Painting in France 1900-1967

February 18-March 17, 1968

Overview: 152 paintings, installed by chief curator Perry B. Cott, were divided in 2 sections. The first showed paintings by the founders of the modern movement: Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and others; the second the succeeding generations: Balthus, Pierre Soulages, Yves Klein, Arman, Jean Messagier, and others. The second section received harsh reviews; when the show arrived in Boston, it had shrunk to 105 paintings.

Organized and circulated by the International Exhibitions Foundation, this survey was formed to counteract the opinion of some critics that the dominant school of New York was obscuring the school of Paris. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, with the cooperation of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, loans were obtained from French public and private collections. The exhibition came at a time of strong anti-French and anti-de Gaulle sentiments in the United States. In many cities there were boycotts against French wines, French perfumes, and other products from France.

Attendance: 82,705 (29 days)

Location: Ground Floor, Central Gallery, Galleries G-7 through G-15

Catalogue: Painting in France 1900-1967, preface by Pierre Moinot, introduction by Bernard Anthonioz, foreword by Charles Lucet. Washington, DC: International Exhibitions Foundation, 1967.

Other venues:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Art Institute of Chicago

M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco

Search past exhibitions
Previous | Next (chronological list)