Past Exhibition

Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection

This painting depicts a group of men and women created by a collection of angular, geometric shapes with flat planes and blocks of color. One person is standing, and they appear to be a bare-chested man with tan skin and short, dark hair, who is wearing red shorts. He has his hand on his hip and looks off to the right. At his feet appear to be several seated people, although they are only partially visible. Three women with pale skin seem to be facing away from us; we can see their legs, arms, and torsos, although these don't all fit together. The woman on the left has blonde hair, the woman on the right has brown hair, and the woman between them has short black hair. None of their faces are visible. In the middle of this group, at the center of the painting, we see the face and hand of another person who is looking to the left. This person has light brown skin, and we can't see the rest of their body. Surrounding elements include a blue sky with abstract cloud forms, an angular tree on the left, and patches of brown, white, and green on the ground, with one red flower. A tan rectangle under a red triangle on the right edge suggests a building.
Roger de La Fresnaye, The Bathers, 1912, oil on canvas, Gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 2000.51.1

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    Ground Floor, Central Gallery (4,000 sq. ft.), Galleries G-7, G-8, G-9
This painting depicts a group of men and women created by a collection of angular, geometric shapes with flat planes and blocks of color. One person is standing, and they appear to be a bare-chested man with tan skin and short, dark hair, who is wearing red shorts. He has his hand on his hip and looks off to the right. At his feet appear to be several seated people, although they are only partially visible. Three women with pale skin seem to be facing away from us; we can see their legs, arms, and torsos, although these don't all fit together. The woman on the left has blonde hair, the woman on the right has brown hair, and the woman between them has short black hair. None of their faces are visible. In the middle of this group, at the center of the painting, we see the face and hand of another person who is looking to the left. This person has light brown skin, and we can't see the rest of their body. Surrounding elements include a blue sky with abstract cloud forms, an angular tree on the left, and patches of brown, white, and green on the ground, with one red flower. A tan rectangle under a red triangle on the right edge suggests a building.
Roger de La Fresnaye, The Bathers, 1912, oil on canvas, Gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 2000.51.1

Overview: 78 works by 36 prominent artists of the 19th and 20th centuries were made available for summer installations in Washington and New York City by Nathan Cummings, New York industrialist. The selection of 62 paintings and 16 sculptures was made jointly by the National Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the works were shown the following summer. For the first time sculpture was displayed outside the National Gallery building, a monumental bronze by Henry Moore in front of the Constitution Avenue entrance and a work in marble by Antoine Poncet at the corner adjoining the Mall.

Organization: Coordinators were David E. Rust at the National Gallery and Claus Virch at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue notes were provided by Carol Cutler, former critic on the International Herald Tribune and food writer. British art historian Douglas Cooper acted as consultant.

Attendance: 144,624

Catalog: Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection, by Douglas Cooper. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art and New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970.

Other Venues:

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 07/01/1970–09/07/1971

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