Posted November 18, 2009 The exhibition marks the first time in five decades that selections from a significant Virginia art collection are reunited. The collector was T. Catesby Jones (1880-1946), who descended from a prominent Tidewater family and grew up in Petersburg. He built a successful career as a maritime lawyer in New York City. He was also a discerning collector of early 20th-century painting, sculpture and works on paper. Jones, who was a VMFA trustee, bequeathed the bulk of his collection to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Virginia. The works have not been seen together since the late 1940s. Jones acquired most of his collection between 1924 and 1939. He purchased works from the best known figures of the era - Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Masson and Lipchitz - as well as works by artists who are less widely known today, including Marcel Gromaire, André Lhote and Jean Lurçat. Jones began donating works to VMFA in 1941, and, with his final bequest of paintings, sculptures and drawings six years later, VMFA moved to the forefront of American museums with collections of contemporary European work. Jones left the majority of his prints to the University of Virginia. Among the exhibition's 51 works will be Picasso's "Woman with Kerchief" (1906), Matisse's two portraits of "Lorette" (both 1917), a Cubist collage by Juan Gris, and a three-part folding screen by Lurçat. The exhibition was on view at three other Virginia venues during VMFA's expansion construction. The exhibition is supported by VMFA's Fabergé Ball Endowment and Altria Group Inc. ORGANIZER:
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Virginia Art
Museum FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Suzanne Hall, 804/204-2704; or Sarah Pennington, 804/204-2701;
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond VA 23220-4007;
FAX 804/204-2707; e-mail suzanne.hall@vmfa.museum.
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CAPTION: "Lorette," a 1917 oil on panel by Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) is among works in "Matisse, Picasso and Modern Art in Paris," a collaborative exhibition from VMFA and U.Va. It was given to VMFA by T. Catesby Jones. (Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
CAPTION: "Madame Carmencita", Plate IX from "Cirque de l'Etoile Filante," 1935, is by Georges Rouault (French, 1871-1958). The etching and aquatint measures 17-3/4 by 13-1/4 inches. It was given to VMFA by T. Catesby Jones. (Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
CAPTION: "The Frugal Repast" is a 1904 etching by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973). It measures 26-1/8 by 20-1/16 inches. (Collection of the University of Virginia Art Museum) |
