BOSTON, MASS.- —The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with the Boston Red Sox, announces the winners of its online photography contest Grandstand to Gallery: Museum of Fine Arts and Fenway Park Photo Project. Six photographs, chosen from 700 submissions, are displayed in a special exhibition at the MFA on view through October 3 near the Museum’s State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance. Grandstand to Gallery marks the first time the MFA has used social media to gather works of art from the community for display in an exhibition. The contest, launched in late April in celebration of Fenway Park’s centennial, invited fans of the Red Sox and MFA to upload their favorite Fenway photos from the past 100 years to the MFA and Red Sox Facebook pages and RedSox.com. The six winners, in addition to having their works displayed at the Museum and online at www.mfa.org, will be honored at a reception at the MFA today (July 18) when the exhibition debuts, and will later be recognized pre-game (Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox) at Fenway Park, where the winning photos will be projected on the video board.

“Grandstand to Gallery has been a wonderful partnership between two historic institutions—the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Red Sox. It has been a pleasure working with our friends across the Fens on our first social media contest and exhibition of works submitted by members of the public,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA. “Artistic inspiration abounds wherever we chose to find it. These winning photographs all capture unique moments in time at Fenway Park.”

Photos were submitted into three categories or “virtual galleries”: portrait, landscape, and “curveball” (a still life, a close up, or an abstract shot). The winners were chosen in two judging groups: Rogers and Dick (“Bresh”) Bresciani, Red Sox Vice President/Historian, selected one set of winners in each category on June 19 at the Museum; the public chose favorites in each category online (from June 15–25), from which MFA curators selected another set of three winners. The six MVPs (“Most Valuable Photos”) presented in the exhibition were all taken either at a game at Fenway or during a tour of the historic ballpark, bringing a little bit of Red Sox Nation to the MFA’s walls. Visitors inspired by the photographs can get into the spirit and take pictures of friends or family sitting on a baseball-style bench in front of an image of Fenway Park in the exhibition. In addition, the Museum’s Fenway entrance will feature baseball-themed floral arrangements, beginning with “Wally the Green Monster,” created by the MFA Associates, who present the Museum’s annual event, Art in Bloom.

The winners of Grandstand to Gallery, all Massachusetts residents, are:
• Barbara Ross, Hingham—Tag–1976 ; Malcolm/Bresh MVP, Portrait
• Elena Finiello, Marshfield—The Stuff of Dreams; Fan MVP, Portrait
• Bart Blumberg, Hull—Ted’s Red Seat; Malcolm/Bresh MVP, Landscape
• Rosemary Sampson, Hanson—Dare to be Different; Fan MVP, Landscape
• Lora Brody, Waltham—Fenway Pretzel Vendor ; Malcolm/Bresh MVP, “Curveball”
• Candace Imming, Whitinsville—Game Numbers; Fan MVP, “Curveball”