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The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Bührle

May 6 – July 25, 1990
East Building, Upper Level, Northeast, Mezzanine, Northwest

Installation view of The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Bührle, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

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

Overview: Old master, impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern works from the collection of Emil G. Bührle included 81 paintings, 3 pastels, and a watercolor. The E.G. Bührle Foundation, Switzerland, and the National Gallery of Art organized this exhibition to commemorate the 100th birthday of Emil G. Bührle, a Swiss industrialist and collector. Many of the works had never been seen before in the United States. After the exhibition tour, the collection was retired from international lending.

Organization: Charles S. Moffett, senior curator and curator of modern painting, coordinated the exhibition at the National Gallery. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting.

Sponsor: Martin Marietta Corporation supported the exhibition with the assistance of the Industrial and Commercial Bank Zurich Ltd. and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Attendance: 209,731

Catalog: The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Bührle, by Christian Bührle et al. Zurich: Artemis Verlag, 1990.

Brochure: The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Bührle. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1990.

Other Venues: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, August 3–October 14, 1990
Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, November 2, 1990–January 13, 1991
Royal Academy of Arts, London, February 1–April 14, 1991