Legendary French Art comes to the Cummer Museum

The newest exhibition at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850–1950, will open June 14 to Museum Members; the exhibition will be on view to the public June 15 through September 6, 2019.  The exhibition features more than 60 works of art from the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned European collection and positions France as the artistic center of international modernism from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries.

Ranging widely in scale, subject matter and style, these paintings, drawings and sculptures were intended for public display and private collections, and were produced by the era’s leading artists, those born in France as well as those who studied and exhibited there, such as Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Highlighting one of the most dynamic and engaging periods in art history, the works in French Moderns capture the vibrancy and complexity of the Parisian art scene from 1848 until the end of World War II.  The vibrancy of this era in France attracted artists and creators from throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the likes of Augusta Savage — a Northeast Florida-born artist who became a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.  Her influence was celebrated through the Cummer Museum’s recent exhibition, Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman, which is now on display at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library in New York City.

“In many ways, the modern world emerged between 1850 and 1950, and the artwork produced during this era continues to inspire and excite today,” said Adam Levine, the Museum’s George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director & CEO.  “By providing the Northeast Florida community with access to the Brooklyn Museum’s impressive collection of paintings and sculptures, we hope to connect the avant-garde perspectives that inspired Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism to our visitors and Members’ lives.”

Attendees of Soirée Bohème: A French Dinner Party will enjoy a first look at the exhibition on Thursday, June 13; a limited number of tickets are available at cummermuseum.org. French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850–1950 will open to Members of the Museum on Friday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.  The exhibition will be on full display to the public starting Saturday, June 15.

Philanthropic support from the community is critical for the Museum to serve as a vibrant civic resource.  Membership provides several benefits, such as early access to exhibitions like French Moderns. For every $100 donated to the Museum as part of a membership purchase or upgrade through September 30, the Museum will give a Museum membership to the family of a current fourth-grade Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) student through the Museum’s Family 2 Family Membership Match promotion.  Full details are available at cummermuseum.org/F2F.

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850–1950 is organized by Rich Aste, former Curator of European Art, and Lisa Small, Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, Brooklyn Museum.

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