Happy Halloween! There’s no place better than the Museum to be inspired, so why not draw from our collection for your Halloween costume this year? There are plenty of spooky sights and colorful characters in our galleries to create a costume that’s unique, unusual, and artistically your own.
Take a look at 10 works of art that can make your last-minute Halloween costume your best one yet!
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We are batty for Halloween at the BMA, as this little guy can show you. This bat pendant inspired our family mascot, Bart the Art Bat! // “Bat Pendant” Veraguas culture, Panama (AD 900-1500), or Chiriquí culture, Panama and Costa Rica (AD 500-1000). AD 900-1500. Gold. Gift of Elsie Robbins Oglesby in memory of Thomas Edwin Oglesby. 1980.287.
Mummies are a classic Halloween costume, but you can get very authentic if you copy the style of this mummy mask! // “Mummy Mask” Chancay culture, Peru (1000-1460), 1100-1460. Wood and shell. Museum purchase, 1964.104.1
Look to old Hollywood style to create your costume. Go solo as Dean Martin, or gather your friends and be the Rat Pack! // “Dean Martin, Los Angeles” (1961), Sid Avery. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Ronald Avery. 1990.104.13
Lover of visual and written art? Be inspired by your favorite book, just like this sculpture is! // “L’Etude” (1786) model by Simon-Louis Boizot, French (1743-1809); Gilded by André-Joseph Foinet, French (1758-1839). Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (est. 1756), Sèvres, France. Museum purchase with funds from the 2001 Museum Dinner and Ball, 2001.199.
Think outside the frame! Go abstract and strike a pose like our Robert Mangold piece. // “Column Structure IX” (2006), Robert Mangold, American (born 1937). Acrylic and black pencil on canvas. Collection of the Art Fund Inc. at the BMA. Purchase with funds provided by John and Nancy Poynor. AFI897.2012a-b.
You’re sure to make a striking entrance to your Halloween party when you dress as our favorite sorceress! In the piece, the sorceress is in the middle of casting a spell – what would your spell be? // “L’Envoûteuse (The Sorceress)” (1883) Georges Merle, French (1851-1886). Oil on panel. Collection of the Art Fund Inc. at the BMA. AFI2.2009.
After our summertime samurai exhibition, we can’t help but think of the samurai as the perfect warrior costume! // “Suit of Armor (Tosei Gusoku)” (about 1500) Myochin Nagamuchi, Japanese, Muromachi period (1392-1573). Iron, leather, lacquer, bear skin, and silk. Anonymous loan. 15.1994.17.1-4.
Let your favorite artist be your guide! Find a portrait or photograph – like this one of Georgia O’Keefe – to get you started. // “Georgia O’Keefe, New Mexico” (1981), William Clift (born 1944). Gelatin silver print. Collection of the Art Fund Inc. at the BMA; bequest of Rena Hill Selfe. AFI10.1996.
Dancing the night away with your date? Find your favorite couple from our collection and recreate the work of art in your photos! // “Untitled (Men in the Cities: Meryl & Jonathan)” (1989), Robert Longo, American (born 1953). Lithograph. Museum purchase. 1989.141.1-2.
