A traveling Collection from the National Museum of Wales

Vincent Van Gogh ~ Rain - Auvers, 1890

A Revolution in Creative Thought During A Key Moment in Painting History

Not just another collection of beautiful paintings, the works in Turner to Cézanne reflect changes occurring during a momentous shift in styles during the mid-1800s. Assembled by sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, acknowledged as among the most important art patrons in Europe during that time in history, the collection progresses through an increasing departure from the past.

This very special exhibition on tour in just five cities in the U.S. was organized by National Museum Wales and the American Federation of Arts, a non-profit institution that organizes exhibitions for presentation around the world. AFA Director George G. King said of the collection, “The exhibition will be a stunning survey of the evolution of modern art through key examples of the stylistic innovations that shaped the art of the 19^th century.”

Assembled between 1908 and 1923 by the Davies sisters the on-loan collection entitled Turner to Cézanne features 58 works of art, 53 paintings and 5 important works on paper, that reveal the cross-currents between artists and movements that propelled 19^th century painting from the romantic naturalism of J.M.W. Turner to the post-impressionism of Paul Cézanne. The collection includes eight works by Turner, five by Jean-François Millet, three each by Camille Corot and Claude Monet, and two each by Cézanne, Edouard Manet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The clear connections among the various works acquired by the Davies sister, particularly the inclusion of British artists such as Matthew Smith and Richard Bevan, whose work responds to French modernism, suggest an astute and informed understanding of 19^th-century painting.

Turner to Cézanne begins with late works by British master J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) that include Morning after the Wreck (ca. 1840) and The Storm (ca. 1840-45). Turner’s oils and watercolors presage modern painting with their emphasis on loose, painterly brushwork, first-hand observation, and atmospheric effects. His revolutionary break with the exact copying of nature would later have a strong effect on the Impressionists, particularly Claude Monet, in whose Charing Cross Bridge (1902) Turner’s influence is readily apparent.

While Turner was breaking with tradition in England, in France the work of the Barbizon school was moving in the direction of Turner’s Romantic naturalism. Artists such as Camille Corot (1796-1875) and Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) left the tradition of classical landscape painting and biblical subject matter to move outdoors and paint “en plein air.” Their work reflected a new appreciation of the creative act itself as well as an elevation of ordinary scenes of modern life from secondary to primary importance that propelled French art toward impressionism and post-impressionism. Although misunderstood in its own day and sometimes perceived as conservative in ours, the Barbizon school was integral to the rise of modern art and opened the door to artists of many genres seeking to explore a new realism in France.

With the door opened to new creative opportunities, Edouard Manet (1832-1883) propelled the modern movement even farther with what is considered his first impressionist painting, Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge (1870), which conveys the scene of destruction in the suburbs of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). His precedent of working on the spot and sur le motif (from the subject) with no apparent under-drawing in the work, this work is a first instance of the spontaneity and direct observation that would characterize impressionism.

Examples from that truly revolutionary period include Monet’s Waterlilies (1906) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s masterpiece La Parisienne (1874) that features a beautiful young actress representing a social type—one seen at the theater or at the shops and cafes of Paris. These treasured works demonstrate impressionism’s commitment to depicting modern life.

The exhibition moves into the post-impressionist period with Cézanne’s Povençal Landscape (ca. 1877) and The François Zola Dam (ca 1877-78), one of his most admired paintings. Vincent van Gogh’s Rain-Auvers (1890), an evocative image which dates to the last week of the artist’s life, conveys a sense of solitude through its open, panoramic composition.

With far too many masterpieces to detail here, a number of works are featured in an accompanying document entitled “Exhibition Highlights.”

Both serious art patrons and those who simply enjoy artistic excellence will find much to admire in this collection, which features many immediately recognizable works of art often depicted in various forms throughout modern life. Now area residents and visitors alike have an unprecedented opportunity to view the originals and discover for themselves the revolution in artistic style that defined the mid- and latter 19^th century. Albuquerque Museum is the last opportunity to view these works here in the U.S. as they will return to Wales after the show closes on August 8, 2010.

Albuquerque Museum will remain open until 8:00 p.m., Thursday evenings through the exhibition’s August 8 closing.

Tickets: $5.00 in addition to the museum’s admission fees -

$4.00 for adults ($3.00 for adult New Mexico residents with valid ID); $2.00 for seniors (65+); $1.00 for children ages 4 – 12. Children 3 and under attend free.

Free on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and all day on the first Wednesday of every month.

The special $5.00 fee to view Turner to Cézanne will be in effect on free-entry days.

The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History
2000 Mountain Road NW in Old Town
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 243-7255

Museum Hours: Tuesday – Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.