Hand-picked by Museums magazine, put these must-see exhibitions in Boston on your to-do list for fall. For more, check out our Top Five Philadelphia and Top Ten USA. Still not satisfied? Check back soon for Top Five London and Top 10 Europe. 

1. Our obsession with shoes didn’t start with Sarah Jessica Parker’s character from Sex and the City. “Walk this Way” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, traces the history of footwear—from Egyptian sandals to today’s hottest styles—and places them throughout the museum’s galleries to connect them with the permanent collection. Run, don’t walk, to this innovative pairing, which continues through March 23, 2008.

2. Though better known for designing some of Boston’s most distinctive architecture, Samuel McIntire also created a unique language of ornamental design as a self-taught carver. Over 200 objects will be on view at the Peabody Essex Museum highlighting the career of this American visionary. With unrivaled panache, McIntire rendered some of america’s most beloved symbols—such as the American eagle and an image of George Washington—marking the Federal period (1780–1811) and the New England region with style and flair. “Samuel McIntire, Carving an American Style,” October 13 through February 24, 2008.

3. If you are curious about what contemporary american designers have been up to recently, head to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, for “Design Life Now: National Design Triennial.” organized by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the exhibition features 80 designers and firms, with a large array of objects ranging from the ubiquitous apple iPod to the lesser-known Robolobster, which mimics a real crustacean. Through January 6, 2008.

4. Early movies might have been shot using black-and-white film, but ancient sculptures were not always the unadorned marble we see today in museums. In ancient Greece and Rome, the originals were painted with bright hues, as reconstructed in “Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity,” through January 20, 2008, at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Debunking the common misconception of the white marble statue, these deities, warriors, and barbarians appear in glorious Technicolor.

5. Examining feminist art in a variety of media—including sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, video, installation, and performance—“Global Feminisms” features work made since 1990 by artists around the world. The survey presents cultural, political, and social issues as they relate to gender and identity. At the Davis Museum and Cultural Center through December 9.

"Top Five Boston" comes to ARTINFO from the fall 2007 issue of Museums magazine.