Monday, August 11, 2025

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

Colombe1926
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

Angel1947
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 atomique1948
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 Viol1948
oil on cardboard
105 x 75 cm
41 3/8 x 29 1/2 in
framed: 138 x 110 x 4 cm

Sunday, August 10, 2025

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 

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation to Gift Its Collectionto MoMA, LACMA, and the Brooklyn Museum

 The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation has announced that its entire collection will be gifted to three major institutions: the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Comprising an exceptional group of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern artworks, the Pearlman Collection will be gifted across the three institutions in a novel sharing arrangement that will enhance access to larger and more diverse audiences through continually changing contexts. Henry Pearlman (1895–1974) began purchasing avant-garde art in 1945 with a landscape by Chaïm Soutine, which led to a selfguided education in 19th- and 20th-century European art and a passion for collecting that endured for the rest of his life. From the very start of this collection, he and his wife, Rose, maintained a fundamental interest in sharing their experience of art as widely as possible, instilling populist values in their children and grandchildren that are the Foundation’s inspiration for making this extraordinary gift.


As part of this gift, 29 works will join the Brooklyn Museum’s collection, with exceptional paintings and sculpture by Chaïm Soutine, Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, and Amedeo Modigliani, includingThe Brooklyn Museum will receive



 The sacred grove (1884) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 


After the bath, woman drying herself (c.1890) by Edgar Degas, 



Portrait of Jean Cocteau (1916) by Amedeo Modigliani 

and Path to the fountain (c.1920) by Chaim Soutine. 

LACMA will receive six works, including 



Edouard Manet’s Young Woman in a Round Hat (c. 1877–79), and


Vincent van Gogh, Tarascon Stagecoach, 1888, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation.


Vincent van Gogh’s Tarascon Stagecoach from 1888, the first paintings by either artist to enter the collection

MoMA will receive 28 works. Highlights include Paul Cézanne’s Mount Sainte-Victoire (c.1904-1906), Cistern in the park of Château Noir (c.1900)  as well as 15 of Cézanne’s most luminous watercolors:


Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, c. 1904–06, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

and Cistern in the Park of Château Noir (c. 1900), as well as 15 of Cézanne’s most luminous watercolors. 

Paul Cézanne, Cistern in the Park of Château Noir (c. 1900), promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White



 

 

Paul Cézanne, Chemin des Lauves: The Turn in the Road, 1904–06, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Three Pears (Trois poires), ca. 1888–90, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Forest Path (Chemin sous bois), ca. 1904–06, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, House in Provence (Maison en Provence), 1890–94, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Rocks at Bibémus (Rochers de Bibémus), ca. 1887–90, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Study of a Skull (Etude de crâne), 1902–04, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Fountain, Place de la Mairie in Aix-en-Provence (La fontaine de la place de la mairie à Aix-en-Provence), ca. 1900, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Still Life with Carafe, Bottle, and Fruit (Nature morte avec carafe, bouteille, et fruits), 1906, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

 

Paul Cézanne, Aeneas Meeting Dido at Carthage (Enée rencontrant Didon à Carthage), ca. 1875, promised gift from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, photo by Bruce White

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 – 1950

 

  • August 5, 2025–January 4, 2026

    Harn Museum of Art
    Gainesville, Florida
  • January 30–May 24, 2026

    Birmingham Museum of Art
    Alabama
  • June 19–October 11, 2026

    Frick Pittsburgh
    Pennsylvania


The blockbuster exhibition, chosen for display during the Harn’s 35th Anniversary, showcases more than 55 paintings, drawings and sculptures from the Brooklyn Museum’s esteemed collection of European art. Ranging widely in scale, subject matter and style, and encompassing the key avant-garde movements that emerged in and around Paris from 1850 to 1950, the works on view were produced by some of the era’s leading artists. The exhibition is on view through Jan. 4, 2026.

Painting in the impressionist style with a house in front of a body of water.

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). Rising Tide at Pourville, 1882. Oil on canvas, 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.3cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, 41.1260. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

“Touring since 2017 to venues in Italy, South Korea, Canada and the United States, the Harn is grateful to our generous donors who have made it possible to bring these masterpieces to the Harn for visitors to enjoy free of charge,” said Dr. Lee Anne Chesterfield, Harn Museum of Art Director. “We are also excited to have added to the exhibition, the Harn’s very own work by Monet, Champ d’avoine (Oat Field), celebrating the growth of our collection and 35 years of art-centered experiences.”

Bronze sculpture of a naked man with one arm resting on his head

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917).The Age of Bronze, medium-sized model, first reduction, 1876; cast 1967. Bronze,41 ¼ x 15 x 13 in. (104.8 x 38.1 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum,Gift of B. Gerald Cantor, 68.49. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

The works of art in French Moderns, organized by the Brooklyn Museum, span the era between the Revolution of 1848 and the conclusion of World War II—a period marked by significant social, intellectual and political upheaval in France. This era saw the emergence of avant-garde artistic movements including Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism, which left a lasting impact on the Western artistic tradition. These key movements are represented in the exhibition through remarkable examples by the era’s leading artists, including Pierre Bonnard, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Gabriele Münter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Auguste Rodin and others.

"Madame Boursier and Her Daughter," by Berthe Morisot

Image: Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895). “Madame Boursier and Her Daughter,” circa 1873. Oil on canvas, 29 5/16 x 22 3/8 in. (74.5 x 56.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 29.30. (Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum)

French Moderns offers remarkable examples of European art and is the most significant exhibition of French modern art to travel to Gainesville,” said Dulce Román, Chief Curator and Curator of Modern Art at the Harn Museum of Art. “I am delighted that we are able to bring a portion of the Brooklyn Museum’s exceptional collection to the Gainesville community, University of Florida, surrounding areas, and tourists to explore and appreciate.”

Impressionist painting of an apple tree

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894). Apple Tree in Bloom, 1885. Oil on canvas, 28 7/8 x 23 5/8 in. (73.3 x 60 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., 1992.107.2. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum).

The exhibition is organized into four sections: Landscape, Still Life, Portraits and Figures, and The Nude. Beginning with the landscapes of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and the birth of plein-air (outdoor) painting, the exhibition surveys the innovative styles and techniques developed by artists from the Realism of Gustave Courbet, to the light and atmosphere of Monet and the Impressionists, to the Surrealism of Yves Tanguy. The works explore major new forms of representation and abstraction forged in France over the span of a century.

Still life painting of a tea cup and saucer, two oranges, and three green figs on a white tablecloth

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919). Still Life with Blue Cup, circa 1900. Oil on canvas, 6 x 13 1/8 in. (15.2 x 33.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Laura L. Barnes, 67.24.19. (Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum)

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 – 1950 is organized by Lisa Small, Senior Curator of European Art, and Richard Aste, former Curator of European Art, Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue including thematic essays and interpretive object entries by the exhibition’s co-curators.

VIDEO