PORTLAND ART MUSEUM
EXHIBITION February 2 - May 11, 2008

Jean-Louis Forain, In the Wings, c. 1888, Pastel and black chalk on paper, 28 x 23 in., Private collecction, Photo: Paul Foster, 2007

This landmark exhibition, appearing exclusively at the Portland Art Museum, explores the complex image of the dancer in the work of three artists intrigued by various manifestations of dance in fin-de-siècle Paris: Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931), and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). The Dancer presents an international roster of more than 110 works of art, including rarely seen paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and sculptures from collections in Europe and the United States.

As cultural icons of fin-de-siècle Paris, the dancers, as well as their audiences, proved fascinating subjects for artists who sought to depict modernity. Decades later, not only do these remarkable works illustrate the differences in social classes between patrons and performers, and among the dancers themselves, but they evoke a sense of being a spectator of one of the favorite forms of diversion in turn-of-the-century France.

The Dancer will include loans from the collections of many distinguished institutions, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Kimbell Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as from private collections in the United States, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The Portland Art Museum, in collaboration with Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT), is pleased to offer special programming to accompany The Dancer and OBT’s French Program, and to enhance the visual and educational experience.

Sponsors: The Dancer is generously supported by Janet and Richard Geary, an anonymous donor, Mrs. Graham J. Barbey, Mary C. Becker, Roger and Mary Beth Burpee, KeyBank, Bernard B. Kliks Trust, Mary and Pete Mark, Laura Meier, Pat and Trudy Ritz, Schnitzer Novack Foundation, Andrée Stevens, Mary Hoyt Stevenson Foundation, U.S. Trust, Dr. Alton and Celia Wiebe, The Acorn Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, The Boeing Company, Ruth Kainen, Key Laser Institute – Dr. Douglas and Selby Key, Nancie S. McGraw, NW Natural, Marge Riley, and Ernest C. Swigert. Media partners: KINK.FM and Trimet. List in progress.

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION

HOURS / TICKETS

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM WEBSITE

Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave
Portland, OR 97205
503.226.2811