Avis Berman, “Missionaries of Impressionism: The American Collectors of Renoir”

Boston Athenæum

Commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary of the death of the great French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, writer and historian Avis Berman will examine the artist’s legacy from the perspective of the pioneering Americans who embraced and supported his work well before French collectors or officials did so. Berman will chronicle Renoir's career, beginning in the 1880s when Renoir and the other Impressionists were first exhibited in the U.S.--and with their acceptance by no means guaranteed--and concluding in the mid-1930s, when Renoir had become an essential purchase for museums, moguls, and movie stars. Join us to learn more about the provocative artists, dealers, and collectors from this time period and to discover some of the most sumptuous and significant Renoirs in America, in addition to the portraits and photographs of the people who collected them.