Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern
Nov 17, 2024 to Mar 29, 2025
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Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern
Exhibition Dates: November 17, 2024–March 29, 2025
Location: The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art presents Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern, an exhibition celebrating the legacy of Lillie P. Bliss, one of MoMA’s founders and an early advocate for modern art in the United States. Timed to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Bliss’s transformative bequest to MoMA, the exhibition will feature approximately 40 works alongside archival materials that illuminate her pivotal contributions to the reception of modern art and the Museum’s formation.
Highlights include iconic pieces such as Paul Cézanne’s The Bather (c. 1885) and Amedeo Modigliani’s Anna Zborowska (1917), as well as key works by Georges-Pierre Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse. Bliss’s bequest of around 120 works in 1934 became the cornerstone of MoMA’s collection, enabling acquisitions like Van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which will also be displayed in the collection galleries.
The exhibition reconstructs Bliss’s life and influence through archival materials, including photographs, journals, and letters. It explores her passion for music, her role in the groundbreaking Armory Show of 1913, and her interactions with fellow artists and collectors. Organized by Ann Temkin, Romy Silver-Kohn, and Rachel Remick, the exhibition sheds light on Bliss’s profound impact on the development of modern art in the U.S. and MoMA’s ongoing legacy.
Author: MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art
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