Hello Beautiful People,

The Philadelphia Art Museum recently opened Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting exhibition. The traveling exhibit will be open through September 13, 2015.

“This summer, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents a ground-breaking exhibition examining the early struggles and ultimate triumph of the artists who became known as the Impressionists and the role played by the visionary Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel in their success. Including masterworks by Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Mary Cassatt, Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Paintingspans the period of 1865 through 1905. The exhibition begins when Durand-Ruel inherited his family’s art gallery and invested in the work of innovative painters such as Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, and Jean-François Millet. It then focuses on the decisive moment when he encountered the new and luminous paintings of the Impressionists that evoked a changing, modern world. It continues through the 1880s, when Durand-Ruel opened markets for the artists’ work in the United States, and the early 20th century, when the artistic genius of the Impressionists finally achieved international renown. It reunites for the first time key paintings from early Impressionist exhibitions, some of which have not been seen in the United States in decades, or ever before. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will be the exhibition’s only U.S. venue.”(Philadelphia Art Museum Press Release)

 Paul Durand-Ruel embraced Impressionist artists and supported their work.

“In 1865, Paul Durand-Ruel (1831–1922) inherited a gallery founded by his parents. By the early 1870s, when he discovered the young artists who would become known as the Impressionists, he began to promote their work. His innovative strategies included acquiring the work of the artists he favored in depth; gaining exclusivity in selling their work by offering them monthly stipends; hosting monographic or solo exhibitions; and establishing branches in London, Brussels, and New York that drew him into contact with influential and daring collectors around the world. When he was eighty-eight years old, the dealer declared: “At last the Impressionist masters triumphed. My madness had been wisdom. To think that, had I passed away at sixty, I would have died debt-ridden and bankrupt, surrounded by a wealth of underrated treasures.” (Philadelphia Art Museum Press Release)

Paul Durand-Ruel, 1910 by Pierre August-Renoir

I first started to enjoy Impressionism when I took Art History classes in college. These unique-style paintings tell stories and the romanticism captured me in the moment.

If you live in Philadelphia or traveling there, be sure to visit the Art Museum and see this exhibit, especially if you are fond of  the Impressionism style.

Ticket Information
(includes complimentary audio tour)

Adults $25
Seniors $23
Students and Youths 13–18 $20
Children ages 5–12 $12
Children 4 and under Free

Tickets are available by calling 215-235-7469 or online at philamuseum.org (a service charge of $3.50 applies).

Weekday afternoon price
The Museum offers discounted tickets for weekdays beginning at 3:00 p.m. for $20 through July 31.

In my next post I will share my favorite paintings of the exhibit.