Found in the Trash, Headed for a Museum
In 1993, Boston antique dealer Scott Wilson spotted a strange painting—Lucy in the Field with Flowers—protruding from a trash can. He intended to salvage only its frame.
But his friend Jerry Reilly saw the painting’s accidental appeal and decided to keep it. Together with Reilly’s wife, Marie Jackson, they began collecting similar works. When dozens of people attended a party showcasing their finds, they jokingly called it “The Opening of the Museum of Bad Art.”
A Gallery by the Men’s Room
The collection soon outgrew private showings. MOBA’s first public home was the basement of the Dedham Community Theatre, beside the men’s restroom.
From the start, MOBA made clear its standards: all works had to be original, made with serious artistic intent, and flawed in a captivating way—not boring, not kitsch, not commercial. Works like Sunday on the Pot with George and Bone-Juggling Dog in Hula Skirt met these unusual criteria.
Thefts, Ransoms, and Fake Cameras
In 1996, the painting Eileen was stolen, prompting media coverage and a reward of $6.50, later raised to $36.73. Ten years later, the thief demanded a $5,000 ransom but eventually returned the piece without payment.
Another work was taken and replaced with a $10 ransom note—without contact information. It too was returned, along with a $10 donation. In response, MOBA installed a fake security camera with a Comic Sans warning label.
Going Global, Staying Weird
MOBA expanded to other locations, hosted exhibitions with themes like “Awash in Bad Art” and “Hackneyed Portraits,” and even launched a drive-thru show at a car wash. Pieces from its rotating collection of over 700 works have toured museums in New York, Ottawa, Taipei, and Virginia.
Though all locations temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, MOBA reopened in Boston in 2022 inside a taproom. The museum has been used in academic studies, inspired theatrical plays, and welcomed donations from artists and trash collectors alike—preserving “art too bad to be ignored” for all to see.
An elderly woman dancing in a field with a chair to her backside was all it took to launch one of the strangest museums in the world.
Pulled from Boston trash in 1993, that painting started a journey that led to stolen artworks, fake security, and global fame…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/pfIfjDFUBW
— Detective Tiger’s Stories (@TigerDetective) June 20, 2025