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The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886

January 17 – April 6, 1986
West Building, Main Floor, Galleries 72 through 83 (9,000 sq. ft.)

Georges Seurat, The Lighthouse at Honfleur, 1886, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.33

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: About 160 works were a representative cross section of the works believed to have been shown at the original impressionist exhibitions, held from 1874 through 1886. The show commemorated the 100th anniversary of the last of these exhibitions. The paintings and drawings, selected by Charles S. Moffett of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, were hung in chronological sections to evoke each of the original 8 Paris shows.

Organization: The exhibition was coordinated by Charles Stuckey and Florence E. Coman. Gaillard Ravenel, Mark Leithauser, and Moffett designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting for the National Gallery.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by AT&T and by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Petit journal: The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, by James D. Herbert. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1986.

Attendance: 407,055

Catalog: The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, by Charles S. Moffett. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986.

Brochure: The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1986.

Other Venues: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (revised version), April 19–July 6, 1986