Collecting Impressionism at LACMA
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Inspired by breakthroughs in industry and technology, visual culture in the final quarter of the 19th century in France expanded well beyond the traditional media of painting, sculpture, and drawing to include advances in printmaking, photography, decorative arts, and fashion. Yet, 150 years later, French Impressionism single-handedly defines this period at American art museums. Unpacking the reasons why, *Collecting Impressionism at LACMA *offers a surprising narrative about the people and artists who shaped LACMA, interrogating how trends in “taste” inform the museum’s collection. From early acquisitions of American and California Impressionism to donations of paintings by Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro from major Hollywood collectors…
Collecting Impressionism at LACMA
Read More
Inspired by breakthroughs in industry and technology, visual culture in the final quarter of the 19th century in France expanded well beyond the traditional media of painting, sculpture, and drawing to include advances in printmaking, photography, decorative arts, and fashion. Yet, 150 years later, French Impressionism single-handedly defines this period at American art museums. Unpacking the reasons why, *Collecting Impressionism at LACMA *offers a surprising narrative about the people and artists who shaped LACMA, interrogating how trends in “taste” inform the museum’s collection. From early acquisitions of American and California Impressionism to donations of paintings by Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro from major Hollywood collectors, art was a tool of cultural legitimization that helped the institution grow in tandem with a developing city. Collecting Impressionism at LACMA illuminates the ways in which museum collections are constructed, and by extension, suggests how visitors can read the museum as a site of changing taste and changing narratives.
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Major support provided by The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.
Generous support provided by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by The David & Meredith Kaplan Foundation, Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation and Ezra and Lauren Perlman, with generous annual funding from Tanya Fileva, Mary and Daniel James, Bert Levy Fund, Justin Lubliner, Alfred E. Mann Charities, Kelsey Lee Offield, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.
Jean Béraud, A Parisian Street Scene: Boulevard des Capucines, c. late 1897–early 1898, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2024 Collectors Committee with additional funds provided by Rob Levine and Larry Ginsberg, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
- Dec 21, 2025–Jan 3, 2027
- Resnick Pavilion
- Today’s hours: 11 AM-6 PM