When Isabella Stewart Gardner, one of Boston’s most fabulous and notorious historical celebrities, created her art museum, her goal was always for the public to enjoy it. After decades of collecting artworks and curating precisely arranged exhibitions with elements from her travels and objects she held dear, Gardner opened the doors for all to see.

Getting in to see the eclectic museum is even easier now. The museum is offering free admission every Thursday year-round between 5 and 9 p.m. This builds on the free first Thursday program that opened the museum once a month with live music and other interactive programming. Now audiences will have three more times the chances to see the collection on a budget.

“Free First Thursdays at the Gardner have become a popular monthly destination,” said Peggy Fogelman, the Gardner’s Norma Jean Calderwood director. “We look forward to building upon their success and to cultivating a space of connection and community.”

Reservations are still required and often sell out, so plan ahead to take advantage of this deal. Tickets become available on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Free admission is always offered to visitors 17 and under, Boston school-age children and two family members on the first two Sundays of each month, and anyone named Isabella.

During the free Thursdays this month, visitors can create their own watercolor paintings inspired by the horticulture in the museum’s courtyard where the “Summer Blues” installation features hydrangeas, agapanthus (lily of the Nile) and peegees.

The next special exhibition, “The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt,” opens Aug. 6. This show brings together paintings, tapestries and decorative arts related to the story of Jewish heroine Esther.

This initiative is one of several others in the city, like free Thursday evenings at the ICA after 5 p.m. In the summer the ICA also hosts live outdoor concerts overlooking the harbor on Thursdays nights. The Museum of Fine Arts offers $5 admission every third Thursday after 5 p.m. The Harvard Art Museums are always free to the public.

Fogelman hopes to further Gardner’s legacy with this new accessibility.

“Arts are vital to a vibrant city.

This was evident to Isabella Stewart Gardner over a century ago when she left the museum ‘for the education and enjoyment of the public forever,’” she said. “Free Thursday Nights will expand this promise to Boston.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at gardnermuseum.org/experience/thursday-nights