The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) presents Cezanne and American Modernism, the first exhibition to examine fully the influence of Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) upon modern American artists from 1907 to 1930. From September 13, 2009 – January 3, 2010, the exhibition will explore the critical function American artists and others played in establishing the reputation of Cezanne, who has been universally acclaimed as the definitive bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and the modern art movements of the 20th century.
As the largest, most ambitious exhibition in the 95-year history of the Museum, Cezanne and American Modernism comprises 131 works, including 18 works by Cezanne and paintings, works on paper, photographs, and archival documents representing 34 American artists, as well as critics. Works in the exhibition are drawn from a wide range of museum collections, including MAM’s, and from private collections. As a testament to its commitment to the community, MAM will not charge extra for this special exhibition but instead will retain its existing price structure.
The exhibition, curated by Dr. Gail Stavitsky, Chief Curator, Montclair Art Museum, and sponsored by Bank of America, will be presented in collaboration with The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), where it will be on view from February 14 through May 23, 2010. It will then travel to the Phoenix Art Museum, where it will be on view from July 3 through September 26, 2010. Stavitsky is organizing the exhibition in collaboration with Katherine Rothkopf, Senior Curator and Department Head of European Painting and Sculpture, BMA.
“American modernists played seminal roles in disseminating Cezanne’s influence and expanding access to his work through their artwork, dialogues, and writings, as well as through their organizing of exhibitions,” said Stavitsky. “A number of these artists were also advisors to the first American collectors of Cezanne’s work and even acquired examples themselves, playing critical roles in the canonization of Cezanne and paving the way for his evolution from neglect and obscurity to universal prominence.”
The traveling exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue published in association with Yale University Press, which includes a range of diverse perspectives from a team of 23 scholars.
About the Museum
The Montclair Art Museum, a notable, community-based institution with an international reputation, boasts a renowned collection of American and Native American art that uniquely highlights art making in the United States over the last three hundred years. The collection includes more than 12,000 objects: paintings, prints, original works on paper, photographs, and sculpture by American artists from the 18th century to the present, as well as traditional and contemporary Native American art and artifacts representing the cultural developments of peoples from all of the major American Indian regions. MAM’s Yard School of Art is the leading regional art school, offering a multitude of comprehensive courses for children, youth, adults, seniors, and professional artists. Visit montclairartmuseum.org to learn more.
All Museum programs are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Vance Wall Foundation, and Museum members.
Web site: http://www.montclairartmuseum.org/
