Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “Chanteuse,” 1880; wood (mahogany), plaster, paint, and gilt; 20 7/8 × 20 7/8 × 5 1/8 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen EXH36.47

Best known as a painter, Paul Gauguin was an inventive and versatile artist who also created woodcarvings, ceramics, and prints. This summer, the Saint Louis Art Museum will celebrate the range of Gauguin’s artistic output from his early Impressionist paintings to his iconic works from Brittany and Tahiti to his fascinating exploration of three-dimensional objects.

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “Modern Thought and Catholicism,” written 1897–98, transcribed in this form 1902; manuscript with two woodcuts and two transfer drawings on the cover; 12 5/8 x 7 1/16 x 13/16 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Vincent L. Price Jr., in memory of his parents, Marguerite and Vincent L. Price 287:1948

Featuring 90 works of art, most from the world’s leading collection of works by the artist, “Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention” will be the Saint Louis Art Museum’s first exhibition highlighting the exceptional range of the artist’s production. The exhibition opens July 21.

The exhibition will include more than 50 works of art from Copenhagen’s Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, including masterworks like the Impressionist painting “Woman Sewing” and “Tahitian Woman with a Flower,” one of the first pictures Gauguin painted on the island, as well as more than 20 sculptural works that reveal Gauguin’s skill as a ceramicist and wood carver. The exhibition also will include works from the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection, including prints by Gauguin, as well as Polynesian sculptures and Peruvian ceramics similar to those that inspired the artist. Unique to the exhibition is Gauguin’s manuscript “Modern Thought and Catholicism,” which was given to the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1948 by film star and Saint Louis native Vincent Price.

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “Tahitian Woman with a Flower,” 1891; oil on canvas; 27 3/4 × 18 5/16 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen EXH36.4

“The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek holds one of the most comprehensive collections of works by Gauguin, and we are pleased to offer St. Louisans the opportunity to experience a wide range of the artist’s works lent by one of the world’s great museums,” said Brent R. Benjamin, the Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “Portrait – Head of Martinique Woman with Kerchief,” 1887-88; unglazed stoneware decorated with slips; 8 7/8 × 5 1/8 × 6 7/8 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen EXH36.40

The exhibition is organized in six themes that express Gauguin’s stylistic shifts and extensive range of materials, and allow the spectator to discover his travels within an increasingly global 19th-century world.

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “The Queen’s Mill, Østervold,” 1885; oil on canvas; 36 7/16 × 28 7/8 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen EXH36.12

“Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention” is organized by the Saint Louis Art Museum from the collections of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, and curated by Simon Kelly, the Saint Louis Art Museum’s curator of modern and contemporary art, with Abigail Yoder, research assistant.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Additional support is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; the National Endowment for the Arts; and Christie’s.

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903; “Landscape from Brittany with Breton Women,” 1888; oil on canvas; 35 13/16 × 28 3/8 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen EXH36.2

“Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention” is on view at the Saint Louis Art Museum (Missouri) through September 15, 2019. For more details, visit www.slam.org.


Sign up to receive Fine Art Today, the free weekly e-newsletter from
Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.


LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here