It’s Their Mona Lisa

Welcome! If you’re new here, please consider signing up for this free newsletter to get more random weird cultural stuff in your Inbox!

Did you know that there is only one painting by Leonardo da Vinci on view in America? It’s a portrait of a teenage girl named Ginevra de’ Benci, a Florentine aristocrat, possibly commissioned for her wedding. And it’s one of only four portraits Leonardo painted of women. The most famous one, of course, is the Mona Lisa.

The portrait of Ginevra is on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, which acquired the painting in 1967. There’s an interesting story of how the painting was brought from Liechtenstein Castle to Washington in carry-on luggage.

[I haven’t told you this yet, but for the past year I’ve been working full-time as Senior Video Producer at the National Gallery of Art. I love it. Working in a museum surrounded by some of the world’s best art and telling stories about how art makes a difference in people’s lives, every day is a good day. Another time, I’ll share some of the work we’re doing. But for now, I just need to make clear that this newsletter is in no way formally connected to the museum or my work there.]

Here is Ginevra, painted by Leonardo around 30 years before Mona Lisa:

I once heard someone refer to Ginevra as “America’s Mona Lisa.” Obviously that’s in part because they’re both by the same artist. But sometimes people refer to something as their Mona Lisa to mean it’s their prize possession, or an incredible work, or the draw that people come to see.

And that got me wondering: What do other museums and institutions refer to as their Mona Lisa?

So I did some digging and I’ve gathered 17 works of art and other surprising things where someone from the institution has gone on record calling it their Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa of the Museum of Modern Art

What is it? Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962), a silkscreen portrait by Andy Warhol.
Where is it? Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
Exact quote: “Many people call her our Mona Lisa.”
Who said it? Ann Temkin, Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture.
Source: MoMA Inside Out blog, July 22, 2015

The Mona Lisa of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

What is it? Madonna and Child (c. 1300) by Duccio di Buoninsegna
Where is it? The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Exact quote: “...the first time I saw this work, I said, ‘this is our Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Wolfram Koeppe, Senior Curator of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts.
Source: Cabana Magazine interview, July 26, 2024

The Mona Lisa of Restoration Hardware

What is it? Restoration Hardware’s Paris flagship luxury home furnishings showroom.
Where is it? Paris, France.
Exact quote: “Guests don’t enter this gallery through a typical storefront. Instead, golden gates open to a hedge-lined walkway, a rear garden and dramatic medallion-carved doors that lead into a space CEO Gary Friedman calls the company’s ‘Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Gary Friedman, CEO of Restoration Hardware.
Source: Jetset Magazine, September 15, 2025.

The Mona Lisa of the Smithsonian African Art Museum

What is it? A 7-foot bronze sculpture by Ousmane Sow called Toussaint Louverture depicting a Black liberation leader and a formerly enslaved woman.
Where is it? Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C.
Exact quote: “The sculpture, which museum director Johnnetta Cole describes as ‘our Mona Lisa’...”
Who said it? Johnnetta Cole, museum director.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine, May 2011

The Mona Lisa of the St. Louis Art Museum

What is it? Bathers with a Turtle (1907) by Henri Matisse.
Where is it? St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO.
Exact quote: “‘It’s one of the great Matisses,’ said Simon Kelly, the St. Louis Art Museum’s curator of modern art. ‘It’s kind of our Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Simon Kelly, Curator of Modern Art.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 22, 2014

The Mona Lisa of the National Museum of African American History & Culture

What is it? An early portrait photograph of Harriet Tubman by B.F. Powelson.
Where is it? National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
Exact quote: “I felt like this is the museum’s version of a Mona Lisa... This is our Mona Lisa. She would be the equivalent.”
Who said it? Rhea Combs, Curator of Photography.
Source: TheGrio, March 26, 2019

The Mona Lisa of the Lenbachhaus

What is it? Portrait of Alexander Sacharoff (1910) by Alexej von Jawlensky.
Where is it? Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany.
Exact quote: “This is our ‘Mona Lisa’, almost every week we receive requests to lend the painting, which unfortunately is not possible because the painting is very fragile.”
Who said it? Matthias Mühling, Director.
Source: Simply Munich

The Mona Lisa of The Mob Museum

What is it? The bullet-riddled brick wall from the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre garage.
Where is it? The Mob Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Exact quote: “The wall, reassembled brick by brick, is pock-marked with bullet holes. ‘It's like our Mona Lisa,’ Barrie says.”
Who said it? Dennis Barrie, Creative Director.
Source: Cleveland Magazine, February 20, 2012

The Mona Lisa of the Kunstgewerbemuseum

What is it? The Dome Reliquary, “reputed to have contained the skull of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus”
Where is it? Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), Berlin, Germany.
Exact quote: “The dome reliquary is our Mona Lisa.”
Who said it? Lothar Lambacher, Deputy Director.
Source: The New Criterion, May 2022

The Mona Lisa of the Palace of Versailles

What is it? The Temple of Minerva theater set (c.1754) from Marie-Antoinette’s private theater.
Where is it? Château de Versailles, Versailles, France.
Exact quote: “a miracle of conservation ... our own Mona Lisa”
Who said it? Raphaël Masson, Chief Curator of Heritage.
Source: Tatler, March 15, 2021

The Mona Lisa of the Worcester Art Museum

What is it? The Brooding Woman (1896) by Paul Gauguin.
Where is it? Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Exact quote: “My absolute favorite in this museum is Paul Gauguin’s ‘The Brooding Woman.’ It’s our Mona Lisa.”
Who said it? Matthias Waschek, Director.
Source: The Boston Globe, October 20, 2012

The Mona Lisa of the Israel Museum

What is it? The Dead Sea Scrolls collection
Where is it? Israel Museum (Shrine of the Book), Jerusalem.
Exact quote: “Placing the Dead Sea Scrolls—‘our Mona Lisa,’ Roitman called them—in a museum...”
Who said it? Adolfo Roitman, Curator of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum
Source: The Atlantic, November 26, 2017

The Mona Lisa of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

What is it? An 1865 photograph of Abraham Lincoln (1865) by Alexander Gardner with a crack through it.
Where is it? Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Exact quote: “Our photograph of Lincoln by [Gardner], known as the ‘cracked-plate,’ is the museum’s ‘Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Kim Sajet, Director.
Source: Smithsonian Press Release, August 24, 2015

The Mona Lisa of the National Portrait Gallery in London

What is it? The Chandos Portrait of William Shakespeare, attributed to John Taylor, c. 1610.
Where is it? National Portrait Gallery, London.
Exact quote: “She labels as ‘pretty high’ the odds that a living, breathing William Shakespeare posed for the National Portrait Gallery’s own Chandos portrait, which she calls ‘our Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Tarnya Cooper, Curator.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine, September 2006

The Mona Lisa of the University of Maryland School of Medicine

What is it? An 1844 portrait of Dr. John Beale Davidge, founder and first dean of the medical school.
Where is it? University of Maryland Medical Alumni Association, Baltimore.
Exact quote: “This is the only portrait of Davidge that we’re aware of that exists. It is certainly the oldest. Until another one shows up, this is our Mona Lisa.”
Who said it? Larry Pitrof, executive director of the Medical Alumni Association
Source: Baltimore Sun via ArtNet, July 24, 2025

The Mona Lisa of Tiffany & Co.

What is it? The Tiffany Diamond, a 128.54-carat yellow diamond.
Where is it? Tiffany & Co. flagship store, New York City.
Exact quote: “People can line up to view it. ‘Yes, it is our Mona Lisa.’”
Who said it? Victoria Wirth Reynolds, Chief Gemologist.
Source: CBS News, May 21, 2023

The Mona Lisa of the Oslo Natural History Museum

What is it? Darwinius masillae, a 47-million-year-old fossil of a human ancestor, seen as a “missing link” in the evolutionary tree. Its nickname is Ida.
Where is it? Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway.
Exact quote: “You need an icon or two in a museum to drag people in... This is our Mona Lisa and it will be our Mona Lisa for the next 100 years.”
Who said it? Jørn Hurum, Paleontologist.
Source: The Guardian, May 19, 2009

If I had to choose which issue of this newsletter is my Mona Lisa, not based on my favorite but strictly based on which one brought the most new readers, that honor probably goes to I Get No Mail And It’s Glorious, about how I eliminated all paper mail to the point where most days I literally get no mail, causing confusion for my mailman.

I don’t have the raw numbers, but I’m pretty sure that was the most widely shared and read edition since I started this newsletter in 2020. In this newsletter’s earlier iteration as a blog, I’m sure I had posts that were more popular than that, but strictly among newsletter issues, that one definitely ranks high up there.

Thanks as usual for reading. See you next time!

David