06/25/2024

Our 30th Anniversary Celebration was a smashing success. About 100 FOMOBAs (Friends of MOBA) joined the party. MOBA Founders, Jerry Reilly, Scott Wilson, and Marie Jackson retold the origin story, Curator Mike Frank presented recent milestones, Exec Director Louise Reilly Sacco announced MOBA's new satellite location in Quebec City.

New pieces were presented. Guests were encouraged to take works from MOBA's Rejection Collection, pieces that do not meet the Curator's exacting standards for museum-quality bad art.

There was cake!

06/16/2024

Boston Globe Travel Section included this today. Will you join us?

06/13/2024

MOBA on TV today ...

Boston's Museum of Bad Art, which is actually in a brewery, has art that's "too bad to be ignored."

06/06/2024

MOBA Celebrates 30 Years of Art Too Bad to Be Ignored!
Monday, June 24, 7-9pm, admission is free
Dorchester Brewing Co., 1250 Massachusetts Ave, Boston

This is the painting that started it all. MOBA’s first public exhibition in the basement of a small house in West Roxbury opened in 1994. Join us in our amazing gallery in Dorchester Brewing to celebrate this milestone. Festivities include:
· Walls jammed with over 70 works of art. As always, each piece is shown with a MOBA interpretation.
· Formal unveiling of an exciting new acquisition.
· Rejection Collection Sale: each piece accompanied by a MOBA Certificate of Rejection. (Priced by the square foot!)
· Brief slideshow to recapture highlights of MOBA’s last 30 years.
· Presentation of a Lucy Award to an outstanding MOBA supporter
· Announcement of an important international undertaking.
· Book signing by the authors of The Museum Of Bad Art: Masterworks.
· There will be cake!

Guests can buy beer and other beverages from Dorchester Brewing and delicious food from M&M BBQ onsite.

No RSVP necessary. Bring your friends on June 24.

05/17/2024

The Boston Globe asked the MOBA Curator-in-Chief for his reaction to this monumental work. Read the article ...

Say what you will about the artist's rather striking, larger-than-life oil painting of the monarch. But it’s got people talking.

05/11/2024

Aurora Borealis
M. Choquette (1931)
18" x 22", oil on canvas
Donated by Mary Fadel
January 2007

Blinded by the Northern Lights, the beautiful maiden wandered the coast nightly hoping for a glimpse of her lover's ship that she feared lost at sea. She failed to realize that he had joined the Navy because he preferred the company of his fellow sailors.

04/30/2024

Sad Lady Liberty
Anonymous
Oil on canvas, 36" x 18"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
September 2010

Forlorn with the belief that the tired, poor, huddled masses were no longer welcome, dejected Lady Liberty joined a traveling circus to make ends meet.