Internationally traveling exhibition of French modern art opens August 5 in celebration of the Harn’s 35th anniversary

Press release from the Harn Museum of Art

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida is presenting a major exhibition, French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 – 1950, opening Aug. 5, 2025. The blockbuster exhibition, chosen for display during the Harn’s 35^th 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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

The local presenting sponsors for this exhibition are Rick and Aase Thompson, Linda Parker Hudson, and the Dharma Endowment Foundation; with additional support provided by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County; Jack and Cherie Fine; Laura L. Berns; Russ and Deirdre Fogler; Sheila K. Dickison; Gwynne A. Young; David Etherington and Jeffery Dunn; the Londono Family Endowment; and other generous donors.

For more information visit www.harn.ufl.edu/frenchmoderns. Admission is free.


Programs

All free and open to the public, include:

HESCAH (The Harn Eminent Scholar Chair in Art History) Talk
Thursday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m.
“The Air of Modernity: Edgar Degas’ Ironers Ecocritically”
Speaker: Marni Kessler, Professor of Art History, University of Kansas, Kress Foundation Department of Art History

Curator Talk
Sunday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m.
Chief Curator and Curator of Modern Art, Dulce Román, will discuss the works on view in the exhibition.

Art After Dark
Art After Dark provides extended hours until 9 p.m. for visitors to explore the exhibition. Generous support is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and a private grant. In addition to extended hours, the Harn offers activities, entertainment, and refreshments on select evenings, which include the following:

Museum Nights
Thursdays: Aug. 14 and Nov. 13
6 – 9 p.m.
The Harn will offer art activities, tours, performances, and more in connection with the exhibition.

Wine Down
Thursdays: Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 30 (Wine Down is held the last Thursday of each month. It will not be held Nov. 27 and Dec. 25.)
6 – 9 p.m.
Museum-goers can mingle in the exhibition while enjoying musical entertainment, lite bites, wine, and beer on the last Thursday of each month during the exhibition.