GEELONG.- One hundred years later, Geelong Gallery – in partnership with Art Exhibitions Australia and ACPA Advising Curating Producing Art – presents one of the most ambitious exhibitions in its 130-year history as part of an international program commemorating the centenary of Monet's death with Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel, Art Dealer Among the Artists. Spanning two generations of Impressionist painters, the exhibition also tells the remarkable story of the man who risked everything to ensure their work survived.
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To mark the opening, curators Marianne Mathieu and Claire Durand-Ruel are in Geelong this week — two of the world's foremost authorities on Impressionism,. Mathieu, former Scientific Director of the Musée Marmottan Monet, previously curated Monet's Garden for the NGV in 2013 and Monet: Impression Sunrise for the National Gallery of Australia in 2019. Her co-curator, Claire Durand-Ruel, is the great-granddaughter of Paul Durand-Ruel himself, whose access to the family archives has shaped the exhibition at every level.
The paintings now hanging at Geelong Gallery exist as public art because of one man. Paul Durand-Ruel (1831–1922) championed artists such as Monet, Renoir, Morisot and Pissarro at a time when critics dismissed their work and few people were buying it. He opened galleries across Europe and America to introduce their art to new audiences and risked financial ruin more than once in supporting them. Over his lifetime, he acquired more than 12,000 paintings — and tomorrow, for the first time in Australia, audiences will have the opportunity to see the extraordinary legacy of his belief in these artists.
Discovering the Impressionists is the centrepiece of a four-month cultural season at Geelong Gallery, with a programme of special events that offers audiences multiple ways into the world of Impressionism — from an opening-day conversation with the curators to after-dark sessions, expert lectures and tours conducted entirely in French.
“I am delighted that, in the year marking the centenary of Claude Monet's death, Geelong Gallery is able to present eight paintings by one of the most celebrated artists in history. For a regional gallery to participate in an international program of this significance is extraordinary," said Humphrey Clegg, Director & CEO of Geelong Gallery.
"What makes this exhibition particularly compelling, however, is that it goes beyond the familiar story of Monet. Alongside these remarkable works, visitors will encounter a generation of artists whose paintings surprise, delight and challenge expectations of what Impressionism can be. Discovering the Impressionists is ultimately an exhibition about looking again, and experiencing the thrill of discovery.”
Opening in the centenary year of Claude Monet's death, Discovering the Impressionists presents the largest concentration of his work currently on show anywhere in Australia. As museums across France, the United States and Japan mark the centenary of Monet's death, the exhibition positions Geelong as part of a significant international program exploring the artist's enduring legacy. One hundred years after the death of the artist who helped define Impressionism, eight Monet paintings are now gathered in Geelong — including works that have never left their private French collections. Together with Haystacks, midday, currently on long-term loan from the National Gallery of Australia, they offer a rare opportunity to experience the work of one of history's most celebrated painters.
Alongside the first generation, the exhibition introduces painters Durand-Ruel championed later in his career — Albert André, Georges d'Espagnat, Gustave Loiseau, Maxime Maufra and Henry Moret — whose work has not travelled outside Europe until now. Among the highlights are rare decorative panels by André and d'Espagnat, painted for the doors of Durand-Ruel's private Paris apartment, and a partial recreation of the drawing room in which he received esteemed collectors and displayed the finest works from his collection.
Marianne Mathieu, co-curator and former Scientific Director of the Musée Marmottan Monet, says: "It is truly exciting to bring the works of the great Impressionists — Monet, Renoir, Morisot and Pissarro — to Geelong. Even more thrilling for me, as co-curator, is the opportunity to introduce Australian audiences to the second generation of Impressionists and to offer them an unparalleled celebration of colour and light."
Claire Durand-Ruel, co-curator and great-granddaughter of Paul Durand-Ruel, says: "It is both a joy and a profound honour to introduce the work of my ancestor, the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, to the Australian public. Guided by deep conviction and an unwavering faith in the transformative power of art, he played a pivotal role in securing recognition for the Impressionist painters."
The exhibition design is the work of Peter King (Studio Peter King), whose immersive environments have defined some of the NGV's most celebrated exhibitions (The House of Dior; Westwood | Kawakubo). With more than fifteen years shaping how major cultural institutions present art, his transformation of Geelong Gallery for Discovering the Impressionists is among his most ambitious projects to date.
The landmark showcase carries a particular resonance for Geelong. In the mid-to-late nineteenth century — precisely the years in which Durand-Ruel was waging his great commercial campaign for the Impressionists in Paris — Geelong was emerging as a city of international consequence: a deep-water wool port connected to global markets, accumulating the wealth and cultural ambition that would, in 1896, give rise to Geelong Gallery itself. It is fitting that, in the institution's 130th anniversary year, coinciding with the centenary of Monet's death, this exhibition finds its only Australian home here.
Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM, City of Greater Geelong says: “There are 70-plus paintings the Geelong community will have the opportunity to view. I can’t believe the amount of energy, time and precision that’s going on to put this exhibition together to make sure everyone has a world-class experience when they come and visit. I couldn’t be happier. Arts, culture and major events are a pillar for growth and investment in Geelong, especially as a UNESCO City of Design.”
