Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
October 22, 2023 – January 21, 2024
Picturing a modern world of women among women.
Marie Laurencin. Women with Dove (detail), 1919. Centre Pompidou – Musée National d’Art Modern / Centre de Création Industrielle, Paris. Gift of Lord Joseph Duveen, 1931, on deposit to Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Artwork © 2023 Fondation Foujita / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Jacques Faujour / Digital Image © 2023 CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
Adults $25; seniors $23; students $5; members free
About the Exhibition
Beginning in the early 20th century, French artist Marie Laurencin (1883–1956) created a unique pictorial world that placed women at the center of modern art. With a highly original painting style that defied categorization, she moved seamlessly between the male-dominated cubist avant-garde, lesbian literary and artistic circles, and the realms of fashion, ballet, and decorative arts.
On view in the Roberts Gallery, this exhibition explores Laurencin’s career, from her self-portraits to her collaborative decorative projects; from her early cubist paintings to her signature work—feminine and discreetly queer—that defined 1920s Paris. Presenting more than 50 works by Laurencin, it examines how her visualization of a “sapphic modernity” subtly but radically challenges existing narratives of modern European art
Marie Laurencin. Women with Dove, 1919. Centre Pompidou – Musée National d’Art Modern / Centre de Création Industrielle, Paris. Gift of Lord Joseph Duveen, 1931, on deposit to Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Artwork © 2023 Fondation Foujita / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Jacques Faujour / Digital Image © 2023 CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
Exhibition Organization
Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris is organized by the Barnes and curated by Simonetta Fraquelli, consultant curator, and Cindy Kang, curator at the Barnes.
CATALOGUE
Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
This catalogue offers a long-overdue reassessment of Laurencin’s career and influence. Critical essays explore her early experiments with cubism; her exile in Spain during World War I; her collaborative projects with major figures of her time; and her role in the emergence of a “sapphic modernity” in Paris in the 1920s. Laurencin’s life and career are documented through an illustrated chronology and exhibition history, as well as more than 60 full-color plates. Hardcover; 208 pages
Related Programs
Member Previews: Sapphic Paris
Thursday–Saturday, October 19–21, 10am – 5pm
Members are invited to see the exhibition before it opens.
Curators in Conversation
Sunday, October 22, 1 – 2pm
Exhibition curators Simonetta Fraquelli and Cindy Kang discuss Laurencin's life and work.
Exhibition Tours: Sapphic Paris
Beginning October 26, Thursday–Monday, 1pm
In this one-hour tour, a specially trained docent provides a closer look at Laurencin’s work. Learn more about her shifting and performative artistic persona and highly original figure painting.
Private Exhibition Tours: Sapphic Paris
Beginning October 26, Thursday–Monday, 10am, 11am, 2pm
Led by a specially trained docent, this tour is a private one-hour experience for you and up to seven guests. Reservations are required. Private tours must be requested at least four days in advance.
Members-Only Exhibition Tours: Sapphic Paris
Beginning October 26, Thursdays, 2 – 3pm
Members are invited to exclusive docent-led tours of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris in the Roberts Gallery.
Members-Only Online Tours: Sapphic Paris
Wednesdays, October 25, November 29, December 20; 2 – 3pm
Members are invited to exclusive virtual tours of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris.
First Friday!
November 3, December 1, January 5; 6 – 9pm
Enjoy an evening of art, live music, cocktails, and light fare at our monthly First Friday mixer and performance series. Each event includes access to the Barnes collection and Sapphic Paris.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day
November 5, December 3, January 7; 10am – 5pm
On the first Sunday of every month, the Barnes partners with PECO to offer a free day of family fun. Along with art making, educational activities, and featured performances, the event includes access to the Barnes collection and Sapphic Paris.
Young Professionals Night
November 10, 7 – 10pm
After-hours event for Philadelphia’s young leaders and Barnes Contemporaries members. Includes access to the Barnes collection and Sapphic Paris.
Related Classes
Paris in the 1920s: Art, Design, Fashion, and Literature
Wednesdays, October 4–25, 6 – 8pm
Learn about the artists, writers, and designers who helped define the modern era. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
Tuesdays, November 7–December 5, 1 – 3pm
Explore Marie Laurencin's artistic universe with exhibition co-curator Cindy Kang.
Art and the First “Homosexuals”
Wednesdays, November 8–December 6, 6 – 8pm
Survey artistic representations of the emerging homosexual identity, from the early 1900s through the first decades of the 20th century. Instructor: Jonathan D. Katz
Sponsors
Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris is sponsored by:
Denise Littlefield Sobel
Additional support is provided by:
Funding for the exhibition comes from The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation and Arthur M. Kaplan and R. Duane Perry.
Ongoing support for exhibitions comes from the Christine and Michael Angelakis Exhibition Fund, the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, the Lois and Julian Brodsky Exhibition Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Christine and George Henisee Exhibition Fund, Aileen and Brian Roberts, and the Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford Exhibition Fund.
The exhibition publication is made possible with generous support from the Lois and Julian Brodsky Publications Fund.
In addition, funding for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:
Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, Julia and David Fleischner, Leigh and John Middleton, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer
John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Lois and Julian Brodsky, N. Judith Broudy, Laura and Bill Buck, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Penelope P. Harris, Jones & Wajahat Family, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Victor F. Keen and Jeanne Ruddy, Marguerite Lenfest, Maribeth and Steven Lerner, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, The Park Family, Wendy and Mark Rayfield, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, Bruce and Robbi Toll, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, The Victory Foundation, Kirsten White, Randi Zemsky and Bob Lane, Anonymous.
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Exhibition Tour: Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
Dive deeper into the life and work of the French artist with a docent-led tour.