The remarkable story of how Scotland became home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art will be celebrated in a major National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) exhibition this summer.
A Taste for Impressionism: Modern French art from Millet to Matisse (30 July – 13 November 2022) will explore how visionary Scottish collectors in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries invested in what were then innovative and radical artworks.
World famous paintings by a stellar cast including Van Gogh, Degas and Gauguin will feature throughout, offering visitors a rare chance to delve into a fascinating yet little-known aspect of Scotland’s cultural history. Other highlights will include seven works by Claude Monet from across his career and, for the first time, the full set of Matisse’s vibrant Jazz prints.
While today a painting by the great Impressionists and Post-Impressionists will fetch millions at auction, artists associated with the movements were at first mocked in the press, and the prices paid for their works were surprisingly low.
Among the few collectors who had the foresight to buy what were then edgy works of art were a handful of Scottish tastemakers who snapped up pieces by the likes of Degas, Monet, Pissarro and Cézanne, often well before their English counterparts. Several of these individuals were ‘new money’ having become rich through shipbuilding and textiles.
As the market for Impressionism began to thrive, a sinister side industry in ‘fakes’ took hold, culminating in two major scandals in the early 1930s around the forging of works by Millet and Van Gogh. In keeping with the true spirit of the age, A Taste for Impressionism will include some counterfeit works which will remain unidentified to test visitors’ powers of discernment.
Among the exhibition highlights will be several of NGS’s world-class holdings, such as Gauguin’s Vision of the Sermon and Degas’s Portrait of Diego Martelli, as well as pre-Impressionist masterpieces such as Pissarro’s The Marne at Chennevières.
The fact that works of such renown and quality are held in Scotland is down to two chance factors—a series of innovative purchases by previous NGS directors in the first half of the twentieth century, and the generosity of benefactors such as Sir Alexander and Rosalind Maitland—both reflecting the enlightened state of Scottish taste in the inter-war period and beyond.
A large number of early collectors of Impressionism were women, including the champion yachtswoman Elizabeth Workman, who was brought up in Helensburgh. Described by the artist Percy Wyndham Lewis as ‘one of the only people in England to understand French art’ her reputation as a collector has been overshadowed by men such as Samuel Courtauld, who created a dedicated museum in his own name.
A Taste for Impressionism will reaffirm the role of Workman and other women who have to date been overlooked in this context. In doing so, visitors will be able to glimpse the affluent and cultured lifestyles of individuals such as Indian-born newspaper editor Rachel Beer, known as ‘the first Lady of Fleet Street’ and the flamboyant socialite Eve Fleming, whose son was the creator of James Bond.
Professor Frances Fowle, Senior Curator of French Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “The Impressionist era is one of the most compelling periods in art history. It gave rise to a host of artists who are now considered among the very best, despite being largely dismissed by the establishment of their time.
Several Scottish art collectors were well ahead of their time in acquiring modern French works. We are thrilled to be telling their story for the first time through A Taste for Impressionism, an exhibition which we hope will delight and inspire our visitors.”
A Taste for Impressionism will span the entire exhibition space of the Royal Scottish Academy building, charting how Impressionism emerged from the indulgence of the Romantic period to become a bona fide radical movement, through to the price-shattering auction phenomenon it is today.
In total there will be around 120 paintings, sculptures and works on paper taken from the NGS collection, as well as loans from Glasgow Museums, Tate, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Berwick Museum and private collections.
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We are thrilled that players of People’s Postcode Lottery are supporting National Galleries of Scotland to tell the fascinating story of how a group of radical art lovers made Scotland home to one of the world’s most impressive collections of Impressionist art.
“We are sure that this exciting exhibition, featuring works by many of the world’s most beloved artists, will appeal to a broad audience and we hope as many visitors as possible make it along.”
A stunning book The Impressionist Era accompanies the exhibition, offering readers and visitors an introduction to the art of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.
Written by Professor Fowle, one of the foremost experts in the field, it explores these artistic movements in the context of the history of collecting.
Colourful and vibrant illustrations help tell the fascinating stories of how key paintings and drawings found their way into Scotland’s national collection.
Artists covered include Monet, Millet, Gauguin, Bastien-Lepage, Charles Jacque, Troyon, Corot, Degas, Seurat, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Vuillard, Bonnard, Derain, Matisse, Legros and Rodin.
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