Impressionism: Capturing Life
An exquisite new exhibition Impressionism: Capturing Life, on show from 13 February to 5 June 2016 at the Holburne Museum in Bath, will bring together 28 masterpieces from British public collections to celebrate the Impressionists’ observations of humanity.
The focus of the exhibition will be on figurative paintings by artists who exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 in Paris, including Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. Significant loans from Tate, The National Gallery, London and The Scottish National Gallery, among others, make up the 20 oil paintings that will feature alongside eight works on paper from the Holburne Collection by the important but often overlooked British Impressionist Sir George Clausen, founder-member of the New English Art Club. For the first time these works will be contextualized with the great Masters of French Impressionism.
The exhibition is shaped around four themes – ‘Painting of the Future’, ‘Private Worlds, Public Gaze’, ‘Modern Life’ and ‘Impressionism in Britain’ – each exploring different aspects of the movement’s development. Visitors to the exhibition will also receive an audio guide featuring interviews with the exhibition’s curator and Holburne Director Jennifer Scott, and celebrated contemporary artist Stephen Farthing, RA, discussing highlights including Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood by John Singer Sargent, Young Woman Seated by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Mary Cassatt’s The Young Girls.
Impressionism: Capturing Life is the first of three exhibitions the Museum is curating in-house to celebrate its centenary year in 2016. This marks 100 years since Sir William Holburne’s collection moved to its current home in the Grade I listed building on Great Pulteney Street in Bath, which was fully restored with the addition of a glass and ceramic extension by Eric Parry Architects in 2011. Stubbs and the Wild (25 June – 2 October 2016) and Silver: Light and Shade (22 October 2016 to 22 January 2017) will complete the special ticketed programme in the main exhibitions space, complemented throughout the year by new work from artist Djordje Ozbolt, whose incisive responses to the Collection will appear around the Museum in the autumn, as well as focussed shows in the Davidson and Wirth galleries.
Listings information:
Exhibition: Impressionism: Capturing Life
Dates: 13 February – 5 June 2016
Admission: £10 (£8.50 without donation) | Concessions £9 (£7.50 without donation))
Principal Sponsor: Bath Spa University
Address: The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB
Contact: 01225 388569 | enquiries@holburne.org | www.holburne.org
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Press Enquiries
For more information about the Holburne Museum, please contact:
Katie Jenkins | E: k.jenkins@holburne.org | T: +44 (0) 1225 388547
Notes to Editors
About The Holburne Museum
The Holburne Museum’s mission statement is ‘Changing Lives Through Art’. This reflects our commitment to opening up the enjoyment of art to people of all ages and from every walk of life.
The Holburne Museum houses an important art collection formed by Sir William Holburne in the early nineteenth century, which includes paintings, silver, sculpture, furniture and porcelain of national and international significance. Artists in the collection include Gainsborough, Guardi, Stubbs, Ramsay and Zoffany.
The Museum reopened in May 2011 after ambitious renovations and a new extension by Eric Parry Architects. The Holburne has fast gained a reputation as one of a number of outstanding regional museums in the UK.
• Winner of the Museums & Heritage Award for the re-display of the permanent collection.
• Winner of the RIBA Building of the Year, south west.
• Winner of the Civic Trust’s Michael Middleton Special Award for a restoration/extension project within a conservation area.
The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB
Open daily, free admission 10am to 5pm (11am to 5pm Sundays and Bank Holidays)
Tel: 01225 388569 | email: enquiries@holburne.org | www.holburne.org
In Partnership with Bath Spa University