Christie's": The Collection of Vivian Fusillo: JOAN MITCHELL, Larry Rivers, Jean Dubuffet, Barbara Hepworth

Christie's will present The Collection of Vivian Fusillo, a remarkable group of works that reflect a life steeped in creativity, individuality, and an enduring passion for the arts. Highlights from the collection will be offered in Post-War to Present taking place on 30 September in New York, and in the Modern British Art Evening Sale on 22 October in London.  

Born in Bogue, Kansas, Vivian Fusillo expressed her creativity from a young age—singing, playing accordion, and starring in college theatre productions as the first student in Marymount College's drama program. Her background in performance and fashion shaped her distinctive personal style, once writing, “I cannot control how I am perceived; I can only control how I am presented.” A spirited traveler with a magnetic presence, she caught the eye of Richard Avedon, who photographed her, and Elizabeth Taylor, who gave her a necklace she treasured. 

Joie de Vivre: Works from the Collection of Vivian Fusillo | JOAN MITCHELL (1925-1992) Peinture II, oil on canvas, 39⅛ x 39½ in. (99.3 x 100.3 cm.) Painted in 1964. Estimate: $2,500,000-3,500,000 

Leading the collection in New York is Joan Mitchell's Peinture II, a dynamic and emotionally charged masterpiece from 1964.

Vivian Fusillo's grandson, Bailey Bestul remarks, “We're beyond thrilled to share Vivian's remarkable collection of art, which has hung on the walls of her home for the past five decades. The pieces are a testament both to Vivian's careful curatorial eye and lifelong passion for the arts, which she shared with the thousands of students she taught and directed as a Professor of Theatre at Winona State University. Art was an immense source of joy for Vivian - one of the most joyful people we've ever met - and it is our hope that these works ignite in viewers the same joie de vivre that they inspired in her.” 

Kathryn Marber, Head of Sale for Post-War to Present, Christie's, says, “We are honored to present Joan Mitchell's Peinture II as the cornerstone of the season. Among her storied Black Paintings, the work teems with intense vitality and harmonious and rhythmic color, representing the collector's sophisticated eye and her insatiable curiosity for the creative world around her.”   

Alongside the Mitchell, excellent examples from the postwar era, including 

Larry Rivers, Ford Truck Painting. © Christie's Images Ltd 2025.

an early 1961 Larry Rivers painting and

 an exquisite Jean Dubuffet drawing from his beloved Paris Circus series, will bolster the offering in September. 

The sale of the collection will conclude in October when the stunning, unique carving by Barbara Hepworth, Figure (Chûn), is offered as a highlight of the Modern British Evening Sale in London with an estimate of £500,000–800,000, alongside a group of further British pictures in the Modern British Art Day Sale.  

The Collection of Vivian Fusillo offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the life of a woman whose creativity, style, and character left a lasting impression on all who knew her. These sales represent a unique opportunity to engage with works that speak not only to the post-war and modern British canon, but also to the powerful personal story behind their stewardship. 

Grand Dukes. Florentine Baroque: The Haukohl Collection

 Phoenix Art Museum

August 28, 2025 – July 26, 2026

T his summer, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents the Southwest premiere of Florentine Baroque: The Haukohl Collection, showcasing a superlative collection of historically significant works from 17th- and 18th-century Florence that are rarely seen outside of Italy. The exhibition features gilded paintings and delicate sculptures that demonstrate the distinctive Florentine Baroque style, known for its poetic and colorful symbolism. Drawn from The Haukohl Collection, works feature dramatic and vibrant depictions of religious, classical, mythological, and allegorical narratives. The first exhibition of its kind in Arizona, Florentine Baroque is an unprecedented opportunity for regional audiences to unravel the legacy of many important Florentine artists of the period who contributed to the Tuscan city’s cultural legacy, most notably supported by the Medici

“Phoenix Art Museum is excited to present the Arizona and Southwest premiere of Florentine Baroque: The Haukohl Collection,'” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “This exhibition offers a unique opportunity for our audiences to explore works from a specific place and art historical period that are not prominently represented in the Phoenix Art Museum Collection. Additionally, it is the only chance to view these stunning sculptures, paintings, and more in the Southwest. We are grateful to Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl for his partnership in bringing this collection to our visitors.”

Florentine Baroque: The Haukohl Collection showcases more than 30
examples of large- and small-scale works from some of the most
prominent artist families in Italy. Featuring work by Florentine artists
who lived and produced across Europe, the collection was assembled
over more than 40 years by Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl, a Houston-based art
collector and co-founder of the Medici Archive Project. The exhibition at
Phoenix Art Museum uncovers the splendor and significance of the
Florentine Baroque art movement. Visitors to the exhibition will discover
how Florentine Baroque works unite influences of Florentine tradition with Renaissance sensibilities, yielding a style that is at once sensuous and poetic. The rare display of works also provides the opportunity to examine the legacy of the House of Medici. The Medici Bank was founded in 1397 and for hundreds of years was the largest bank in Europe. The renowned Italian banking family eventually became one of the most influential families in European history, serving as the de facto rulers of the Republic of Florence through their financial patronage of advancements in art, banking, and architecture before taking political office in the 16th century. The family’s lineage also includes four popes, thirteen cardinals, and various bishops.

Florentine Baroque is organized into three distinct thematic sections. Faith, Strength, and Courage features depictions of Biblical narratives and religious figures that reference the dominant Catholic faith in Florence as well as the Renaissance interest in humanism, a classical movement that emphasized human values. Sacred Beauty, Fierce Devotion showcases portraits of saints, but unlike previous generations of artists, works by featured 17th-century painters represent these pious figures as distinctly human rather than divine, with naturalistic forms, expressions, and mannerisms. Finally, Allegory, Gods, and Heroes presents mythological and allegorical figures and stories that reflect the intellectual, artistic, and moral ideals of the time, which was characterized by significant advancements in music, philosophy, science, and all the humanities. Undergirding each section is the marked influence of the Medici Grand Dukes of Florence, whose patronage of the arts fostered a wide range of artists in Italy and across Europe, including Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Donatello, among many other notable artists.

“The Haukohl Philanthropies are thrilled to be working with the experienced curatorial and management team of Phoenix Art Museum. We are delighted to loan the Medici Collection to the Museum for one year and work with the Arizona community to offer a wide range of special programs,” said Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl, co-founder of the Medici Archive Project. “The exhibition is dedicated in honor of my late cousin, Dr. Howard Somers Conant, Chair of the Art Department of New York University and later, Head of the Department of Art at the University of Arizona.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated 288-page catalogue, Beyond the Medici: The Haukohl Family Collection, which will be available for purchase in The Museum Store with editions in English, German, and Italian. The publication features paintings, drawings, textiles, and sculpture in the collection that document the Medici patronage and artists of the period. Particular attention is paid to the Dandini Family of painters—Cesare, Vincenzo, and Pier—each reviewed in depth along with a generous bibliography. Essays by Drs. Eike Schmidt, James Bradburn, Federico Berti, Fabio Sottili, and Francesco Scasciamacchia address a broad overview of collecting and history of the period.

17th Century Florentine Art Featured in The Haukohl Family Collection Part 1: Paintings:

IMAGES

The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art

 

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

October 5, 2025-January25, 2026

Frist Art Museum

February 27–May 31, 2026

Musée National des Beaux-Arts Quebec
(

June 18–October 12, 2026

 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

November 14, 2026—March 14, 2027

The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art explores the fascinating story of impressionism from its birth in 1874 to its legacy in the early 20th century. Through nearly 50 paintings and sculptures, this exhibition reveals the rebellious origins of the independent artist collective known as the impressionists and the revolutionary course they charted for modern art. Breaking with tradition in both how and what they painted, the impressionists redefined what constituted cutting-edge contemporary art. The unique innovations of its core members, such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Berthe Morisot, set the foundation for generations of avant-garde artists that followed, from Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh to Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse.

Valle Buona, Near Bordighera (detail), 1884. Claude Monet. Oil on canvas. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.127

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition, The Impressionist Revolution invites visitors to reconsider these now-beloved artists—once thought to be scandalous renegades—as well as the impact they had on 20th-century art.

The exhibition draws extensively from the DMA’s extraordinary holdings, including masterworks by Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian and more.   

In 19th-century France, the Salon exhibition organized and juried by the state-run Academy of Fine Arts was the only non-commercial venue where living artists could publicly exhibit their work. Artists working outside the Academic tradition, which favored subjects drawn from history or literature and polished brushwork, were frequently rejected and left with no other avenues to garner critical and professional success. Pushing against this official system was the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc., a collective of artists we now call the Impressionists. They banded together in 1874 to mount the first of what would become eight independent exhibitions over the course of 12 years, an act that was as rebellious as it was entrepreneurial.  

“While the Impressionists are well known and widely popular today, many people will be surprised to learn that there was little appreciation or market for their work until well after their last group show in 1886,” said exhibition curator Dr. Nicole Myers, the DMA’s Chief Curatorial and Research Officer. “Breaking with tradition in both how and what they painted, as well as how they showed their work, the Impressionists redefined what constituted cutting-edge contemporary art at great personal and financial risk. The Impressionist Revolution invites you to reconsider these now beloved artists as the scandalous renegades they were and the considerable impact they made on 20th-century art.” 

The Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse takes the revolutionary exhibition of 1874 as its starting point, tracing a 40-year journey through the movement and the legacy it left for the painters who followed. Drawn primarily from the DMA’s extensive holdings, the works in the exhibition spotlight a range of these avant-garde artists and illustrate the experimental techniques and subjects that set a new course for modern art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition is organized into six thematic sections including: “Rebels with a Cause,” which details the beginnings and key players of the Impressionist movement; “Making It Modern,” which examines Impressionist depictions of life in a rapidly modernizing world; “Field Notes,” which explores the Impressionists’ radical approach to painting techniques and materials; “Weird Science,” which showcases the invention of Chromo-Luminarism, known today as Pointillism, which pushed Impressionism to its scientific ends; “Side Effects,” which explores the backlash against Impressionism’s main tenets by a younger generation of artists who prioritized emotions, ideas and personal expression over purely optical impressions; and “Ever After,” which traces the far-reaching influence of Impressionism into the 20th century, offering a glimpse into some of the bold and innovative movements it inspired.  

Cafalogue

The revolutionary roots of the artists collective known as the Impressionists—and the course they charted for modern art
 
The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art chronicles the evolution of a movement, from its inception in 1874 to its early twentieth-century legacy. The Impressionists—whose pioneering members included Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Berthe Morisot—deviated from artistic norms in subject matter, style, and exhibition practices, reshaping the definition of artistic innovation at the time and beyond.
 
Drawing exclusively from the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection, this book illuminates the genesis of the Impressionist collective, its key figures, and what made their work so revolutionary. The narrative extends beyond the group’s final exhibition in 1886, exploring how Post-Impressionists both embraced and challenged Impressionist aesthetics, influencing a fresh wave of artists—including Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, and Alexei Jawlensky—who ushered in a new avant-garde for the early twentieth century.

William Blake: Burning Bright

Yale Center for British Art 

August 26 through November 30, 2025

 For the first time in nearly thirty years, the Yale Center for British Art will present a major exhibition of works by William Blake (1757–1827), exploring the imaginative visual art and poetry that have long mesmerized and inspired viewers. Drawing on the museum’s rich holdings, William Blake: Burning Bright will focus on the innovative, hand-printed publications that seamlessly merge the artist’s poetry, pictures, and prophecies. Opening August 26, the exhibition encourages visitors to immerse themselves in Blake’s fantastical world by looking closely at the intricacies of his artwork and delving into the idiosyncrasies of his visionary writing.

“Blake’s extraordinary inventiveness and unconventional worldview have made him one of the most enduring figures in British art and literature,” said Martina Droth, Paul Mellon Director. “His work is at once tumultuous, forboding, and joyous, and in these complexities it still connects with us now. We are thrilled to show our rich holdings and invite visitors to experience Blake’s jewellike works from our collection firsthand.”    

The YCBA’s celebrated holdings of Blake comprise more than nine hundred works, including paintings, drawings, prints, and books—many of which were executed in Blake’s signature invention: illuminated printing, a revolutionary process of relief etching that made it possible to fuse poetry and pictures on a single copper plate. His “infernal method” of printing text and image simultaneously allowed Blake complete control over the artistic vision and the production of his distinctive illuminated books. “We are excited to share insights into Blake’s innovative approach to printmaking and publishing,” said Elizabeth Wyckoff, Curator of Prints and Drawings. “The exhibition allows us to make connections between his earliest aspirations to creatively merge text and image, his mastery of the unique etching technique with which he published his own illustrated poetry, and his final virtuosic engraved projects.”

Largely assembled by the museum’s founder, the philanthropist Paul Mellon, the collection encompasses Blake’s most celebrated books, including Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789–94) and America: A Prophecy (1793), as well as the only hand-colored version of Jerusalem (1804–20). Forming the center of the exhibition, these rare and unique books showcase Blake’s creative aspirations as poet, visionary, printmaker, and watercolorist. “Blake was wholly devoted to the advancement of his art, and the intensity of his convictions strikes a chord in our current moment,” said Timothy Young, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. “Burning Bright gives us the opportunity to learn more about the artist’s idiosyncratic beliefs, whether expressed in his hand-printed publications or embodied in stand-alone works.”

Spanning Blake’s five-decade career from the 1780s until his death in 1827, Burning Bright examines the wide range of media in which he worked, including drawing, printmaking, and painting. Featured works include I Want! I Want! (1793), an early illustration for a children’s book that reveals Blake’s imaginative inclinations, and the intimate Virgin and Child (made between 1818 and 1826), which demonstrates Blake’s unique interpretation of historic tempera painting techniques. The stunning large-scale watercolors Blake made to accompany the poetry of Thomas Gray highlight his radical approach to book illustration, while his monumental three-foot-long engraving Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims (1810–20) and extended series illustrating the biblical book of Job (1826) exemplify his practice of translating classic texts into arresting imagery.

Burning Bright invites visitors to explore how Blake’s creation of individualized printed and hand-colored books was made possible by his ingenious technical innovations. A special reading room in the galleries will allow visitors to peruse exacting facsimiles of several works in the exhibition, providing an experience of individual works in book form.

William Blake: Burning Bright is curated by Elizabeth Wyckoff, Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Timothy Young, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. The exhibition will be on view at the Yale Center for British Art from August 26 through November 30, 2025, and is accompanied by a new volume exploring the museum’s collection of works by Blake.

About William Blake 

Born in London in 1757, a time of major social change and upheaval, Blake aspired to be an artist and a poet from a young age. During his apprenticeship as an engraver, he developed an elegant black-and-white style that he employed in both commissioned and original prints and book illustrations. As inventive as he was versatile, he devised a new, unorthodox technique of printmaking to create colorful illuminated books that merged his poetry and his art. Though Blake’s work won only limited recognition during his lifetime, today his boundless imagination and unconventional messages resonate deeply.

Related Publication

Blake, the second volume in the YCBA’s Collection Series, examines the art and methods of William Blake through the lens of one of the great collections of his work. Written by Elizabeth Wyckoff, with an essay by Sarah T. Weston, the book features exquisite reproductions of his paintings, watercolors, prints, and illustrated books, including the only hand-colored copy of his epic poem Jerusalem. 

Book: Matisse at War By Christopher C. Gorham

 

ISBN9780806544168

Available onSep 30, 2025

Published byCitadel

Pages320

Dimensions6 x 9

Spotlighting the years during WWII when Henri Matisse and his family defiantly refused to evacuate Nazi-occupied France, this groundbreaking book illuminates the previously untold history of their passionate roles in the Resistance and the prodigious, revolutionary work the artist produced in the face of fascism, violence, and hate.

In 1940, with the Nazis sweeping through France, Henri Matisse found himself at a personal and artistic crossroads. His 42-year marriage had ended, he was gravely ill, and after decades at the forefront of modern art, he was beset by doubt. As scores of famous figures escaped the country, Matisse took refuge in Nice, with his companion, Lydia Delectorskaya. By defiantly remaining, Matisse was a source of inspiration for his nation.

While enemy agents and Resistance fighters played cat-and-mouse in the alleyways of Nice, Matisse’s son, Jean, engaged in sabotage efforts with the Allies. In Paris, under the swastika, Matisse’s estranged wife, Amélie, worked for the Communist underground. His beloved daughter, Marguerite, active in the French Resistance, was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, sentenced to Ravensbruck concentration camp—and miraculously escaped when her train was halted by Allied bombs. His younger, son, Pierre helped Jewish artists escape to New York; even his teenaged grandson risked his life by defying the Germans and their Vichy collaborators.

Amidst this chaos, Matisse responded to the dark days of war by inventing a dazzling new paper technique that led to some of his most iconic pieces, including The Fall of Icarus, his profile of Charles De Gaulle, Monsieur Loyal, and his groundbreaking cut-out book, Jazz. His wartime works were acts of resistance, subtly patriotic and daringly new.

Drawing on intimate letters and a multitude of other sources, Christopher C. Gorham illuminates this momentous stage of Matisse’s life as never before, revealing an artist on a journey of reinvention, wrenching meaning from the suffering of war, and holding up the light of human imagination against the torch of fascism to create some of the most exciting work of his career, of the 20th century, and in the history of art.

Praise for Matisse at War:

“A gripping story of art, love, and war. Gorham skillfully builds a case for just what was at stake for Matisse, his family, and for art, and how the artist reckoned with all three. By the end of this excellent account, Matisse is a quiet hero… one of art and of age.” —Kirkus

“A mesmerizing story of artistic genius, a gutsy family, and defiance of tyranny in the face of evil. Gorham’s elegant prose and brilliant research make this a must read for those who love art and history.” —Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of Patton’s Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith and Victory in Word War II.

“Gorham peels back the layers of Henri Matisse in Occupied France—his wartime exploits, creative outbursts, and his quiet Resistance work. Gorham brings the reader beyond the color and dazzle of Matisse’s paintings and reveals the psyche of an aging pioneer of modern art, who bravely refused to leave his country and became an icon of the French struggle for freedom. A must-read for art lovers and history buffs alike.” —Michelle Young, author of The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero, Rose Valland.

“A beautifully written account of the great modernist artist’s harrowing experiences in a France torn by occupation and resistance. While continuing to produce work that lives on in the galleries and annals of contemporary art, Matisse witnessed his nation and family riven by war and the barbarism of Nazi Germany. Gorham captures the era in a compelling tapestry that not only brings Matisse to life, but also offers a vivid account of a wounded country.” —Tim Brady, author of The Light in the Northern Sea and Three Ordinary Girls

“A compelling tale, delightfully told, of a great artist’s courage and resilience during a time of upheaval. The Matisse who leaps from these pages is neither a saint nor a hero, but always fully alive, often flawed but touchingly human. In addition to providing a thoroughly convincing portrait of the artist himself, Gorham has assembled a fascinating cast of characters forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances.” —Miles J. Unger, author of Picasso and the Painting that Shocked the World.

“From the salons and galleries of pre-war Paris to the liberation of Vichy France, Matisse at War is a captivating page-turner that blends history with the pacing and verve of a wartime novel. Matisse’s lives–both professional and personal–offer a new look at the global conflict, beautifully blending extensive research into the topic with an eye for capturing details of the renowned painter’s world.” —Stephanie Hinnershitz, Ph.D, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, The National WWII Museum

“Christopher C. Gorham’s Matisse at War provides a fascinating insight into a less familiar aspect of Matisse’s career.” —Philip Hook, author and former Director of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby’s

Masters of Surrealism

MARUANI MERCIER

August 2 - September 7, 2025 

This summer, MARUANI MERCIER’s annual homage to the icons of modern art turns its lens to Surrealism, not as a single vision, but as a shifting terrain shaped by artists like Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Man Ray, Joan Miró, Francis Picabia and Yves Tanguy, each of whom made the movement unmistakably their own. Far from a fixed style, Surrealism emerged as a field of tension between collective ideals and radical individuality. Rooted in dreams, desire, and psychic liberation, and rising from the ashes of Dada, its influence has long outlasted the conditions that gave rise to it.

Officially inaugurated with André Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism in 1924, the movement sought to free thought from the shackles of reason and morality. Inspired by Freud and Marx, its adherents, poets, philosophers, and painters, ventured into the irrational, the erotic, and the fantastic. Together, these visual artists forged a shared language of dreamscapes, unconscious impulses, and uncanny juxtapositions, each in radically individual terms.

At the heart of Masters of Surrealism are these eight artists who, each in their own way, laid claim to the movement. While their approaches diverged, they were united by a common ambition: to transcend logic and convention through personal vocabularies of illusion, metaphor, and transformation. In 1936, Dalí famously declared with characteristic bravado, “Le surréalisme, c’est moi,” claiming the movement as an extension of his own psyche and imagination. While his version was certainly the most theatrical, the same fiercely personal approach drove Magritte’s quiet subversions, Ernst’s technical innovations, Picabia’s irreverence, and Miró’s lyrical abstraction.

Their methods reveal just how distinct those worlds were. Dalí’s paranoiac-critical method was both admired and controversial. Magritte challenged perception with poetic clarity. Tanguy conjured biomorphic landscapes of eerie stillness. Ernst invented automatic techniques like frottage to probe the unconscious. Picabia shifted fluidly between abstraction, figuration, and satire. Delvaux created hushed, theatrical scenes populated by classical architecture and enigmatic women. Man Ray moved between photography, sculpture, and film, fusing Surrealism with Dada and modern design. Miró wove dreamlike symbols into a floating, abstract vocabulary.

Masters of Surrealism gathers eight artists who each bent the movement to their own image, forging singular visions from shared ideals. Their works speak in different tongues, each distinctly original yet deeply inspired by one another in a shared quest for meaning beyond logic. A century later, the conversation continues.

The exhibition opens on August 2nd, 2025 at Zeedijk 759 and at Kustlaan 90, 8300 Knokke.

IMAGES

Salvador Dalí
Jeune fille au cerceau et montre molle, c. 1932 pen and black ink on paper
13.8 x 19.4 cm | 5 7⁄16 x 7 5⁄8 in DOWNLOAD THE HR PICTURES

© Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, courtesy of Maruani Mercier

Max Ernst
Paysage aux coquillages, c.1927-1928
oil on canvas
64.8 x 81 cm | 25 1⁄2 x 31 7⁄8 in DOWNLOAD THE HR PICTURES

© Max Ernst, courtesy of Maruani Mercier

Man Ray
Trompe l’œuf - Trompe l’œil, 1930-1963
Bakelite, original photograph, wood, plexiglass 60 x 50 x 8 cm | 23 9⁄16 x 9 10⁄16 x 3 2⁄16 in DOWNLOAD THE HR PICTURES

© Man Ray, courtesy of Maruani Mercier

Max Ernst Germany, 1891-1976

Colombe, 1926

oil on cardboard

24 x 17 cm
9 1/2 x 6 3/4 in
framed: 42.4 x 35.2 x 2.5 cm

Salvador Dalí Spain, 1904-1989

Angel, 1947

Watercolour and gouache on paper

32 x 24.3 cm.
12 ⅝ x 9 9/16 in
framed: 56 x 47.6 x 3.4 cm

Salvador Dalí Spain, 1904-1989

Vision de l'âge atomique, 1948

Watercolour and pen and ink on paper

33 x 52 cm.
13 x 20 ½ in
framed: 56.5 x 77.5 x 8.5 cm

Francis Picabia France, 1879-1953

Le Viol, 1948

oil on cardboard

105 x 75 cm
41 3/8 x 29 1/2 in
framed: 138 x 110 x 4 cm

Copyright The Artist

Paul Delvaux, La Fin du voyage, 1968. Oil on canvas, 160 x 140 cm | 63 x 55 in., framed: 165 x 145 x 5 cm | 65 x 57 x 2 in

American Landscapes in Watercolor from the Corcoran Collection

 

National Gallery of Art, Washington

August 2, 2025–February 1, 2026

American Landscapes in Watercolor from the Corcoran Collection showcases 30 American landscape and nature studies, dating between 1800 and 1991, that demonstrate the versatility and significance of watercolor as a medium and reflect the colorful journey of watercolors across America. Works on view in this presentation are drawn almost entirely from the Corcoran Collection, which has enriched and expanded the National Gallery of Art's collection of American watercolors as part of the ongoing partnership between the institutions.

The earliest watercolor painters arrived in the United States with European settlers in the late 16th century. Over the next 200 years, the medium was used primarily by commercial and amateur artists. Printmakers and explorers found watercolors to be an inexpensive and portable material apt for mapping and documenting the landscape. Works by these itinerant artists on view include William Russell Birch's explorations of the dense eastern forests in the first decade of the 19th century; Seth Eastman's studies of West Point from the mid-1830s; and Walter Paris's view of David Burns's cottage on the National Mall.

In the late 19th century, painters turned to watercolors to depict the country in larger and more carefully finished works. After the American Watercolor Society was founded in 1867, watercolors came to be seen as an independent fine art. Winslow Homer, William Trost Richards, and other artists exploited the medium's potential to produce finished works worthy of collecting and putting on public display. On view in this presentation are John William Hill's delicate painting The Waterfall (1860s–1870s) and William Trost Richards's powerful South-West Point, Conanicut (1878/1879). The latter, a recent gift to the National Gallery, will be presented alongside two ocean studies by Richards from the Corcoran Collection. In the 20th century, artists appreciated the spontaneous and luminous qualities of watercolor in their expressive and abstract landscapes, such as Alma Thomas's gestural Winter Shadows (c. 1960) and Donald Holden's intense atmospheric Yellowstone Fire XIX (1991).

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The exhibition is curated by Amy Johnston, associate curator of collections, department of old master drawings, National Gallery of Art.

IMAGES

Seth Eastman View of the North River from the North West Corner of Fort Clinton—West Point, 1837 watercolor on wove paper sheet: 12.07 x 23.5 cm (4 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Membership Association Fund) 2015.

William Russell Birch Falls of the Potomac, 1800–1810 watercolor and graphite on wove paper image: 10 x 14.61 cm (3 15/16 x 5 3/4 in.) sheet: 15.24 x 20.64 cm (6 x 8 1/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase through a bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Kellogg) 

William Trost Richards South-West Point, Conanicut, 1878/1879 watercolor and gouache on fibrous brown paper overall: 83.82 x 149.86 cm (33 x 59 in.) National Gallery of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Riggs Parker, honoring their children 2023.32.1 

Seth Eastman Constitution Island and Foundry from West Point, New York, c. 1837 watercolor over graphite on wove paper sheet: 12.07 x 23.5 cm (4 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Membership Association Fund) 

William Russell Birch View from the Springhouse at Echo, c. 1808 watercolor, brush and black ink, and graphite on wove paper sheet: 19.05 x 24.45 cm (7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase through a gift of C. Thomas Claggett, Jr.) 2015.19.2797

Samuel Colman Half Dome and Royal Arches, Yosemite, from Glacier Point, c. 1870 watercolor and gouache over graphite on gray wove paper sheet: 24.45 x 34.61 cm (9 5/8 x 13 5/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase through a gift of Ralph Cross Johnson) 2015.

William Trost Richards The Bell Buoy, 1894 watercolor with white highlights over graphite on wove paper image: 33.02 x 60.64 cm (13 x 23 7/8 in.) sheet: 39.69 x 66.68 cm (15 5/8 x 26 1/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Charles C. Glover, Jr.) 2015.19.944 

William Trost Richards Rocks and Breaking Waves, c. 1870s watercolor and gouache on tan paper sheet: 22.7 x 34.61 cm (8 15/16 x 13 5/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Gift of the National Academy of Design, Mrs. William F. Brewster Bequest) 2015.19.799 

Winslow Homer Hudson River, Logging, 1891–1892 watercolor over graphite on wove paper sheet: 14 x 20 5/8 in. (35.6 x 52.4 cm) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase) 2014.136.171 

William Trost Richards Seascape, c. 1890s brush and black ink with wash over graphite on wove paper image (irregular): 15.24 x 20.96 cm (6 x 8 1/4 in.) sheet: 30.64 x 38.26 cm (12 1/16 x 15 1/16 in.) National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Gift of the National Academy of Design, Mrs. William F. Brewster Bequest) 2015.19.798