Selections from the 19th-Century European and North American Collection is installed on the first floor of the Centre Street building in the Special Exhibitions Gallery. Sixty-eight paintings and 16 sculptures from the Walters 19th-century European and North American collection are grouped thematically to create new perspectives on much loved artworks. The themes include war and peace, fame, childhood, myth, animals, and music.
A number of visitor favorites return to view, including Antoine-Louis Barye’s bronze Tom the Algerian Greyhound (ca. 1889), and Claude Monet’s painting Springtime (1872), while Jacob-Emile-Edouard Brandon’s Portuguese Synagogue at Amsterdam (ca. 1867), which recently underwent extensive treatment in our paintings’ conservation studio, is on display for the first time in decades. Works by artists with a Baltimore connection, such as the sculptors Edward Berge, William Henry Rinehart, and Hans Schuler, are also included, as well as the recent acquisition Child with Strawberries (ca. 1803–1805) by Black American artist Joshua Johnson.
In addition, the Walters’ two Fabergé imperial Easter Eggs, and other jeweled objects from Carl Fabergé’s workshop, are on display in the vestibule of the European Treasury galleries off the Sculpture Court, along with René Lalique’s Orchid Comb (ca. 1903–1904).