December 11, 2009 – February 21, 2010
The Legard & United Company Galleries
Opening Reception
Thursday, December 10, 6 to 8 p.m.
Image: Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), “Lorette,” 1917, oil on panel
About the Exhibition
In 1947, T. Catesby Jones bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts his collection of modern painting and sculpture, focused on the School of Paris and represented by major figures such as Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Raoul Dufy, Juan Gris, Jaques Lipchitz, Andre Masson, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Georges Roualt.
His print and illustrated books collection went to the University of Virginia Library one year later, and since 1975 that group of works on paper has been a centerpiece of the University of Virginia Art Museum. This exhibit will bring all parts of the collection together for the first, revealing its importance as an exemplary instance of the taste for the art of the avant-garde during the early decades of the twentieth century — and the importance of French artists and artists living in Paris of the modern age.
Related Events
“Modernism and the Ethos of the Fin de Siecle,” Dr. Laurence Hare, Sunday, December 20, 2 pm. Dr. Hare will discuss the air of European modernity occurring around the turn of the 20th century.
Jeffrey Allison, VMFA’s Paul Mellon Collection Educator, will be delivering a presentation on Sunday, January 17, 2 pm
“Picasso and the Fearless Print!,” Fenella Belle, Sunday, January 24, 2 pm. Fenella will present a lecture and demonstration of Picasso’s use of the reduction print process.
“The T. Catesby Jones Collection,” Dr. Matthew Affron, Sunday, February 7, 2 pm. Dr. Affron, Professor of 19th and 20th Century Art and the Curator of Modern Art at the University of Virginia Art Museum, will be delivering a gallery talk on Sunday, February 7, at 2 pm. Dr. Affron will also give a lecture entitled “Collecting the Modern: T. Catesby Jones and Art in France” at Emory & Henry College on Sunday, February 7 at 7:30pm followed by a reception.
