Description

Follow the journey of Paul Durand-Ruel, the Impressionist art dealer

Paul Durand-Ruel discovered and supported Impressionist painters with great enthusiasm and skill from the early 1870s, buying and selling thousands of Impressionist paintings including some of the great masterpieces of the movement, in what was often a difficult environment.

A ‘missionary’ of painting, as Renoir liked to describe him, he also played a part in creating the modern art market, giving an unprecedented international dimension to his gallery, particularly with regard to the United States. At the turn of the 20th century the largest Impressionist collections, both European and American, public and private, were held by Durand-Ruel.

Through some eighty paintings, drawings, photographs and documents, the exhibition will tell the story of a key moment in time, from the late 1860s to the turn of the 20th century, when the artistic avant-garde movement achieved international recognition, pushed forward by an entrepreneurial and resourceful art dealer.

Examining the role played by a gallery in writing the history of a movement and its recognition, the exhibition, like the catalogue, which is designed to be a richly illustrated reference book, is a reflection of the research undertaken, assisted by the kind and generous support of the Durand-Ruel Archives.

Exhibition organised by the Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais, with the participation of the musée d’Orsay and in partnership with the National Gallery in London and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.