Sorolla Paintings on View > To commemorate the centenary of Sorolla’s death, Blanca Pons-Sorolla – the artist’s great-granddaughter and an important scholar of his work – is curating an exhibition focused on the artist with an emphasis on works from American private collections.

Through January 7, 2024, the Meadows Museum, SMU in Dallas, Texas, will present “Spanish Light: Sorolla in American Collections,” featuring 26 paintings from American private collections, some of which will be displayed publicly for the first time in decades. The curator of the exhibition is Blanca Pons-Sorolla, renowned Sorolla scholar and the artist’s great-granddaughter. It joins a worldwide celebration of the artist—dubbed the “Year of Sorolla/Año Sorolla” by Spain’s Ministry of Culture—during the centennial anniversary of his death. Of the approximately 30 exhibitions taking place, the Meadows is one of only two in the U.S.

“This exhibition offers a unique look at Sorolla’s work from private American collections. Thanks to a group of exquisite paintings rarely seen in public, audiences are invited to appreciate the artist’s captivating talent as a painter of light,” said Amanda W. Dotseth, the Linda P. and William A. Custard Director of the Meadows Museum. “Spanish Light: Sorolla in American Collections, reveals Sorolla’s continued popularity in this country, which can be traced back to the American collectors who supported him during his lifetime. By participating in the Sorolla Centennial, the Meadows joins other institutions in Spain and elsewhere to introduce or reengage audiences with the work of this important artist.”

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’s (1863–1923) artistic talent was apparent from a young age. As a teenager he exhibited paintings at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid, attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia and, in 1884, his first large painting was acquired by the Spanish government. By the next decade, Sorolla’s work was being regularly shown in salons and international exhibitions across Europe and in America, including at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Capitalizing on this interest, the Hispanic Society of America invited Sorolla to present an exhibition of his work there in 1909. From that show, the artist sold nearly 200 works to American collectors—and remained in the U.S. for several months, painting a number of portraits on commission, including one of President William Howard Taft.

“Spanish Light: Sorolla” in American Collections captures this long-standing affection for Sorolla in the US by bringing to public view some two dozen paintings drawn from private collections. Highlighting Sorolla’s most popular and characteristic subjects—such as the white sails of Valencian fishing boats, children frolicking on the shoreline, lively garden scenes, and pensive figural studies—the exhibition offers a singular opportunity to see Sorolla through the lens of his current American collectors, who represent the legacy of the artist’s popularity in this country.

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Related > Joaquín Sorolla is one of the most respected painters ever to have lived. The way he mastered the color of light is something other artists dream about, yet can never quite pull off. One person who has mastered it is Thomas Jefferson Kitts — a modern master in the color of light, and now you have the opportunity to learn how to paint like Sorolla with this art video workshop, “Sorolla: Painting the Color of Light.”

The J. Paul Getty Museum is presenting “Finding an Audience: Nineteenth-Century Drawings,” an exhibition that highlights the intended audiences for works on paper produced by 19th-century European artists.

Presenting works from the Getty Museum’s collection by Edgar Degas, Gustav Klimt, JMW Turner, and more, the exhibition is on view at the Getty Center from September 26 to January 7, 2024.

Featuring nearly 40 drawings with compelling compositions and often a rich use of color, the exhibition asks visitors to consider: Who originally got to see these extraordinary works of art?

“While many drawings and watercolors were made simply as sketches, this exhibition highlights those produced as finished works of art. Some were intended to impress at an exhibition or to be cherished by collectors, while others were treasures given to friends or family members,” says Julian Brooks, senior curator of drawings at the Getty Museum. “Today’s audiences will no doubt be dazzled by them and intrigued by their stories.”

The exhibition showcases several “exhibition watercolors,” a genre that surged in popularity in the 19th century. Often large and ambitious, these watercolors could hold their own alongside oil paintings. An example is John Martin’s “Destruction of Pharaoh’s Host,” one of his powerful neo-apocalyptic landscapes.

“Exhibition watercolors” are paralleled with works destined for private collectors, including Albert Dubois-Pillet’s The Banks of the Marne at Dawn, which he signed at the lower right, indicating he likely intended to sell it or give it to a collector. The exhibition features a magnified, 10-by-10-foot version of the colorful watercolor, offering a rare opportunity to study Dubois-Pillet’s pointillist technique up close.

One drawing highlighted in the exhibition, “At the Circus: Entering the Ring” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, was created for a less obvious reason. Lautrec was suffering from alcoholism and dementia and was admitted to a mental clinic by his mother due to his violent behavior. To prove his stability, he drew a series of circus scenes from memory, resulting in his release, after which he declared “I bought my freedom with my drawings.”

Another French artist, Théodore Géricault, suffered from disease and injuries from repeated horse riding accidents and could no longer create large paintings. To generate an income, he produced watercolors that could easily be sold to collectors, like “The Giaour,” which depicts the hero of an epic poem by Lord Byron and is included in the exhibition.

Two vibrant watercolors of birds by British artist Sarah Stone, “Cock of the Rock” (shown at top) and “Indian Roller,” also shine in the exhibition. Stone was a self-taught artist and successfully sold many such works to a small group of private patrons.

“Finding an Audience: Nineteenth-Century Drawings” is curated by Julian Brooks, senior curator of drawings at the Getty Museum.

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