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Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings from the U.S.S.R.

April 1 – April 29, 1973
Main Floor, Galleries 68, 69, 70, 71 (3,000+ sq. ft.)

Installation view of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings from the U.S.S.R., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

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

Overview: 41 paintings from the Hermitage and Pushkin museums included 7 by Henri Matisse, 7 by Paul Gauguin, 6 by Pablo Picasso, 5 by Paul Cézanne, and 3 by Vincent van Gogh. The loan took place when negotiations with the Soviet Union, held privately by Dr. Armand Hammer, suddenly reached a successful conclusion. The loan was made through M. Knoedler and Co., New York, in which Dr. Hammer held a controlling interest. His own collection had been on view in Leningrad and Moscow for several months. The Gallery had but 36 working days to prepare for the dramatic exhibition.

Organization: Gaillard Ravenel designed the exhibition at the National Gallery.

Sponsor: The exhibition and related educational materials were partially supported by a grant of $105,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities under a new program of aid to museum exhibitions. The show had been promoted by the Soviet Minister of Culture, Yekaterina Furtseva.

Attendance: 316,408

Catalog: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings from the U.S.S.R. New York: M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., 1973.

Brochure: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings from the U.S.S.R. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art.

Other Venues: M. Knoedler and Co., New York, May 3–June 3, 1973
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, June 13–July 8, 1973
Art Institute of Chicago, July 18–August 12, 1973
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, August 22–September 16, 1973