From Gérôme to Monet: Stories from the 19th-Century Collection

Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place

During the 19th century, different, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting ideas existed about how paintings should tell stories and connect with their audiences. This installation invites visitors to view works by officially recognized artists trained at government-sponsored art schools alongside paintings completed in the same years by the Impressionists.

The first Impressionist group exhibition was held in Paris in 1874. At first, paintings by the Impressionists shocked contemporary viewers. Broad, unblended brushstrokes made their works seem incomplete, and audiences were confused about what to make of these paintings. Now, 150 years later, contemporary audiences are familiar with both the Impressionists’ unfinished and subjective approach to painting as well as the polished, academically endorsed techniques used by the establishment painters to whom the Impressionists were compared.

This exhibition includes paintings from Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926), Alfred Sisley (French and British, 1839-1899), and Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904) and more than a dozen other works that explore the variety of narrative and artistic approaches painters used during this time period.

From Gérôme to Monet marks the first time that a large number of paintings will be installed in Hackerman House, a small step toward a larger installation of 18th- and 19th-century paintings in the same area that will open in 2027.